Big Sonia and My Little Sister

Faith SandlerCentennial, Community, Giving, Impact, Words of Faith


Today is my little sister Terri’s birthday, and today I’d like to invite you to the movies.  I know you’re thinking we’re too old for matinee birthday parties and she should just enjoy a nice dinner out, but mark your calendar and trust me.

On March 5, at 1:30 p.m., we will gather for How to Repair the World: Big Sonia Film Screening in the auditorium of Missouri History Museum (more details here).  The film is a journey through the facets of identity, faith, trauma, and healing that are the story of Sonia Warshawski, a Holocaust survivor from Poland. Her story, as she enters her 95th year of life, and the history of The Scholarship Foundation as we are 100 years and counting, have many intersections and parallels.

I especially encourage you to attend if you:

  • Are well familiar with the Jewish concept of tikkun olam and with the roots of The Scholarship Foundation;
  • Are completely unfamiliar with the concept and our roots and would like to understand more;
  • Find yourself to be an elder, seeking to be of service to a broken world, or you work alongside elders and know their potential to contribute;
  • Love documentary film;
  • Worry the world is beyond repair; or,
  • Just trust my recommendation that the film and the after-treat will be worth the time.

On my way to work this morning, I called my sister to wish her a happy birthday. My sister has a master’s in gerontological nursing, has (with her husband) raised her daughters Jewish and was once invited to join the temple board though she is a practicing Protestant. When I called, Terri was on her way to spend her birthday at Ruth’s Promise, an organization she founded and now supports with considerable volunteer time and expertise. Ruth’s Promise is an adult day program for seniors with cognitive impairment, providing their caregivers a bit of respite. Terri and Sonia make a perfect pair.

I’d love to see you next week, at the movies. Together, we can pay tribute to Sonia Warshawski, Terri Ziegler, and the women who founded The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis 100 years ago.

– Faith Sandler

How to Repair the World: Big Sonia Film Screening

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Place: Auditorium, Lower Level, Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis MO 63112
Admission: FREE