Rebecca Engel of Charleston Jewish Federation's REMEMBER Program for Holocaust Education and Genocide Awareness joined Holocaust Survivor, Joe Engel, for a surprise 90th birthday party at Northwood Academy in Summerville, where 400+ students emotionally welcomed him. Denise Deveaux, Northwood Academy Teacher and member of the REMEMBER Program committee, arranged the event. She has been inviting Joe to speak to her students for decades, and accompanied him on a trip to visit the concentration camps in Poland several years ago.

View Video Coverage from Live Five News Here >>

The students presented Joe Engel with a plaque, signifying that they planted a Daffodil Garden in his name. 

The Daffodil Project, a worldwide initiative empowering Holocaust education created by the Atlanta-based non-profit Am Yisrael Chai, aspires to build a Living Holocaust Memorial by planting 1.5 million daffodils around the world to remember the children who perished at the hands of the Nazis. Daffodils represent the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust, and the flower symbolizes both remembrance and resilience. By drawing attention to the memorial through the Daffodil Project, members of the Charleston community can work together to pledge that these victims will not be forgotten.

The first Daffodil Project planting was held on November 13th, 2016 in Marion Square, where over 100 people came together to plant 1,800 daffodils. Addlestone Hebrew Academy also planted a garden last year. This year, more schools are expected to participate, including Porter Gaud and Buist Academy.

College of Charleston student Samantha Krantz brought the Daffodil Project to Charleston as part of her Klaper Jewish Studies Fellowship through the College of Charleston Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program. Jewish Studies Program.