Request a Speaker from the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center

Of the many resources that the OHRC offers, without question the most important are our speakers. The brave and sharing individuals who comprise the OHRC Speakers Bureau have had their lives touched in profound ways by the Holocaust. It is unfathomable to think of ourselves living similar experiences, let alone sharing those experiences time and time again. The following are guidelines that were developed to help you when you invite one of our speakers into your school or organization. Keep in mind that none of the speakers charge for their services. They give so much of themselves because they feel that it is very important to educate others about what happened so that it never happens again. Please be respectful of the speaker's time and think of your contact with them, as we do, as an honor.

1. Contact the Center well in advance when requesting a speaker. Allow at least four weeks for the Center staff to contact a speaker, and later, for you and the speaker to work out the details of the speaking engagement.

2. March, April and May are our busiest months. If you are a teacher, please consider teaching a Holocaust or WWII unit earlier in the year.

3. Speakers prefer a larger audiences and cannot speak to multiple classes in a day.

4. Prepare your audience prior to inviting a speaker. Providing some historical context in advance will help place the speaker's story into context and will be more meaningful to the listener. The Center can provide suggestions and materials for teaching the Holocaust.

5. Some of our speakers rely on transportation being provided. Consider asking a colleague or a parent to help drive the speaker if you cannot.

6. Some of our speakers welcome invitations from outside the Portland-Metro area. Consider offering a speaker accommodations or travel reimbursement.

7. Never give out the speaker's address or phone number without permission.

8. When planning a Holocaust unit for students the Center does not encourage the use of individual interviews. Because our speakers are very busy and volunteer their time it is impossible for them to accommodate individual requests for interviews. There are several video resources containing first person accounts that the Center can recommend.

9. Thanking a speaker for coming can be as simple as giving him or her flowers or having students write thank you notes. Please screen letters or cards written by students prior to sending them to the speaker.

10. The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center is a non-profit organization and exists entirely from the generosity of others. Making a donation to the Center in honor of a speaker is the best way to insure that we can continue our important work and to insure that we can continue to send our speakers to you.

Special note: The speaker pool is aging, so we need as much lead time as possible. Also, currently we do not have anyone who can speak before February/ March 2005.

The OHRC and its speakers believe that you are an important part in teaching future generations about the Holocaust and how to apply the lessons learned from it to today's world and communities. Please call upon us if we can be of any assistance to you in your important endeavor. To make your request for a speaker, please fill out the form below.

Speaker Request Form (PDF format)

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