HELEN E. RISCH PRESCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND
Gift of Preschool Scholarship Will Keep on Giving
New fund is a first, encourages others
The Helen E. Risch Scholarship Endowment Fund has been created for a number of important reasons: to educate, to bond parents, to inspire others to support early Jewish education. It began as a birthday present from Helen’s husband, Frank. But perhaps its formation really started when Helen and Frank's daughter, Jolene, was organizing the preschool at Congregation Anshai Torah.
There was not a great deal of money in Dallas earmarked for preschool-aged students, and very little,if any, set aside for Jewish preschools. "It was Jolene who recognized the need for financial assistance for preschoolers,” Helen Risch said. “We need to be aware that we must educate our children and their parents to maintain the continuity of Judaism. When the parents get together to see what their children are learning, they, too, continue the process of education. We have to start with the very first school experience, and commit to teaching preschool-aged children about values and our Jewish traditions.”
Helen Risch spoke thoughtfully about the gift to the community of scholarship funds. “I wondered, ‘how can we give people the opportunity to do this?’ Preschool is a place for teaching children information and values. But it is also very important to remember the parental side to this equation. We want the parents to become comfortable having their children in this type of setting.”
Helen grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home, and now, as a member of Temple Emanu-el, has continued many of the traditions within her family. Helen and Frank’s grandchildren are in Jewish day schools in Dallas and Houston. Parents want the best education for their children, of course. “It is very interesting to me,” Helen shared an observation. “There is a fear that if you isolate children in a Jewish setting, they won’t be able to make it in the outside world. To the contrary, I feel that they do better as a result of a Jewish education, in that they become much more aware of who they are and their place in the world.” Helen, a school psychologist in Dallas, knows how well and quickly children can learn. “We have twin grandchildren in a Jewish preschool in Houston. Yesterday, my daughter-in law called and said, ‘Helen, here is a little song for you.’ My granddaughter, at age three, and her twin brother sang the “Shema” all the way through! Now that they know it, they will always know it. And they’ll never be uncomfortable with it or who they are.”
Helen Risch is very candid about one aspect of the Helen E. Risch Preschool Scholarship Endowment fund. “This is just a start. It can’t be just Frank and Helen, but everyone who needs to be involved in the education of young children. Our hope is that people will start or add to this or other preschool scholarship funds at the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation.”
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NEWS COVERAGE OF THE HELEN E. RISCH SCHOLARSHIP