Dear Sponsors and Valued Supporters,

From its beginning as a small committee of local Jewish volunteers in 1971, the Dallas Jewish Historical Society has grown to be a full service agency that preserves and protects a collection of over 15,000 written, visual and audible materials and oral histories that document the history of the Dallas Jewish community. It makes these materials available to the public and researchers to keep the past as a living legacy for our community.

On May 15, 2022, at Gilley’s Dallas, the Dallas Jewish Historical Society will celebrate 50 years of service to the Greater Dallas Jewish community at its gala event: Jews, Brews, BBQ & Blues – A Celebration of 50 years.

In addition to celebrating at the event, the Dallas Jewish Historical Society will announce new initiatives that will provide even more ways to make an impact on the community for the next decade.

These include the following to be able to meet the current and future needs of an exploding Dallas area Jewish community:

• Expansion of programs to become a regional destination for Dallas Jewish genealogical and historical research and programming
• Completion of the only fully catalogued and searchable physical and virtual archive of Dallas Jewish History that grows over 1,000 items per year
• Necessary expansion of office and archive space to facilitate these initiatives

We want you to be a part of our growth plans and continued success. Please consider a generous gala sponsorship so you can help the Dallas Jewish Historical Society continue to connect present and future generations with Jewish Dallas and our community’s vital role in the growth of the City of Dallas and North Texas.
Sponsorship levels are attached. Thank you for making a difference, and we look forward to seeing you in May.

Pam Schaeffer Pidgeon                          Lauri Olschwanger Prengler

Co-chairs – Jews, Brews, BBQ, and Blues – A Celebration of 50 Years

HEADLINER
$10,000

14 Event tickets with reserved seating, Listed and linked on DJHS website for one fiscal year, DJHS Historical Jewish Dallas Private Bus Tour, Choice of private Genealogy Consultation, Preservation 101, or Scanning Day session

BREWMEISTER
$7,500

12 Event tickets with reserved seating, Private Tour of DJHS Archive, Choice of private Genealogy consultation or Preservation 101 session

GRILL MASTER
$5,000

10 Event tickets, Reserved seating, 1 Hour Genealogy consultation

PIT CAPTAIN
$3,600

8 Event tickets, Preferred seating, Private Preservation 101 session

PIT CREW
$2,500

6 Event tickets, Preferred seating, Private Scanning Day session, Recognition in event program and video

BACK UP VOCALS
$1,500

4 Event tickets, Preferred seating, Recognition in the event program and video

ROADIE
$500
2 Event tickets, Recognition in the event program and video

INDIVIDUAL TICKET
$175

ALL SPONSORS WILL RECEIVE RECOGNITION IN EVENT PROGRAM AND VIDEO; $5000 SPONSORS AND GREATER WILL RECEIVE RECOGNITION ON PRE-, POST- AND EVENT PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

The Dallas Jewish Historical Society became a reality nearly five decades ago.

Watching the demolition of Temple Emanu-El’s early South Dallas building, a concerned group of onlookers, including Ginger Chesnick Jacobs and Ruth Brown Kahn, became acutely aware of the importance of saving local Jewish history. That moment triggered the inspiration for the establishment of the Dallas Jewish Archives, a committee of the Jewish Community Center (JCC), in 1970, which evolved into the  Dallas Jewish Historical Society (DJHS), dedicated to education on and preservation of Dallas Jewish history. With its mission of “preserving the precious past as a living legacy for our community,” the agency is the only one that collects, preserves, and records the history of the entire Greater Dallas Jewish Community.

Within the walls of our Archive are a plethora of documents, photographs, and objects from early Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, families and individuals woven into the fabric of Dallas history. Currently located in the JCC, the DJHS features a climate-controlled vault, allowing for research under the highest archival standards. Since its founding, the DJHS has served as a repository for many agencies in the Jewish Dallas community, with the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas and the Jewish Community Center (JCC) at the forefront. In addition to many treasured artifacts, Dallas Jewish Historical Society continues to expand its collection of oral histories, having gathered nearly 700 personal interviews with members of our Jewish community since 1971.

From Downtown to South Dallas, the Cedars to Goose Valley, Deep Ellum to North Dallas and beyond, Jews have influenced the formation of Dallas. From the long-standing congregations of Temple Emanu-El, Shearith Israel, and Tiferet Israel to the newer houses of worship, and those long since faded into obscurity—Agudas Achim and Anshe Sphard among them—DJHS stands to preserve their past and their future in history. The DJHS safeguards not only our history, but also information on our impact locally,  nationally, and internationally.

Today, the Dallas Jewish Historical Society is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas and is primarily supported by membership contributions.

Our Vision:       To help connect present and future generations with Jewish Dallas

Our Mission:  To preserve and protect collections of written, visual and audible materials that document the history of the Dallas Jewish community, to make these materials available to the public and researchers, and to keep the past as a living legacy for our community

What is the Dallas Jewish Historical Society?

• DJHS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
• We acquire and preserve personal papers, organizational records, photographs, and memorabilia documenting Dallas Jewish community history.
• We serve as an educational research center for historians, writers, students, and genealogists.
• We provide an Annual Lecture series, workshops, and other community programming.
• We record and make available the oral history interviews of individuals and families in the Dallas Jewish community.
• We present exhibits on various aspects of Dallas Jewish community history.
• We are a community partner of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.