Pavers available for JMCC’s garden

by | Jul 10, 2025 | What’s Happening

The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center is selling pavers to honor loved ones who have passed away or those who have perished in the Holocaust.

The pavers will be placed in the garden adjacent to the museum where thousands of daffodils have been planted. In the fall of 2022, The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center introduced The Daffodil Project to Hampton Roads. The goal of The Daffodil Project is to plant 1.5 million daffodils worldwide to remember the 1.5 million children who lost their lives in the Holocaust, as well as to recognize children everywhere who are victims of violence. A list of children’s names who perished in the Holocaust is available at the museum for those who would like to buy a paver to honor the life of one of these children.

The daffodil was selected because the flower’s yellow color symbolizes the armbands Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust, and the petals represent the six points of the Star of David. These flowers are recognized as symbols of hope and encourage the world to “Never Forget.”

Daffodils for this project have been planted on Portsmouth municipal property, as well as at several Portsmouth churches, Norfolk synagogues, the Sandler Family Campus, The Moses Meyers House, and the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

The Eastern-European-designed Orthodox synagogue, Chevra Thelim, built more than 100 years ago, is the home of the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center. The museum needs Tidewater’s Jewish community’s help to preserve its existence. Aside from Toras Chaim, which operates in Gomley Chesed’s old building, the museum is the only surviving Jewish presence in Portsmouth. To visit the museum, call and arrange a tour.

Pavers are $144 each and can be purchased online at www.jewishmuseumportsmouth.org. After accessing the website, click on the Daffodil Project tab and then click Donate to Friends of Chevra Thelim.