After decades of informally providing help as needed throughout our communities, the RWR Network formally became a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We’re rooted in six years of direct service to Holocaust survivors, caregivers, and vulnerable community members.

What began as deeply personal work — supporting low-income survivors and their families — has grown into a movement. RWRN now serves second and third generation trauma survivors, Jewish first responders, and a community navigating unprecedented collective grief.

Our programming is trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and built around one belief: that healing is not a luxury. It’s a right.

Our Mission

Trauma travels — through families, through generations, through the relentless scroll of devastating news. RWRN addresses inherited and collective trauma where mainstream systems fall short: with culturally sensitive care, community-centered healing, and programming built specifically for Jewish lives and Jewish grief.

What We Do

In six years, RWRN has hosted 650+ seminars, Zooms, and trainings, produced 35+ in-person events, distributed 800+ original resources, and served more than 9,500 people in-person — with thousands more reached online. We operate drop-in centers in Brooklyn and Boca Raton and maintain a volunteer network across New York, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and California.

Our work includes:

• Trauma-informed seminars and educational programming
• One-on-one advocacy and resource navigation
• Holocaust education and survivor support
• Pro bono resource and attorney matchmaking
• Small gifts and emergency assistance
• Healing-centered community experiences

 

Our Initiatives

💛 Next Gen Healing (Launched January 2026) Trauma doesn’t end with the survivor. Next Gen Healing is RWRN’s expanded initiative serving 2G and 3G Jews, Jewish first responders, and a community still processing October 7 — through webinars, in-person events, downloadable resources, and curated healing experiences. Because healing the next generation means healing all of us.

💛 The Kumzits (Newsletter & Community) Jewish News and Newsy Jews — The Kumzits is RWRN’s free newsletter featuring Jewish news, culture, and community, including our beloved Ki Tov Tuesdays: a weekly dose of good news for the Jews. Part celebration, part connection, part gentle reminder that light exists even in dark times. The Kumzits is part of RWRN’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit mission  bringing the warmth of a kumzits gathering to inboxes everywhere. Subscribe at kumzits.substack.com

💛 Caring Connections (Launched September 2024) A series of events connecting community members, volunteers, Holocaust survivors, and 2G adult children — creating intergenerational bonds and reducing isolation.

💛 Blankets and Hugs (Handmade with Love) Founded by Leah Silber — a child Holocaust survivor, lifelong crafter, and the mother of RWRN’s founders — Blankets and Hugs creates one-of-a-kind handmade blankets for children and young adults undergoing treatment for serious illnesses. Leah designs and makes every blanket herself, donating them as a quiet act of love to children who need comfort most. For every bespoke blanket ordered, one is donated in honor of you or a loved one. A survivor who spent her life giving — still giving. Learn more at blanketsandhugs.com

💛 Pop-up Drop-In Centers (Launched July 2024) Currently operating at multiple locations in Brooklyn, with new sites to be announced. A consistent, welcoming space for survivors, caregivers, and community members.

💛 Ezer | Ezer for Survivors | Ezer 2G+3G (Launched October 2023) Ezer is the Hebrew word for help — and that’s exactly what this is. Launched in the wake of October 7th to meet a surge in need, Ezer is RWRN’s dedicated Jewish division, providing direct support to the broader Jewish community during a time of heightened antisemitism and collective grief. Ezer for Survivors focuses specifically on Holocaust survivors, and Ezer 2G+3G serves their adult children and grandchildren navigating intergenerational trauma. Three divisions. One mission: showing up for the Jewish community when it matters most.

💛 Zoom Programs for 2G (Since March 2020) Weekly and monthly programming for survivors, 2G, and caregivers — developed in partnership with organizations nationally, with hubs in New York and Florida.

Why We Do It

When people ask how a founder-led nonprofit takes on so much, we return to Isaiah 1:17:

“Learn to do good. Devote yourself to justice. Aid the oppressed. Take up the cause of orphans; plead the case of the widow.”

לִמְד֥וּ הֵיטֵ֛ב דִּרְשׁ֥וּ מִשְׁפָּ֖ט אַשְּׁר֣וּ חָמ֑וֹץ שִׁפְט֣וּ יָת֔וֹם רִ֖יבוּ אַלְמָנָֽה

It’s not complicated. It’s just necessary.

Support Our Work

RWRN is powered by donations of all sizes and fueled by a passionate volunteer community. Every contribution directly funds programming, advocacy, and healing experiences for those who need them most.

Donate today. Help us help others.

💻 Paypal.me/RWRnetwork

📬 Check payable to RWRN: P.O. Box 300041, Brooklyn, NY 11230, Attn: R. Weingarten

RWRN Founders

Founded by the Weingarten Sisters Rachel Weingarten, BFA, CH and Rebecca Weingarten, MSc.Ed, MFA — lifelong community volunteers who recognized a larger need and built something to meet it.

📞 718.218.3672 | ✉️ [email protected]