The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County has received a generous gift from Freehold Township resident Dr. Melvin L. Druin and his family for the establishment of the Marilyn Druin Memorial Fund for Education.
The fund, created in memory of Druin’s wife of 39 years and announced on the eighth anniversary of her passing, has been designated to support educational initiatives for children at the museum, including on-site programs, workshops and exhibits in the areas of history, religion and the fine arts.
The museum is in the Mount’s Corner shopping center at the corner of Wemrock Road and Route 537, Freehold Township.
According to a press release, Marilyn Druin was an internationally acclaimed enamelist whose designs in metal and glass are represented in private collections in the United States and Europe, as well as in the collections of the Smithsonian’s American Arts Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design, and the Newark Museum.
In addition to her lifelong passions for her art and her Jewish heritage, she was devoted to children as the mother of three daughters, as a temple youth director for many years (including at Temple Shaari Emeth, Manalapan), and as an instructor of enameling classes and workshops for children and adults, most notably through the Newark Museum. Her dedication to youth inspired the creation of the fund by Druin and his children.
For those interested in seeing Marilyn Druin’s work, the Jewish Heritage Museum will mount an exhibit featuring the enameling of Marilyn Druin and Erica Druin from March 23 through April 25, with a gala invitational opening on March 21 from 2-4:30 p.m.
Donations to the Marilyn Druin Memorial Fund for Education may be made payable to the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County (noting Druin Education Fund on check) and sent directly to the museum at P.O. Box 7078, Freehold, NJ 07728. For more information, contact the museum at 732-252-6990 or visit www.jhmomc.org.