Visitors from a national Christian ministry wrote personal letters of gratitude to local Holocaust survivors after touring Cherry Hill's Esther Raab Holocaust Museum & Goodwin Education Center in July.

The group belongs to the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry's Encounter program, a short-term training experience that brings participants to the Philadelphia area each summer to learn about Jewish life and serve the local Jewish community.

Each summer, the ministry convenes members from across the country for three separate weekends in the area, according to the Jewish Community Voice, which reported the visit on Wednesday. Activities range from touring Jewish sites in New York City to volunteering with South Jersey organizations.

During this stop at the Raab/Goodwin Museum on Springdale Road, participants wrote letters to Holocaust survivors that will be distributed at an upcoming Café Europa gathering. The letters thanked survivors for continuing to share their stories with younger generations and for being valued members of the community.

Café Europa is a monthly program run by Jewish Family & Children's Service of Southern New Jersey, also based at 1301 Springdale Road. It brings survivors together for luncheons, cultural outings, and intergenerational events with local middle and high school students. More than 100 survivors have attended in a single year, according to the Claims Conference.

Helen Kirschbaum, director of the Esther Raab Holocaust Museum & Goodwin Education Center, and Mike Staff, assistant director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern New Jersey, joined the FOI group for the museum tour. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern NJ, which operates the museum, credited its partnership with the JCF for helping arrange the annual visits.

The museum reaches more than 30,000 people per year and works with over 250 schools and community organizations across the region, according to the JCRC. It also maintains archival testimonies from more than 100 local survivors and concentration camp liberators.

Coming up: The next Café Europa gathering has not yet been publicly scheduled. Residents interested in the Raab/Goodwin Museum can contact Helen Kirschbaum at (856) 751-9500, ext. 1249. The museum is located at 1301 Springdale Road, Suite 200, Cherry Hill.