Jewish Women International proudly announces Gail Grandis as the 2026 recipient of the Sofie Stahl Memorial Award.
Originally created by The Day chapter of JWI (then B’nai B’rith Women) and the Stahl Family, the award honors a Jewish woman whose volunteerism demonstrates a life-long commitment to helping those in the Richmond metropolitan area. Winners of this highly coveted honor (with few exceptions, given annually since 1963) are chosen by previous years’ recipients.
This year Mrs. Grandis will be honored at a Sunday luncheon (12:30 p.m.) at the 601 North Parham Road location of Temple Beth-El.
The public is invited to join JWI, previous Sofie Stahl recipients as well as Gail’s family and friends for the presentation of this well-deserved award. Per person couvert (minimum to attend) for the event is $54. Pledge levels are Gold $90 and Platinum $126. To RSVP, checks (payable to JWI) should be mailed by April 9th to JWI, c/o Arlene Slutzah, 4907 Daffodil Circle, Glen Allen, VA 23060.
For more information contact Arlene at 804-747-0765 or email her at arlene4907@gmail.com.
About JWI
Founded in 1897, JWI is the leading Jewish organization championing women and girls by fighting gender-based violence, preventing domestic violence and sexual abuse, addressing the intersection of domestic violence and gun violence, building pathways to long-term economic security, and strengthening access to every level of leadership in our communities, workplaces, and country. JWI envisions a world, free of violence and inequity, where all women and girls thrive.
As in past years, proceeds from the Sofie Stahl event support JWI’s National Library Initiative, a program that provides for a woman fleeing an abusive relationship, when the immediacy of danger often means leaving home with only her children and the clothes on their backs, and where JWI helps ease this traumatic upheaval by creating children's libraries in domestic violence shelters – transforming basic spaces into comforting havens with colorful furniture and rugs, computers and toys, and hundreds of new books that represent the diversity of the women and children served. For kids whose lives have been upended by violence, JWI libraries provide a safe place to relax, escape into a book, and keep up with homework when they're most at risk of falling behind in school.
JWI’s goal is to complete 100 fully-furnished new libraries in shelters across the country, and continually restock the shelves of existing ones so that each child leaves the shelter with a favorite book in hand, ready to start a new life.