Unknown Child Foundation hosts A Night To Shine

Photo: Priscilla Presley listens during the program of “A Night To Shine” at the Landers Center in Southaven. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

Dec 20, 2024- The Unknown Child Foundation has continued work to place a permanent exhibit in DeSoto County that remembers the 1.5 million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust during World War II. 

The foundation came about 15 years ago, spurred by the efforts of school children who collected 1.5 million pennies to visibly show the massive loss of young exterminated life by the German Nazis. 

While the work for a permanent exhibit continues, a temporary display remains as part of the DeSoto County Museum in Hernando and the foundation is now working to put in place a mobile exhibit to take the exhibit’s story out into other parts of the Mid-South.  

That was part of the message during a recent celebration of the Foundation’s 15th anniversary called “A Night To Shine,” held at the Landers Center in Southaven, and featuring Priscilla Presley as guest speaker.  

As part of her message, Presley urged those attending to lean into the Unknown Child Project, helping to make children first in the world, cherish them and teach them to be kind and giving. 

“Our human resources may be limited, but our compassion and creativity to help others is not,” Presley said.  “Children today are in jeopardy everywhere, through poverty, homelessness, sickness and starvation, war, and a lack of education.” 

Presley, who was married to rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley, said it is more important now for the Unknown Child Project to be built. 

“It is more important now than ever to act on the larger mission of the Unknown Child Foundation to educate the world on the necessity of protecting all children,” Presley said. 

Plans remain for the permanent exhibit to be constructed at the Circle G Ranch site in Horn Lake, a ranch Elvis Presley owned at one time and was the honeymoon cottage of Elvis and Priscilla Presley.  

Priscilla Presley noted in her remarks the Unknown Child Exhibit would be the only one outside of Israel dedicated to the 1.5 million youthful victims of Nazi atrocities in the Holocaust.  

The program of “A Night To Shine” featured a video proclamation by Gov. Tate Reeves marking Monday, Dec. 16 at Unknown Child Holocaust Memorial Day. 

The initial Pennies Project, conceived by then-Horn Lake Middle School instructors Susan Powell and Melissa Webster, along with volunteer Diane McNeil, happened as the teachers discovered how little their students knew about the Holocaust. They charged the students to start collecting pennies, one for each Jewish child who died, thinking the entire project would be done by the end of the school year. 

The process took three-and-a-half years to complete and it was not done before more than four tons of pennies had been collected. 

The Horn Lake students were aided by a homeschool group called Gen SC, who joined into the collection. Gen SC also raised $25,000 to purchase a small model, called a maquette, of the Unknown Child statue to give to Jack Cohen, a Holocaust survivor who shared his story with them.  

Monday night, Gen SC graduate Zeke Turner presented a check for an additional $13,000 to the Unknown Child Foundation. 

Architect Doug Thornton then explained what is next for the Unknown Child Exhibit.  

The 1.5 million pennies collected by the Pennies Project will surround the placement of the sculpture to represent the one and a half million children murder by the Nazis.