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Company description::
People of Faith Find New Ways To Remember
By Allison Whitlock
Palo Alto, CA April 14, 2004 -- “Who remembers the Armenians?” Hitler said – talking about their massacre earlier in the century. This was the point he used to make when he was challenged in his decision to exterminate the Jews. Memory is power. History has proven this time and time again. Perhaps it is such lessons that keep Jewish people generating new ways to remember things.
Now, a 22 year-old entrepreneur from Silicon Valley is allowing people to send their memories for future delivery. Jeremy Zelkha - the son of an Iraqi Jewish father and Askenazic mother - has founded an innovative service called Across Time. Mindful of his own family’s history, Jeremy uses sophisticated storage and tracking technologies to enable people to pass on memories, culture, and packages to specific people up to 18 years into the future. After only a few months of operation, the Palo Alto company has been heralded by many as a new communicative form that retains the power of memory for future generations.
While still a senior at Oberlin College, Jeremy witnessed how African families are devastated by AIDS when studying abroad in Kenya. He felt that loss of memories is one of the worst things that can happen to a family. Across Time Services debuted last year to provide a simple way for people as diverse as Jewish grandmothers to African AIDS victims to transmit family treasures in synch with life-cycle events. The typical gift in the U.S. is an audio or video message given near the time of a child’s birth, and delivered at his or her coming-of-age ceremony 13 years later. Small items such as quilts, old letters and journals, stuffed animals, and videos are frequently given as well. Religious leaders and others committed to smoothing transitions and bringing people together intergenerationally are welcoming Across Time with great enthusiasm. They know that both the old and the young need some reassurance that Granny will always be there and that there will be something from Grandpa later on.
“Receiving an audio, video, or written message from a family member on the Barmitzvah, or confirmation, or graduation day invokes family bonding experiences of enormous emotional power. It’s a profound experience that brings one to realize how time shapes us, and it endows us with a sense of our place in it.” A Reform Rabbi said.
“As a Jew aware of the turbulent history of my people, it astonished me that there was no service that enabled direct, unfiltered intergenerational giving of family culture and treasures.” Mr. Zelkha said.
Because it seeks to strengthen family and community bonds over the long term, Across Time works closely with churches and congregations to promote use of the service. For each order that comes in, the company donates a substantial percentage of proceeds to the participating church or organization that offers the service as an option to members. This functions as an avenue for religious groups and institutions to raise funds while serving their members and giving back to the community. The first participating institutions joined under the leadership of reverends and rabbi’s who saw the long-term personal, cultural and social value of such gifts.
Across Time is hoping to unveil a non-profit arm of its service later this year that will serve AIDS patients in Kenya. Although the International Red Cross has a similar ‘memory book’ program, Across Time’s Africa program will have strong legal applicability to the property rights of orphans and will enable communication in a multitude of forms.
Jeremy credits his own family’s experience with inspiring him to found Across Time Services as a way to nurture and protect family links even in times of uncertainty. His grandmother and grandfather, Iraqi Jews living in Iran, were taken in for questioning after the Islamic revolution in 1979. After escaping one examination by the authorities, Jeremy’s grandfather told his family that they would be leaving Iran the next day, and to make it look as if they were only going on vacation. Serendipitously, an audio recording of relatives conversing around the dinner table made it into their slim baggage. The recording turned out to be the only link for Jeremy’s brother, sister and he had to his family’s past. He credits it with inspiring him to found Across Time Services as a way to nurture and protect family links even in times of uncertainty. Jeremy is currently arranging a speaking tour to tell the Across Time story to community and religious groups.
“I think the most generative among us are more readily capable of envisioning the future’s children than most people. It’s as if they can already see the baby watching them.” Jeremy said.
Additional information on Across Time Services can be found on the web at www.across-time.com or by emailing info@across-time.com
Photos available from Across Time in JPEG format:
http://www.across-time.com/press1.jpg
Caption: Across Time Founder Jeremy Zelkha giving a speech at a community gathering in Silicon Valley.
http://www.across-time.com/press2.jpg
Caption: Jeremy and his brother Darius embrace at Darius' wedding. Lifecycle events such as births, weddings, and barmitzvahs/confirmations are common occasions for Across Time gifts.
http://www.across-time.com/audiotape.jpg
Caption: A photo of the old audio tape that helped inspire the founding of Across Time.
Contact Person in US: Jeremy Zelkha
Phone: 678-669-0557
Fax: 509-692-9049
Email: info@across-time.com
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