Everything is Bigger in Texas

We’re so excited to share that WIZO USA has a new chapter: WIZO Dallas! A passionate pair of young leaders are at the helm of this new group and we can’t wait to see the impact they will make on their community.

Dallas

58,000 Jews call Dallas, Texas home. And now, so does the newest WIZO chapter in the United States: WIZO Dallas. It joins the three longtime chapters in New York, Florida and California. Susan Hollander and Brooke Bloomberg, both of whom moved from the East Coast to Dallas, have big dreams befitting this large Southern city whose motto is “Find Your All.”

The Founding

Brooke, born and raised in New York, found Susan, born in Colombia and raised in Florida, through mutual friends in the community and the two decided to “run with it.” It — meaning founding a new chapter of WIZO, an organization that both had come to love and identify with in their previous hometowns. They hit the ground running and hosted their first event on Jan. 14.

Susan

“What happened in Israel on October 7 reignited my desire to start a WIZO chapter,” said Susan, a mother of four who has been living in Texas for seven years. She is part of a long line of WIZO women: her grandmother and mother both served as presidents of WIZO Colombia; her husband comes from a similarly long lineage of WIZO women in Belgium. “We both grew up with strong Zionist women and it was a major point of connection for us.”

Brooke

Brooke had attended several WIZO events in NY and after moving to Dallas 9 months ago with her husand and baby daughter, she connected with WIZO USA Co-President Mireille Manocherian to get the ball rolling on a local chapter. “In Dallas, there are a lot of large Jewish umbrella organizations, but there is nothing that feels specific. WIZO is so targeted, and supports the most vulnerable women, children, and families in Israel.”

The Right Time

The two women felt that Dallas was ripe for a new women’s organization. “The women here are so Zionist,” said Susan, who had considered starting a chapter over the years but didn’t feel that it was the right time. When Brooke reached out to Susan after October 7, the time to execute was now. “The emotional effects of this war will reverberate through our people for a long time, and we need to be there for them now and after the war.”