The annual Caroline Herschel Award was launched in 2017 by the Old Herschelian Association to celebrate the extraordinary impact that Old Herschelians have made in South Africa and the world beyond. The award seeks to recognise and celebrate the valued, lasting contributions of Herschel alumni in making a significant difference in a community, industry, arena of life or field of study.
The Award is awarded to a living Old Herschelian, who was nominated by a fellow Old Herschelian for consideration. Nominations are requested between June and November of each year, with selection of the recipient being made end-November of that same year by the Caroline Herschel Award Committee.
In 2018, the Old Herschelians Association received nine nominations for the Caroline Herschel Award. The selection committee reviewed each and every nomination thoroughly and although the decision was a difficult one, in the end the overwhelming choice for the 2019 Caroline Herschel Award was Brendalyn Stempel.
Brendalyn matriculated from Herschel in 1959, after which she became a graduate of UCT in education in 1963. Brendalyn was a full-time teacher for 8 years and during her time taught at the Herschel Preparatory school. She has two children, Kerry and Glen-John. Kerry is an Old Herschelian, as are Brendalyn’s granddaughters Emily and Hannah.
Brendalyn’s experiences have been diverse and interesting! Her passions and professions have taken her all over the world, meeting people from all walks of life and getting to create wonderful philanthropic projects and opportunities that benefit others far beyond what even she could have imagined.
As long as she can remember, Brendalyn has always wanted to help people in as many ways as possible. Brendalyn married a New Yorker, Ernest Stempel, who had a family foundation of which he and his children were the trustees. Brendalyn wanted to extend the Foundation’s scope to include South Africa where the need was so desperate and the impact would be much greater. Together they started the Brendalyn and Ernest Stempel Foundation, a small family foundation in which Brendalyn has involved both her son and daughter to support with the Foundation’s work. The foundation is focused on three areas of giving – Education, Children and the Arts.
There are a number of projects worldwide with which the Foundation is involved. These include:
Africa: The Africa Foundation, sponsoring students in SA, Tanzania and Kenya
USA: The New York Institute of Technology (School of Architecture and Design)
South Africa: Herschel Girls School, Bishops, The Red Cross Children’s Hospital, The Laureus Foundation, Shawco, UCT, Operation Smile, the Ruth Prowse Art Centre
Bermuda: Bermuda National Trust, Masterworks Art Centre
Herschel Girls School, and in particular The Stempel Herschel Family, was the first charity the Foundation contributed to, starting with a scholarship for one daughter of an Old Herschelian in 2000. Since those early beginnings, the family have added funds from the CV Starr Foundation and between that foundation and the Brendalyn and Ernest Stempel Foundation to date they have provided, and are in the process of providing, scholarships for 92 Herschel students. Brendalyn supports five new students in Grade 8 each year. These scholarships are for the daughter of an Old Herschelian, a scholarship for an all-rounder and three CV Starr Scholarships for previously disadvantaged students.
Said Brendalyn, “I am most honoured, and humbled to accept the Caroline Herschel Award. Thank you most sincerely. The enriching of other people’s lives is a wonderful privilege and gives deep contentment. To quote one of my favourite Chinese Proverbs – “A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses.”
