SFCS Honors Margaret Smith and Emily Vallario at Scarsdale Golf Club
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Margaret Smith and Emily Vallario were honored at the Scarsdale Family Counseling Service Starry Night Annual Gala at Scarsdale Golf Club on Thursday night May 12, the organization's 23rd spring fundraiser. The evening featured the music of the Del Bocas, a silent auction, a raffle and dinner and drinks. It was a beautiful warm night and guests gathered on the patio to enjoy the sunshine and views of the golf course.
The event was arranged by co-chairs Elise Flagg, Wendy Berk and Denise Koslowsky, with the help of a committee of eighteen volunteers.
SFCS President Kathy Steves welcomed 
everyone and introduced Executive Director Jay Genova who said that SFCS is now running over 60 parent support groups along with social skills support groups, programs for senior residents and providing family counseling to those in need. This year they are working on the launch of a new website, undergoing a renovation of their offices and have a new logo for branding.
Steves said that Margaret Smith and staff member Emily Vallario were honored for their "exemplary history of dedication to the critical work of the Scarsdale Drug and Alcohol Task Force. The Open Door award recognizes their exceptional work in the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse among our teens."
State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin thanked the honorees for keeping the organization viable in Scarsdale and for "making sure we are healthy in every way." She said they "address problems that we don't see," and gave them each citations.
Saying that "families matter, " Jay Genova thanked the Rotary Club and the Scarsdale Concours for their donations and introduced Margaret Smith who he called "the consummate volunteer."
Poised and confident, Smith said, "I didn't think I deserved a night of the Del Bocas.!" She said "we stand on the shoulders of those came before us when the task force launched in 1984." She said she was exhilarated to be part of something greater than herself and was "thrilled to re-invigorate the task force." She accepted the award "in the spirit of collaboration that will allow us to achieve our goals."
Emily Vallario acknowledged the volunteers who work to keep Scarsdale youth safe and drug-free. She called her colleagues "her work family," who she "counts on for advice and support," and thanked Scarsdale for "16 rewarding years."
Commenting on the evening, Elise Flagg said, "I want to thank the community for their support at the SFCS Fundraiser on May 12 at Scarsdale Golf Club ... our most successful event ever!" Denise Koslowsky, co-chair of the event, said, "It is all about community, and seeing the perfect blend of old and new Scarsdale come together to support SFCS so that they can continue doing such wonderful, important work is thrilling".
4 Local Students Named National Merit Scholars, Moody's Upgrades Scarsdale's Rating
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Four local students have been named 2016 National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners. They are:
- Harry S. Chalfin – Scarsdale High School
- Jeremy B. Goldstein –Edgemont High School
- Charles B. Musoff – Scarsdale High School
- Garrett W. Tanzer – Scarsdale High School
According to the NMSC, the 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.
National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state's percentage of the nation's graduating high school seniors.
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
NMSC finances most of these single-payment National Merit $2500 Scholarships. Corporations and company foundations that sponsor awards through NMSC also help underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees. Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
This year's competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2014 when over 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation's high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis. Only these 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
From the Semifinalist group, 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2016 program, about 7,500 Finalists will have earned the "Merit Scholar" title and received a total of about $33 million in college scholarships.
NMSC, a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 440 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC's goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.
Scarsdale Receives Aaa Bond Rating
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the Aaa rating on Scarsdale Union Free School District, NY's $45 million in outstanding general obligation debt. At this time, Moody's has revised the outlook to stable.
The Aaa rating reflects the district's substantial and affluent tax base, healthy financial position with satisfactory reserve levels and strong fiscal management, and a low debt burden.
Rating Outlook:
The stable outlook reflects our view that the district's financial position has stabilized, the result of conservative budgeting and strong financial management practices.
Scarsdale Kids To Be Honored by Charitable Foundations
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Aerin Cantor, sophomore at Scarsdale High School has been named the 2016 CCFA Take Steps "Honored Hero" for Westchester/Fairfield and Rockland. In addition to the honor, she is also the captain of her team, The Rolling Crohns & Colitis. Co-captaining her team is 4th grade Edgewood student, Ryan Leitner. This year's walk takes place on May 22nd at 4pm at SUNY Purchase College.
Aerin Cantor is living with ulcerative colitis which combined with Crohn's disease, are painful, debilitating digestive diseases affecting more than 1.6 million American adults and children, including an estimated 80,000 patients under the age of 18. Cantor was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when she was in fourth grade. "I started to experience horrible stomach pains, weight loss, bad headaches, and I was really tired all of the time. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I am the only person in my family to be diagnosed with such a disease so it was very new to my family and me. It took time to adjust to this new change."
"I am sharing all this information with you so everyone understands the importance of research and fundraising to help find a cure," says Aerin Cantor. "I am proud to say that in the past six years, our team has raised almost $100,000! I hope that you will be able to participate and help me and others fight for a common goal, to cure these invisible diseases! Join the fight and walk with me on Sunday, May 22nd!" You can donate to Aerin and her team by clicking here.
Light the Night Honors Ross Silverberg
The Connecticut Westchester Hudson Valley Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) has named Ross Silverberg of Scarsdale as an Honoree for its 2016 Westchester County Light The Night® Event. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Event raises funds to support blood cancer research and provide services to patients and their families. Each Light The Night Event honors local blood cancer survivors and commemorates individuals who have lost their lives to these diseases. The Westchester County Light The Night Event will take place on Saturday, November 5th at Kingsland Point Park in Historic Sleepy Hollow, NY.
Registration is now open here.
Ross was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when he was two years old in September 2014. His family noticed that he was walking with a limp and little Ross kept complaining of bone pain. Ross's family took him to the doctor where a blood test confirmed his diagnosis of ALL. Ross is currently in treatment and having endured intense chemotherapy, spinal taps, and loss of his hair, he is now in the maintenance phase for treatment, allowing him to be and feel normal once again. His hair is growing back and his personality has returned in full force. The maintenance phase has allowed Ross to be around his family and friends and finally start school. Although Ross is in the maintenance phase, he still has to go through many more chemotherapy treatments and is still taking his oral chemotherapy on a nightly basis. In addition, Ross endures spinal taps every three months as well as steroids. Ross still has until December 2017 to be finally declared a cancer survivor.
Though Ross has had a difficult journey, his family says that he never lets them see him sweat. According to his mother, Jill, "Ross is a fighter and one of the strongest boys out there. " Through all of this, Ross never loses his spirit, laughter, or sense of humor and he enjoys spending time playing baseball, collecting matchbox cars, working on arts and crafts, and spending time with his family and friends.
Cycle for Life at Flywheel
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Two years ago, and just a few months after her twins Alexis and Sophie were born, Scarsdale's Victoria Landau got some frightening news. She was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a slow-growing form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Her cancer is categorized as non-symptomatic, and she is currently on a watch and wait protocol.
But she's doing anything but sitting around waiting. After she learned what she faced she decided to put her philanthropic background to use, and help to find a cure.
She got involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to further their mission to help others who have been diagnosed with blood cancer to have the chance to live the life that she has right now. Many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients, but are also used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers and are in clinical trials for patients with lung, brain, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. And LLS funded drugs like targeted therapies and immunotherapies are now saving thousands of lives every day.
On May 18 from 6:30 – 7:45 pm at Flywheel in Scarsdale, Victoria will be joined by friends in a ride to raise awareness and funds for blood cancers. All donations are tax deductible and support LLS research, patient services, advocacy, public and professional education, and community services as well.
This fundraising effort is part of the LLS Women of the Year campaign. They nominate various people across the country to fundraiser over a 10-week period from March 31st to June 11. Whoever raises the most becomes man and women of the year. Each person runs their own campaign and can host as many events as they like leading to the grand gala at the Greenwich Hyatt on 6/11.
Sign up to ride by clicking here:
Scarsdale Couple to be Honored by Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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Although she raised more than $250,000 over the past 7 years for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF is the largest private funder of type 1 diabetes research), Lisa Gans was surprised when she got the call that she and her husband were nominated as the honorees for this year's JDRF Gala. Her one stipulation: that the dress code be changed from black tie to cocktail attire because her husband and she like to keep things low-key.
Lisa got involved with fundraising for JDRF in 2008 when her husband, Jeremy, who was diagnosed with the life-long disease at age 5, decided to ride in the JDRF "Ride to Cure Diabetes." Jeremy had not been involved with JDRF since his childhood. But when he happened to see a table-mate at a cancer fundraiser whip out her pump to give herself insulin before eating, he struck up a conversation and discovered she was training for the JDRF Ride. He decided to join her and Lisa jumped in to raise more than $15,000. They found it to be the most rewarding event of their lives.
The next year was 2009 and the global financial crisis had taken its toll. Feeling uncomfortable about asking friends and family to donate to Jeremy's ride again, Lisa decided to host a carnival in her backyard and raise money that way. She took what would have been their own personal annual $10,000 JDRF donation and invested it in a carnival company, prizes, food and new sod, and their backyard carnival was born.
That first carnival raised more than $20,000 in donations; by 2012, they were raising more than double that. With 6 carnivals in total, they have raised more than $250,000. Now the whole town of Scarsdale anticipates the event as the kick-off to summer and looks forward to contributing to a worthy cause while having loads of fun.
T1D is an autoimmune disease in which a person's
pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone people need to get energy from food. T1D strikes both children and adults and has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is currently nothing you can do to prevent it. People with T1D must regularly monitor their blood sugar level, inject or continually infuse insulin through a pump, and carefully balance their insulin doses with eating and daily activities throughout the day and night. However, insulin is not a cure for diabetes, and even with intensive disease management, a significant portion of the day is still spent with either high or low blood sugar levels, placing people with T1D at risk for devastating complications such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, and amputation.
What is Lisa's biggest wish as honoree? That research will one day make her husband's life easier. "He doesn't know what it's like to be free of worry. Type 1 diabetes is so all-consuming, so constant. Even one day without diabetes would be a gift."
About the JDRF Westchester and Fairfield Gala
Date: May 7, 2016
Location: Hyatt Regency, Greenwich, CT
This annual fundraising event, with dinner and dancing, attracts an audience of about 450 guests and businesses from both Westchester and Fairfield Counties and features an exciting evening of entertainment, silent and live auctions and JDRF's Fund A Cure. A goal of $725,000 is set for the evening as JDRF seeks to make a significant impact on T1D research.
Tickets are available here:
