Good Work

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 14 March 2016; Created: 14 March 2016; Last Updated: 14 March 2016; Hits: 5338

Marion Borko, of Manhattan; Kathleen Winterroll, Annette Cappucci, and Geralyn Della Cava, all of Scarsdale.

The Friends of White Plains Hospital held their third annual Mah Jong and Martinis fundraiser at Bistro 808 in Scarsdale on Thursday, March 3rd. More than 60 women attended the event, which included cocktails and Mah Jong play, and provided participants an opportunity to hear about the substantial growth and expansion initiatives at White Plains Hospital. Chaired by Wendy Berk and Eileen Meyers, both of Scarsdale, the event raised funds for the refurbishment of the White Plains Hospital pediatric playroom.

Event Co Chairs Eileen Meyers and Wendy Berk, both of Scarsdale.

Debbie Farfel, Tracey Lee and Elissa Kramer, all of Scarsdale

Julie and Warren Breakstone Honored at Temple Israel Gala

Julie and Warren Breakstone

Assemblywoman, Amy Paulin, speaking on behalf of over 400 attendees, expressed gratitude to Scarsdale residents, Julie and Warren Breakstone as outstanding Young Leaders, and to honorees, Rosalee and Morty Weinstein, last Saturday evening at Temple Israel Center of White Plains' Annual Gala. Michelle Steinhart, TIC White Plains' Director of Inclusion, received Special Tribute. Scarsdale resident, and president of TIC White Plains, Ellen Salant, delivered further accolades, as well as White Plains mayor, Tom Roach and Rabbi Gordon Tucker. For more details about this festive event go to www.templeisrarelcenter.org.

The Breakstones, The Wensteins, Ellen Salant, Amy Paulin and Tom Roach

Details: Written by Lynne Elcik; Published: 07 March 2016; Created: 07 March 2016; Last Updated: 07 March 2016; Hits: 4740

Carol Wolfe and Charlotte Byers Raise Awareness for NY Pet Rescue

On March 3rd, Scarsdale Golf Club hosted a new paddle tournament event, "Paddle for a Cause". In response to the significant growth of the ladies paddle tennis program, Ian Longua, SGC's Director of Racquet Sports, and the club's MIPTL flight 9 team captains have had to be creative to provide a variety of paddle tennis opportunities for their newest team players.

The Scarsdale Golf Club ladies paddle team program has recently seen an increase in its number of players. New players have nearly doubled in number, in each of the last three years. In addition to Ian, Bill Minard, General Manager, and Connie Mintzer, Director of Sales and Catering, were key supporters in getting this new tournament idea implemented in a short six week time frame.

Paddle for a Cause was envisioned as an opportunity for players new to paddle tennis to participate in a tournament venue. There are several tournament opportunities for the more experienced paddle players throughout the season. Players new to paddle are also interested in participating in more match opportunities, but don't necessarily want to join venues where they are significantly out played.

Paddle for a Cause was available only to flight 9 players -

Dawn Pintauro, Tyson Newton, Monica Mullan and Maggie Shaw from NYAC

the beginning team level in MIPTL. Players signed up in pairs and identified which charity they were supporting. A portion of the registration fees went to a tournament pot to be donated to the winning pair's charity of choice The tournament was fully subscribed in two weeks after opening for registration. For this year, the registration was limited to 12 pairs, although the hope is to expand for next year and include more levels of play.

Players came from many Westchester County Clubs including Scarsdale Golf Club, Fox Meadow Tennis Club, New York Athletic Club and Coveleigh Club. Charities Identified by players before the tournament began included: Happy Hearts, Memorial Sloan Kettering, My Sister's Place, NY Pet Rescue, Friends of Pelham Public Library, GoFundMe: Help Laverne Sharon Kick Cancer (a Fox Meadow teacher), PaulieStrong (Pediatric Cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering), SoulRyders, and Autism Speaks. Players were encouraged to dress in support of their charity. SGC's Charlotte Byers and Carol Wolfe were best dressed in support of NY Pet Rescue.

Tournament winners Tammy Fine and Debra Holstein

The championship round was played by Tammy Fine/Debbie Holstein of FMTC playing for Memorial Sloan Kettering and Claudia Uribe-Galeano/Leslie Andersen of SGC playing for PaulieStrong. Tammy and Debbie were the winners of the finals. In the true spirit of charity before the championship round began both pairs agreed that regardless of the result the tournament pot would be donated to PaulieStrong. The PaulieStrong Foundation was developed to support research for pediatric cancers in memory of Paul Ulysses Jimenez, a Greenacres School student who lost his battle with cancer this year. A total of $1325 was raised.

Congratulations to all tournament participants. It was a fun day, built a great sense of community among neighbors and raised money for a worthy cause.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 18 February 2016; Created: 18 February 2016; Last Updated: 18 February 2016; Hits: 5604

Emily Vallario and Margaret Smith with Senator Check Schumer

On Thursday evening, May 12th, Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service will honor two of Scarsdale's brightest stars at their annual spring fundraiser event, Starry Night at the Scarsdale Golf Club. Long time SFCS employee Emily Vallario and community volunteer Margaret Smith will be honored with SFCS' prestigious Open Door Award. The duo is being recognized for their work in re-vitalizing the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol, a community action group dedicated to reducing underage alcohol use and all illegal drug use.

Emily wears many hats in Scarsdale where she began her career sixteen years ago. She serves as a Youth Outreach Worker with middle school aged youth and their families and has also filled the role of Youth Services Project Team Leader, Parent Support Group Program Coordinator, and liaison to numerous Scarsdale youth serving organizations.

In July 2014, Emily was promoted to the position of SFCS Director of Community Services, and this past September, she assumed the role of Project Coordinator of the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol. As coordinator, Emily has worked to re-engage the various community groups and representatives that make up the Task Force, has advocated for meaningful teen representation and is harnessing the power of social media as the means of distributing prevention messages to youth. "What impresses me most about Emily is that after sixteen years, she comes to work every day with the same energy she had during her first week on the job" said SFCS Executive Director, Jay Genova who has known Vallario since they were hired together by SFCS in 2000. When she's not busy with her professional obligations, Emily enjoys spending time with her husband, Steve and her two children, Julia age 10, Joseph age 7 and their dog Tucker.

Community volunteer Margaret Smith has served on multiple boards and in varied leadership positions within the schools and the village. Margaret is the current President of the High School PTA and was previously President of the Heathcote PTA, President of PT Council, and past chair of the School Board Nominating Committee. She is on the board of the Friends of the Scarsdale Library and has also served on the boards of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, the Junior League of Central Westchester and as a member of the Rheumatology Council at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Margaret is currently pursuing a master's degree at the New York Medical College's School of Public Health and now works at SFCS on her public heath practicum for her degree. As a Public Health Assistant to SFCS and the Task Force she been instrumental in implementing the Strategic Prevention Framework, an evidence based model of community prevention and developing the communities prevention work plan.

Margaret and her husband Larry have been residents of Scarsdale for 24 years, and have raised three children here. Husband Larry says, "Margaret has the unique ability to bring people together and she works tirelessly to make Scarsdale a better place for all its residents."

Emily and Margaret recently attended a national conference on adolescent drug and alcohol prevention in Washington D.C. where they met with Senator Charles Schumer as part of the conference's legislative rally. Genova said that "Emily and Margaret have breathed life back into the Task Force, educating themselves, sharing their commitment to service and of course their passion for improving the well being of the youth of Scarsdale." "

Members of the Scarsdale community are invited to join SFCS in honoring Emily Vallario and Margaret Smith at an evening filled with fun, friends, dancing and dining.

A Starry Night will serve as SFCS's spring fundraiser, and will feature the live music of The Del Bocas. The event will be held at The Scarsdale Golf Club. To purchase event tickets, or to place an ad in our journal, please go to: www.sfcsinc.org and follow the link to a Starry Night or call 914-723-3281.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 02 March 2016; Created: 02 March 2016; Last Updated: 02 March 2016; Hits: 4152

Event Chairs Brooke Fina and Liz Brucker make sandwiches

Forty Scarsdale women came together to make 500 sandwiches to feed those who might otherwise go hungry at the JCC of Mid-Westchester in Scarsdale on February 24, 2016. The sandwiches, made by UJA-Federation of New York's Scarsdale Women's Philanthropy, will be distributed to clients of the Bronx Jewish Community Council (BJCC), a UJA-Federation beneficiary agency. BJCC's food pantry, which serves anyone in need, is the third-largest in the borough, serving more than 3,700 meals per month, with demand increasing each year.

"Sandwiches: part of our daily routine, right? A simple meal that we take for granted," said Event Chair Liz Brucker of Scarsdale. "But did you know that by making sandwiches for the food pantry at Bronx Jewish Community Council, we are feeding the hungry and saving lives?"

"This event allows us, as a community, to fight hunger

Allyson Wisel, Andrea Miller, and Lisa Flicker

and food insecurity in New York and around the world, a major priority at UJA-Federation and right in line with its mission," explained Brooke Fina of Scarsdale, who also served as an event chair. "UJA supports nearly 100 health, human-service, educational, and community nonprofits that improve people's lives. One hundred nonprofits that help 4.5 million people each and every year. Think about that for a minute. Everyone in this room is a part of creating that change."

UJA Grants:
UJA announced that it is awarding grants in excess of $10,000 to local synagogues that use Baby Boomer volunteers in local outreach projects for those in our community who are most in need.

These grants are part of a pilot program of UJA-Federation of New York's Engage Jewish Service Corps, whose mission it is for Boomers and beyond to effect powerful change within the community through hands-on activities. Engage Westchester is involved with curating and linking people with organizations who need help with hundreds of projects in Westchester. The recipients and projects of these grants cover a wide array of activities and represent various geographic communities throughout Westchester. The recipients and projects awarded are:

Larchmont Temple - Activities focused on arts and crafts, dance, music and the environment with children living at The Coachman in White Plains

Congregation Sons of Israel (Briarcliff Manor) - kids kloset cropped 23 1st project - Monthly community Ha Mishpacha luncheons in which both Engage and CSI volunteers will bake and serve food for the elderly and participate in a June sing-along under the direction of Engage in Song; 2nd project - Soup in a Jar project for the Ossining Food Pantry

Temple Israel of New Rochelle - 1st project – March, sorting and packing for The Sharing Shelf teen girl clothing event which will be taking place in April; 2nd project -volunteers participate in a June cooking class with New Rochelle restaurateur while preparing food for Community Services Associates

Shaaray Tefila/Greenburgh Hebrew Center/Temple Beth Abraham (Tarrytown)/Congregation Emanu-El (Rye) - May 22nd Needlecrafts Mitzvah Day of knitting, crocheting and quilting to benefit vulnerable children, teens and adults in Israel.

Upon hearing that her synagogue was one of the recipients, Judy Boehr, Social Action chair at CSI Briarcliff said, "... Receiving this money will make a big difference for two groups of people in need: Our monthly "Hamishpacha" luncheon program for seniors... Our guests look forward to this program as a way of socializing and learning each month. Because of this generous grant, we will also be able to provide "soup in a jar" to families who use the Ossining Food Pantry. Each week needy members of our community come to the Pantry to select groceries. Being able to provide the ingredients for a nutritious pot of soup will definitely help them feed their families. We are happy to be able to add project to our ongoing work with the Pantry. Thank you, Engage." Deborah Blatt, Social Action Chair at Temple Israel of New Rochelle added, " ... we are already working to build opportunities for our empty-nesters. We are excited that this grant will allow us to pair our synagogue's community service work with these opportunities." For more information on Engage Service Corp please contact engage@rosnethaljcc.org or call Maida Silver at (914)741-0333 ext. 48.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 09 February 2016; Created: 09 February 2016; Last Updated: 10 February 2016; Hits: 6174

Dace Dace Aperans, music teacher at Quaker Ridge Elementary School will receive the Grand Music Award in Latvia on March 1. We asked her to share more about her good news and here is what she said:

The Grand Music Award is the highest Latvian state award in music. Since 1993, the Grand Music award has recognized each year's major musical achievements in various categories. A respected jury of Latvian musicians and musicologists decides upon the nominees and various categories of the award.

I have been nominated, and will receive the award - symbolized by a silver statuette, for "Popularizing the academic (classical) music of Latvia worldwide."

The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and "Latvian Concerts" host the ceremony, which will take place on the stage of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in the capitol city of Riga, Latvia. Latvian television and radio will broadcast the event live. I will travel to Riga at the end of the month, in order to attend the ceremony on March 1.

My parents were Latvian immigrants and they instilled in me a deep love and interest in the music and culture of Latvia. In 1989, shortly before Latvia again became an independent country, I first traveled there and was fortunate to meet a group of Latvian composers in Riga. Since I am a composer myself, this was a very meaningful experience for me. After returning home to New York, I began to look for ways to introduce the music of Latvian composers to cultural organizations and performers in North America. Then in 1994, I organized the first International Masterclasses for Young Latvian Musicians in Latvia, a professional music camp with a faculty largely from the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music, as well as Latvian teaching artists from around the world, with participants from all of Latvia's music high schools and the Academy of Music.

I have furthered my knowledge of Latvian classical and contemporary music and met many outstanding Latvian performers, educators and talented young artists at these biannual music camps, the twelfth of which will take place this July. Through the years, I have organized concerts and tours for Latvian performers in venues such as the Weill Concert Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Park Avenue Christian Church and others. Last summer, I was delighted to be a contributor for the very first "24 Hours of Latvian New Music" radio marathon for Q2 Music, a division of WQXR/NPR. In Latvia, I have also had the privilege of working with the wonderful announcers and musicologists at the Latvian National Radio "Klasika".

With my first visit to Latvia, I feel as if I began a beautiful and unique journey that to this day continues to enrich my musical and personal life, as well as teaching in countless ways.

Congratulations to Dace Aperans!