Quaker Ridge Kids Raise Money for Pediatric Cancer Foundation
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First and second graders from the Quaker Ridge School used their vacation time to help other children in need. For the past two weeks they made a variety of rainbow loom bracelets and then sold them at the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center in front of All Good Things on Friday, August 16. They had a blast and raised $35 to donate to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Scarsdale Grads Celebrate Let's Get Ready Grads
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Scarsdale residents Jordan Elkins, Griffin Flagg, Ben Fife, Ian Rabin, and David Wiesenfeld volunteered their time once a week as coaches and mentors in Let's Get Ready's White Plains summer program, while Matthew Yaspan, Mallory Minster, John Mermelstein and Jessica Somekh volunteered for the organization's Port Chester program .
Every summer since 2000, roughly 300 low-income high school students have been gathering twice a week at locations in communities throughout Westchester and Southern Connecticut to receive free SAT instruction and college admissions counseling. A free program with roots in Westchester County, Let's Get Ready (www.letsgetready.org) provides students with 30 hours of intensive instruction on math, critical reading, and writing skills, guides them through the college application process and supports them through college.
This summer local programs were held in Port Chester, White Plains, New Rochelle, Yonkers, Sleepy Hollow, Stamford, Ct., and Norwalk, Ct.
Let's Get Ready is the most cost-effective and replicable SAT and college prep program available to low-income high school students today. The organization is able to offer its program at no cost to its participants because college students who are recruited and trained by the organization serve as the tutors and coaches in the program. These collegiate volunteers serve as mentors and provide the inspiration and confidence that high school students need to succeed. And it is working! Participants increase their scores on average by 110 points and 93% of them are admitted to and attend college each year.
EVENTS: Graduation Ceremonies:
WHEN And WHERE: August 15th at 7:30pm at Port Chester Carver Center, 400 Westchester Ave., Port Chester, NY.
WHEN And WHERE: August 15th at 8:00pm Berkeley College, Theater Room 316B, 99 Church St., White Plains, NY
CONTACTS: Brian Dever: 612-414-5321 –Event (bdever@letsgetready.org)
Lauri Novick: 646-808-2766-Program (lnovick@letsgetready.org)
Let's Get Ready programs are built upon collaborations with community organizations and local high schools. Summer sessions in Stamford, Greenwich and Westchester County began in June and were staffed by college student recruits who returned home to Connecticut and Westchester for the summer. Students were divided into groups based on their performance on the test. They were given three diagnostic SAT tests for practice prior to taking the exam to gauge their progress and also received 15 hours of comprehensive information and guidance regarding college selection, applications, financial aid and scholarships.
Let's Get Ready operates programs in partnership with 34 prestigious colleges and universities in the Northeast, in the fall and spring, and with many communities between New Jersey and Maine over the summer.
UJA Donors Tour Louis-Dreyfus Private Collection
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The UJA Federation celebrated their top donors with a tour of the Louis-Dreyfus Family Collection in Mount Kisco, New York, which comprises more than 3,500 paintings, works on paper, and sculptures. The collector is the father of actress Julia Louis=Dreyfus best known for her role on Seinfeld.
The UJA's Eden Society recognizes Westchester individuals and families who contribute a minimum of $10,000 to UJA-Federation's annual campaign.
On June 17, in addition to a welcome from gallery owner William Louis-Dreyfus, Linda Plattus of Scarsdale addressed the group, providing an update on UJA-Federation's 2013 Annual Campaign, which closed on June 30th at $145.3 million, exceeding last year's total by $8.6 million. "While UJA-Federation's accomplishments are remarkable, none of them could be done without our support," said Plattus, who chairs the Eden Society with husband Seth Plattus and Debbie and Richard Yoken of Chappaqua.
"Feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, providing services for the disabled and job training for the unemployed, extending a compassionate hand to the elderly and Holocaust survivors, inspiring a passion for Jewish life and learning, and so much more — none of this could happen if we didn't work together with this organization that we all care so deeply about."
For more information on how to donate or how to volunteer, please visit their website.
Aaron Panken of Scarsdale Named 12th President of Hebrew Union College
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Scarsdale resident and member of Westchester Reform Temple, Dr. Aaron Panken has been elected to serve as the 12th President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). His appointment will be effective as of January 1, 2014, when he succeeds Rabbi David Ellenson, who will become Chancellor.
As a distinguished rabbi and scholar, dedicated teacher, and committed leader of the Reform Movement, Rabbi Panken's vision will inspire HUC-JIR's continued academic excellence in fulfilling its sacred mission. Rabbi Panken has long taught at Westchester Reform Temple and was the congregation's Morgan and Marjorie Miller Scholar-in-Residence in 2011. Every year he holds the afternoon study session on Yom Kippur. Panken is the husband of Lisa Messinger, a past president and current trustee of Westchester Reform Temple.
As HUC-JIR President, Dr. Panken will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the four-campus international university and seminary for Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR's campuses in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles and New York provide the academic and professional training programs for the Reform Movement's rabbis, cantors, educators, and nonprofit management professionals, and offer graduate programs for scholars of all faiths. HUC-JIR's 4,000 active alumni serve the Reform Movement's 1.5 million members and nearly 900 congregations, representing the largest Jewish denomination in North America, and the growing Progressive Movement in Israel and around the world.
Ordained by HUC-JIR in New York in 1991, Rabbi Panken has served as a member of the faculty and as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Dean of the New York campus, and Dean of Students. He has taught Rabbinic and Second Temple Literature at HUC-JIR in New York since 1995, with research interests in the historical development of legal concepts and terms; narrative development; and development of holiday observances.
"We are proud that Dr. Panken will be leading our institution," stated Mr. Engelman. "He is a distinguished rabbi and scholar, dedicated teacher, and committed leader of the Reform Movement for more than three decades. As Vice President and Dean, he has demonstrated his transformative vision by implementing strategic planning initiatives, introducing new technology in support of student learning and administration, strengthening recruitment, launching new programs and partnerships, attracting significant support, and invigorating the ties linking the campuses and the larger community and region. Recognized for his publications and research in Rabbinic Literature and Second Temple Literature, his exemplary leadership and passionate commitment to Reform Judaism and the Jewish people worldwide will inspire HUC-JIR's growth in the 21st century. In selecting this esteemed rabbi and scholar as President for this institution, we are proud to demonstrate HUC-JIR's academic excellence in fulfilling its sacred mission."
"I am greatly honored to be called to serve as the President of HUC-JIR and to strive for ongoing innovation and creativity in strengthening our institution as the intellectual center of Progressive Judaism worldwide," stated Dr. Panken. "Our mission is to help our students grow into authentic Jewish thought leaders, able to articulate and advance their own visions of a rich Jewish life for a new and rapidly changing religious landscape. As we invigorate our partnerships with Reform synagogues and the larger Reform Movement, we will shape a compelling message that will have an impact on the largest denomination of Jews in North America and the growing Progressive Jewish community in Israel and worldwide. By nurturing the entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit of our faculty, staff, and students, we can bring forth new projects and programs that will reimagine Jewish learning, transform the Jewish community, and extend the College-Institute's leadership in Jewish higher education throughout the seminary and university worlds."
An alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Dr. Panken earned his doctorate in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, where his research focused on legal change in Rabbinic Literature. He currently serves on faculty for the Wexner Foundation and the Editorial Board of Reform Judaism Magazine, and has served on the Rabbinical Placement Commission, the birthright Education Committee, the CCAR Ethics Committee, and in a variety of other leadership roles within the Reform Movement and greater Jewish community. Prior to teaching at the College-Institute, he served in congregations including Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City and Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY. A native of New York City who graduated from Johns Hopkins University's Electrical Engineering program, Rabbi Panken is also a certificated commercial pilot and sailor. His publications include The Rhetoric of Innovation (University Press of America, 2005), which explores legal change in Rabbinic texts, and articles in leading academic journals and scholarly volumes. He has lectured widely at academic conferences and synagogues throughout North America and served as visiting faculty at universities in Australia and China.
Surprise Visit from Israel's Prime Minister
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Kol Ami students and other Westchester Birthright students met Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a recent trip to Israel. This Birthright group, that included students from Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, had the good fortune to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in watching the sunrise at the top of Masada, and then continued to the Dead Sea.
Not only was this the only Taglit-Birthright Israel group to have this opportunity, but they will also be part of a new TV series called RoyalTour, which features heads of state for unprecedented access to countries through the eyes of their leaders.
