UJA-Federation and WJCS News
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More than 100 woman joined UJA-Federation of New York's cultural circle at the JCC of Mid-Westchester to watch Gabriela Kohen's autobiographical one-woman play, Decoding the Tablecloth, in which she portrays 20-plus characters in English, Spanish, and Yiddish. Decoding the Tablecloth spans five generations and describes Kohen's experiences as an immigrant girl growing up Jewish and Latina in New York. "In some ways, Gabriela's family story is the iconic Jewish story..." said Westchester Women's Philanthropy Chair Lois Kohn-Claar of Scarsdale. "In many ways, it is also the UJA-Federation story. Where there is a Jew, there is UJA-Federation. Where there is a crisis, a need for rescue, a vulnerable individual, you'll find us there. That's what we do."
(Pictured above) Lois Kohn-Claar of Scarsdale, Karen Sobel of Purchase, Rikki Kaplan of Scarsdale, Gabriela Kohen, and Jill Weisfeld of Scarsdale
WJCS Honors Linda Plattus and Penny Goldsmith
Scarsdale's Linda Plattus, center, and Penny Goldsmith, right, were honored by WJCS at Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison last night by, from left, WJCS Board President Barry Kaplan (from Scarsdale), COO Bernie Kimberg and CEO Alan Trager. More than 400 WJCS supporters feted the two honorees and applauded their support of WJCS programs that benefit more than 20,000 people in Westchester every year. Guests also heard compelling stories of help and hope from two of those individuals in whose lives WJCS has made a difference.
Goldsmith was honored for her passionate advocacy for WJCS in recruiting fellow Board members and enlisting support for many programs, while Plattus was recognized for exceptional leadership in developing and shoring up programs that improve the lives of children and youth.
The gala raised more than $600,000 to enable WJCS to continue providing more than 70 mental health, home care, residential, special needs, educational and other programs to the Westchester Community.
"We are gratified by the overwhelming support of our donors, sponsors and attendees who gave generously," said Susan Lewen, director of development at WJCS, "and who value the vital impact WJCS is making to strengthen the lives of Westchester residents."
WJCS is one of the largest non-profit, non-sectarian human services agencies in Westchester, serving 20,000 people annually at 70 clinic, school, community and home-based locations throughout the county. The agency's integrated network of services includes mental health treatment and counseling, child and youth development programs, residential and non-residential programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, home health and geriatric services. The highest level of professional development and training is offered through the WJCS Educational Institute. For more information on WJCS, go to www.wjcs.com.
Spring Galas and Fundraisers
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You wouldn't know it from the weather, but Spring is just a week away bringing a full schedule of events and fundraisers. Here are some of the events on the Spring calendar:
The Junior League of Central Westchester (JLCW) presents its Glitz and Glamour Spring Fundraiser and Silent Auction on Friday, March 28, 2014. This year's event is co-sponsored by Pepe Infiniti and 42 The Restaurant. The event will be held at Pepe Infiniti in White Plains and the evening will include entertainment by the Music Conservatory of Westchester, a cocktail reception and silent auction. Tickets are $130 each. Contact the JLCW office at 914-723-6130, email jlcw@verizon.net or click here.
MahJongg Day at the Center@862 will be held on Sunday, March 30th. The cost is $50 per person which includes two hours of play time and lunch. Play options: 10:00 AM-12:00N play with lunch from 12:00N-1:00 PM or 1:30-2:30 PM for lunch followed by 2:30-4:30 PM play. All levels of play are welcome, including beginners. New players can learn the game's fundamentals at a table with an instructor at either session. To register, visit: www.thecenter862.com or call The Center@862: 914-722-8358. Also note that DeCicco Marketplace is donating one percent of its customers' purchases to The Scarsdale Teen Center to help The Center meet costs and keep its doors open. At check-out, customers should tell the cashier that they want to donate to The Center.
The Westchester Jewish Community Services 2014 Gala, honoring Penny Goldsmith and Linda Plattus will be held at the Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison, NY, on April 1, 2014 at 6:30 PM. These two leaders have helped shape WJCS and have brought energy, enthusiasm and support to programs that enable WJCS to serve 20,000 people in Westchester each year. For more information, please contact Susan Lewen, Director of Development, at slewen@wjcs.com or 914-761-0600 x 219 or visit wjcs.com.
The 2014 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner, honoring community volunteers and David Raizen, the president of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps will be held on Wednesday evening, April 9th at 6:30 pm at The Fountainhead in New Rochelle. To reserve, visit the Scarsdale Foundation website at www.scarsdalefoundation.org and click on the link on the right-hand side of the page to purchase tickets for the Scarsdale Bowl dinner You can download the registration form, indicate with whom you would like to be seated, or sign up for a "get-acquainted" table, and mail it in to the address indicated.
The JCC of Mid-Westchester will hold their annual gala on Thursday May 1 at 7 pm at the Rennaisance Hotel in West Harrison. The evening will honor Robert Arnow, Roger Kahn and Alison Singer. The evening will include entertainment and a silent auction. Reserve by April 11, by clicking here:
Code to Learn, Learn to Code
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"Everyone agrees we need more professional coders in America," said David Siegel at a workshop called Code to Learn, Learn to Code, hosted by the Scarsdale High School PTA on Tuesday March 1. Keynote speaker and computer programmer David Siegel, gave a talk about the inter-disciplinary benefits of coding. Siegel enjoys coding he said, because of "the thrill and the benefits and the joy that comes from learning a new language, a different language." As head of the Code to Learn, Learn to Code foundation, Siegel acknowledged the growing need for programmers in America.
After a brief introduction to the history of coding, Siegel began to talk about programming's accessibility to the public. While many people only think about coding in terms of complicated programs like Java, which is "not something that is easily and readily accessible to a lot of people," according to Siegel, with programs used in the elementary school like Scratch, " you can learn how to code in first grade." Without this information, Siegel believes your knowledge about computers is very limited. "If you don't have basic coding skills, if you don't have computer fluency, you won't be able to imagine what a computer can do." This is part of the scientific discovery that he believes helps us understand our world.
Siegel also explained that there were many life skills that can be honed through coding, including problem solving, organization, and delegation. These are skills he believes that are not usually taught in school. "How often are you given something that is big and complicated, and taught to decompose it into smaller pieces that can be addressed individually."
After Siegel's presentation, Doug Rose, the middle school computer teacher, and Greg Leong and Jodi Giroux, the high school computer teachers, "gave a state of the union," in the words of principal Kenneth Bonamo, about the high school computer education program. Doug Rose started, "We [the middle school] have long believed very strongly that we are approaching the use of these resources within the disciplines." This strong belief has led to the creation of a 6th grade coding class in order to teach programming skills early to all middle school students. The philosophy behind such a program was "a nice place where children from 5 different elementary schools come together in order to launch them on their 3 year middle school career's," according to Rose.
The High School teachers' presentation began with information about the two Computer Science classes offered at the high school. Intro to Computer Science, taught by Greg Leong, offers information about a wide range of computer programming languages used in today's society. The goal Leong says, is to offer "different exposure to different areas, that kids may not have had experience with." The AT Computer Science course taught by Doug Vermes is a much more specific course that offers experience with the computer programming language Java. Despite the growing use of technology in schools, "We do not have a formal, universal technology class that students at the high school cycle through," Giroux explains.
Finally, the high school teachers spoke about HackScarsdale, a technology-programming club that meets in order to work on independent projects that are of interests to the students. " The whole point of this program is to take kids who are interested in programming, and give them some opportunity to implement their ideas," said Giroux. The class meets several times a month, and has an open invitation to all students who would like to join. Every speaker in the room agreed that all of these programs, both at the Middle and High school level have served to increase the breadth of information about the topic. " Every year students who arrive in the high school, know a little bit more than the students who arrived in the high school last year," Giroux said.
Friends of Scarsdale Parks Outlines Work for the Village in a Park
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The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks (FOSP) reviewed the work they do in the Village in a Park at their annual meeting with the Scarsdale Board of Trustees on Tuesday night February 25. The group helps the Village to maintain and improve 26 named parks in Scarsdale as well as additional green properties owned by the Village. Co-President Madelaine Eppenstein reviewed the work of the Friends and here's an outline of some of their projects, all carried out on a volunteer basis:
- Plant and beautify the Village Hall beds in spring and fall.
- Purchase and plant daffodil bulbs that are among the first flowers to bloom in the Village every spring.
- Plant new native trees, replacement trees, shrubs and groundcover plants, finish a new rock garden and to develop an irrigation solution at Chase Park.
- Collaborate with Village Staff to plant additional native shrubs and perennials and the Scarsdale Library.
- Develop a program to mulch and replenish mulch in tree groves throughout the Village where compaction and erosion should be remediated and moisture conserved in conjunction with Village staff.
- Imagine a long-range program to eradicate and keep after invasive plants in the woodlands.
- Advocate for better solutions for snow removal and storage, and for a sensible leaf mulching policy.
- Help Village Staff to develop a plan for planting, cleanup and eradication of invasive plants on the Weinberg Nature Center campus.
- Formulate a long-range plan for the High School/Library campus, including restoration of the woodlands.
- Collaborate with the Bronx River-Sound Shore Audubon chapter to install Eastern Bluebird houses and additional plants and trees at George Field Park wetland.
- Survey and inventory all 26 named parks and other Village owned properties so that maintenance/improvements are prioritized with them each year.
- Advocate for a long range plan to protect and maintain plant and wildlife habitats throughout the Village.
Advocate for creation of a street tree inventory to optimize tree management.
The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks will hold their annual spring celebration on June 8 when they will dedicate a metasequoia tree in a grove of redwoods at the pond at Scarsdale Library. Deanna Curtis from the New York Botanical Garden will be the guest speaker.
Trustee David Lee asked the group what they would do if they had more resources and they responded by saying that there are areas in Harwood Park and Butler Woods that need care. Todd Wolleman of the FOSP said, "We have a tremendous stewardship role to maintain what our predecessors carved out for us. We could connect green spaces for walking. There is a lack of walking paths and a need to maintain our trails. We have a gem here that we need to maintain."
State Senator George Latimer Proposes Legislation to Safeguard Geese
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NYS State Senator George Latimer has introduced legislation to protect the geese. According to Latimer, the proposed legislation will ensure community involvement before a decision is made to kill geese. The legislation will require a local public hearing and discussion of non-lethal methods to remove geese before opting to kill them. The legislation would also prohibit the use of geese meat for human consumption. Commenting on the legislation Latimer said, "Scarsdale is certainly not alone in dealing with this problem; the hope is we will be thoughtful and humane in our actions."
Kiley Blackman, founder of the Animal Defenders of Westchester is pleased with the proposal and said, "This profoundly important bill is being submitted at a time when the general public is becoming aware of the severe abuses by USDA/Wildlife Services and their licensing agent, the DEC, using taxpayer monies to kill and butcher our wildlife with any overreach and plundering they can perpetrate. Their newest outrage was a plan to totally wipe out the mute swan population entirely. We began meeting with Senator Latimer when several venues in Westchester announced plans to kill geese here last spring; we are proud that he has shown consideration and decency to those who have no voice - yet have a right to exist on this earth without the constant threats by the USDA to kill them all, which we will not just sit back and allow to happen. This bill also prevents the USDA from putting a PR band-aide on their war on wildlife by donating the bodies to food banks, a gesture denounced by the Coalition for the Homeless - and causing concerns that the homeless would 'chip their teeth' on buckshot.''
The bill includes the following provisions:
1. Prior to filing a request with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation for a permit for lethal disposition of turkeys or geese, the local government shall hold a public hearing thereon in a place determined by that government in the locality affected. At least ten (10) days before the hearing, notice thereof shall be advertised in a newspaper published in the community affected. The notice shall state the subject of the hearing and the proposed disposition of the turkeys or geese.
2. Prior to filing said request for permit to the NYS DEC, the local government shall provide proof that they have fully evaluated all humane alternatives to execution of the turkeys or geese, subsequent to the public hearing, and have reviewed that evaluation at a public meeting of the governing board of that government, no more than sixty (60) days after the public hearing, such meeting held under full compliance with the applicable open meetings laws .
3. The local government shall not donate turkeys or geese to be used for human consumption.