UJA Hosts Actress Mandy Gonzalez
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4371
Westchester donors gathered at a Mamaroneck home to celebrate their caring commitment to UJA-Federation of New York and its work on Thursday, October 8, 2015. UJA-Federation works with nearly 100 beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations to care for those in need, connect people to their Jewish communities, and respond to crises close to home and around the globe.
The evening featured Broadway actress Mandy Gonzalez, best known for her role in the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. Most recently Mandy starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked.
The event was chaired by Joy and Steven Zelin of Larchmont, Lisa and Marc Cummins of Harrison, Lisa and Stephen Eisenstein of Larchmont, and Linda and Seth Plattus of Scarsdale. The evening took place at the home of Cindy and Ben Golub of Mamaroneck.
The group heard from Eric S. Goldstein, UJA-Federation's CEO, who had recently returned from a trip to Israel to show support for and see the work the organization funds. Campaign Chair David Moore also addressed the gathering, emphasizing the strength of our generous community and the singular role that UJA-Federation plays in supporting the people on the margins of society and providing a global safety net.
"We all know what UJA makes possible – matching support for so many areas of concern with our reach and impact. Every dollar we invest in our beneficiary agencies helps them yield an additional 350 percent return in government funds," said Joy Zelin of Larchmont, chair of UJA-Federation's Westchester King David Society. "I feel it's a privilege to be a part of it all."
Mitzvah Weekend at Scarsdale Synagogue
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 6300
A Mitzvah is a good deed, and Scarsdale Synagogue, which has set aside a community-wide day for doing good deeds every year, is expanding this successful program to a full weekend. During the three-day period, the synagogue's clergy and lay leadership will be creating opportunities to perform a variety of good deeds (Mitzvot), with the Synagogue (2 Ogden Road in Scarsdale) as the helping headquarters.
The schedule for the Mitzvah Weekend is as follows but complete details can be found here:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
6:15 p.m. – Shabbat Services & Dinner followed by Guest Speaker, Rabbi Andy Gordon, who will share his experience participating in the historic Journey for Justice 40-day walk from Selma to DC that took place this past summer. Dinner $36/person, $18/for those 18 and under. RSVP to office@sstte.org.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
10:00 a.m. - Shabbat Services followed by a Social Action-themed lunch & learn.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
All activities are open to the public and will take place at Scarsdale Synagogue including:
Annual blood drive sponsored by White Plains Hospital. Refreshments will be provided.
Karaoke for a cause
Cooking for the hungry
Crafts projects
A Living Wall of Talmud
Our Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah class will participate in the Manhattanville Making Strides Against
Cancer walk.
Learn more about the organizations and causes that your fellow congregants are passionately
involved
How to Help
In addition to these programs, the Synagogue will be collecting much needed and useful items to donate to worthy organizations in the greater Westchester and North Bronx communities, including:
• Children's Books & Clothing (ages 14 and below) for the Sharing Shelf – long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, khakis, sweatpants, long sleeve dresses (4T – youth size 10 only), fleece jackets, winter coats, hats & gloves, sturdy shoes (merrills, sneakers, snowboots, & uggs), NEW socks, NEW underwear; Gently used books (for ages 5 and below)
• School Supplies for students at an underfunded school in Yonkers – backpacks, box of #2 pencils, box of black pens, box of assorted (24) crayons, glue sticks, pink erasers, box of assorted broad tip markers, pair of blunt edged scissors, pencil case, wide-ruled spiral notebooks, pocket folders, package of printer paper.
• Items for US Soldiers – action oriented or comedy DVDs, chapsticks, $5 Amazon or apple gift cards, protein bars, chocolate bars
• Food for the United Interfaith Food Bank – rice, pasta, soup, mac & cheese, pasta sauce, canned beans and canned fruit, canned meat or stew
• Diapers and wipes for Westchester Diaper Bank
• Pet Supply Drive for the New Rochelle Animal Shelter – dog and cat food, leashes, cages,
bedding, dog treats, cat treats, stuffed animals
• Lightly Used College Dorm Supplies for Grad Bag – XL twin sheet sets, blankets, comforters, duvets, desk lamps, small rugs, plastic hangars, extension cords, window fans, bed lifts, over door hooks, laundry bags/hampers, alarm clocks, storage lockers, book ends, bulletin boards, surge protectors, small suitcases.
• Fresh Start for UJA Federation Westchester – Fresh Start provides families in need with the ability to have a fresh start every morning – toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brushes, shampoos, body wash, shaving items, deodorants, tissues, feminine hygiene products, soaps, baby care items (ointments, powders, wipes, diapers of all sizes.)
About Scarsdale Synagogue
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish congregation committed to creating a covenant community of shared lives and real relationships. We are an inclusive, caring and visionary community. As we journey together Jewishly, we strengthen ourselves and our sacred community.
For further information, please contact Roberta Aronovitch at (914) 725-5175 or by email: roberta@sstte.org.
Scarsdale Forum to Host Panel on Development in Scarsdale
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4350
The Scarsdale Forum invites the community to participate in a discussion of "managing development in Scarsdale" at its first Public Forum of the year at 7:30pm on Thursday, October 15, 2015, at the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Public Library, 50 Olmsted Rd. An informal opportunity to enjoy light refreshments and talk to Scarsdale Mayor Jonathan Mark will take place at 7:30pm. The program will commence promptly at 8pm.
What would you like to know about development in Scarsdale? Should the gravel driveway "loophole" remain open? [What is it, anyway?] What's the latest recommendation for trees on your property? Panel participants include Elizabeth Marrinan, Scarsdale Village Planner; Steven Rakoff, developer; Lewis Arlt, Brokerage Manager of the Scarsdale branch of Houlihan Lawrence, Inc.; Joanne Wallenstein, founder of Scarsdale10583; and Ron Schulhof, member of the Village of Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council. Seth Ross, former Chair of the Planning Board, will moderate the discussion.
The Forum is also honoring past Editor-in-Chief of the Scarsdale Inquirer Linda Leavitt with its rarely bestowed Public Service Award. Mayor Mark will present the annual "State of the Village" report and entertain questions from the audience.
Don't miss this opportunity to honor Scarsdale's finest, learn more about village government, and hear diverse points of view on land use in our community. See www.scarsdaleforum.com for a listing of future events, membership information and SF committee reports on a variety of topics.
Literary Salon at the Scarsdale Library
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 5442
The Scarsdale Salon will host its first literary event at The Scarsdale Library on October 8th, 2015. The Salon aims to bring stories and their writers to an audience of readers and listeners. Some of these writers have published their works and others might have work-in-progress stories. The selection at each Salon is carefully curated to cover fiction, poetry, personal essays, and non-fiction genres like travel, memoirs, cooking, and other that might appeal to readers.
The Theme for the first Scarsdale Salon is Journeys. Journeys, inside ourselves and without, help us discover our purpose in life, and our space in the world that we inhabit. No two journeys are ever alike and in our selection of books for this Scarsdale Salon, we go on different journeys with our authors and their books.
Girl in the Woods , by Aspen Matis is a beautiful story of emotional and physical boundaries eroding to reveal the truths that lie beyond the edges of the map.
Love and Miss Communication , by Elyssa Friedland, 
asks us to look up from our screens and out at the world . . . and to imagine what life would be like with no searches, no status updates, no texts, no Tweets, no pins, and no posts!
We journey into the realm of mythic fantasy with Soul Warrior by Falguni Kothari, where a trick of fate appoints the legendary Karna as the guru to a motley crew of gods and he agrees to train them as demon hunters against his better judgment.
In With the Children by Henry Webb, Neil Riley dodges the Vietnam draft in 1969, but his journey as a teacher of 6th grade in a South Harlem school takes him into an even more difficult journey.
And from personal journeys, we move to the journey of a whole community in Sara Aharon's From Kabul to Queens: The Jews of Afghanistan and Their Move to the United States – and discover the story of a small Jewish community that lived in relative peace with its Sunni Muslim neighbors.
The Scarsdale Salon is an initiative by Preeti Singh, author of Unravel, and manager of thegoodbookcorner.com, and author Ines Rodrigues, who has just completed her book Days of Bossa Nova.
Find more information on the Scarsdale Salon here:
Advocate Brokerage Celebrates New Look at Chat in Scarsdale
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 5662
After 47 years, Advocate Brokerage has new branding. Customers, executives, employees and friends of Advocate Brokerage gathered with representatives from Chubb Insurance to celebrate a new color scheme, logo and brand identity designed especially for Advocate on Wednesday September 16th, 2015 at Chat in Scarsdale
Audrey Brenya, Personal Lines Marketing Specialist for Chubb described the event "It was a fantastic evening. We were thrilled to be involved in celebrating Advocate's new brand launch. We value their partnership and are so proud of their achievements. We had a great crowd Wednesday evening of local Scarsdale residents, local business professionals and Chubb clients."
Many locals were invited to attend for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Among the celebrants were local realtors, bankers and former and current Village Trustees.
Advocate Brokerage Corp is an integral part of the Scarsdale community. For four decades Advocate has shown that buying insurance doesn't have to be painful; in the hands of a friendly and knowledgeable agent it can be a pleasurable experience. The company, founded by Roz & Ron Binday, has grown by word of mouth and customer referrals over the years into a well respected thriving business. 
A family business, the Binday's children Denise Koslowsky and Glenn Binday are now principals in the company handling the day to day operation and overseeing the Personal Lines Division and Business Lines Division respectively. As she discussed Advocate's new brand, Denise shared, "After 47 years, we decided it was time to make some big changes in our look starting with our color and leading to our logo which pays homage to Scarsdale. Scarsdale is our home; the logo pays tribute to the Tudor style homes that dominate its landscape."
The event was co-hosted by Chubb Insurance, longtime partners of Advocate Brokerage. Chubb Insurance provides both personal and business insurance and was listed as one of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies by Forbes. Chubb specializes in high net worth clients, and offers them a full range of personal lines products.
To end the ribbon cutting ceremony, Denise said, "Together with these great people, we have built a strong insurance agency. Advocate Brokerage offers their customers the ability to live and let us take care of the details."
