Westchester County Newsmakers, 11.4.2013
2014 UJA ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
BERND WOLLSCHLAEGER, author of “A German Life: Against All Odds Change Is Possible,” kicked off UJA- FEDERATION OF NEW YORK”™S NORTHERN WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY 2014 annual campaign. Born in mid-1950s Germany, Wollschlaeger discovered that his father was a decorated Nazi war hero who had kept the past hidden from his children. Dismayed by the legacy of the Holocaust, Wollschlaeger eventually converted to Judaism, emigrated to Israel, served in the Israel defense forces as a medical officer and now lives in Miami. The event took place Oct. 24, at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners.
The concept that change is possible was a recurring theme throughout the evening as the northern Westchester community introduced its Mitzvah & Milestones fundraising project to benefit the new Pearl River campus of Sunrise Day Camp, the first and only full-summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings. A project of the Rosenthal JCC of Northern Westchester and the Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center in Long Island (both UJA-Federation beneficiary agencies), Sunrise safely meets children”™s needs for fun, friendship and adventure, allowing these kids to simply be kids. “Change is possible,” said Randi Kreisler of Pleasantville, who chaired the event with Mindy Bass of Chappaqua. “I”™m so excited to think about the wonderful transformation to Sunrise”™s campus we can make possible working together.” UJA-Federation supports a wide range of programs and initiatives, including core-operating funds to nearly 100 health, human-service, educational and community-building agencies in New York, Israel and around the world. “I”™m always amazed by the range of the programs we support: providing assistance to the frail elderly and Holocaust survivors, feeding the hungry, supporting the vulnerable ”“ from those with special needs and their families to those in financial distress ”“ and so much more,” Bass said. “This is the work we do each and every day.”
MENTAL HEALTH FUNDRAISER
THE MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF WESTCHESTER (MHA) held its annual benefit, An Evening At Metropolis, Thursday Oct. 17, at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains. The funds raised will support increased mental health services for the community. MHA honored ANDREW SOLOMON, the award-winning writer and lecturer; DR. LISA DIXON, director for practice innovations, New York State Psychiatric Institute; WILLA BRODY, director of government and community relations, NewYork Presbyterian Hospital; and RALPH LIEBLICH, MHA volunteer. Some 160 guests celebrated the accomplished honorees and MHA”™s 67th year serving the county”™s mental health needs.
“It was an extraordinary night,” said board President Mike Lombardi, who co-chaired the event with his wife, Kate Stone Lombardi. “MHA has made many friends during its long history in Westchester and we were glad to have so many of them join us to celebrate.”
CEO Dr. Amy Kohn agreed: “MHA is buoyed by the spirit of nights such as this one. Feeling the support for what we do by those that attend is precious to me, the board of directors and the staff as well. It”™s an effort that helps make MHA”™s many services available and accessible to the community.”
MHA is a community-based mental health agency that has been helping Westchester County residents for 67 years through direct services, professional and community education and advocacy. MHA supports 18,000 individuals annually through a comprehensive array of mental health services striving to help each individual to achieve their personal goals and to lead independent and healthy lives.
WCC OPEN HOUSE
WESTCHESTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE will hold its annual fall Open House Nov. 14 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on its main campus at 75 Grasslands Road in Valhalla. The event will include a campus tour of the 218-acre campus, including the newly renovated and expanded Student Center Building and the Gateway Center. Representatives from admissions, financial aid, the Career and Transfer Center, counseling and academic advisement will meet with high school juniors, seniors and their parents at the event, which will begin in the gym. The event, which attracts hundreds of individuals, will include representatives from more than 60 of the college”™s associate degree and certificate programs.
For information, phone (914) 606-6929 or visit sunywcc.edu/openhouse.
CLAY ART CENTER RAISES $100K
REENA KASHYAP, founding director of the Clay Art Center (CAC) in Port Chester was honored Oct. 17 by the center”™s board of directors at its sixth annual fundraiser, Hand-in-Hand: Celebrating Clay & Community, which was held at the Community Synagogue of Rye. The event raised more than $100,000 and a record 247 guests gathered to help almost double last year”™s fundraising record. All proceeds will benefit Clay Art Center”™s community arts outreach programs, scholarships to under-served youth and the Artist-in-Residence program. Kashyap was honored for her legacy of exceptional leadership and vision, which have made the center”™s bright future possible.
Special guest and ArtsWestchester”™s CEO Janet Langsam commented on the impact that Clay Art Center has had on the community and the effect that Kashyap”™s commitment and passion has had on the arts in Westchester. The funds raised this year will assist CAC in reaching its goal of helping even more individuals in the community by bringing meaningful art making into their lives.
WPH RECEIVES AWARD
WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL has once again received the Consumers Choice Award from the National Research Corp. The hospital is a nine-time winner of the award, which recognizes quality and image in health care by the Nebraska-based research corporation.
The award identifies hospitals that health care consumers have chosen as having the highest quality and image throughout the U.S.
“We are thrilled to offer this annual award because we understand how important the role of reputation plays in health care consumer decision-making,” said Susan L. Henricks, president and chief operating officer at National Research. “These winners have done an outstanding job of representing their organizations in terms of high quality care, improvement initiatives, and positive consumer perceptions and experiences. The consumers have spoken. And we congratulate the winning hospitals in receiving this honor.”