On March 24, 2012 we will have a wonderful opportunity to join together to celebrate our Jewish community at the annual Temple Israel Center Gala. We are delighted to encourage our family, friends, neighbors and respected colleagues to support Temple Israel Center. We will sing, dance and join together to celebrate our shared values and the strength of our community. We will inspire each other to continue daily acts of kindness to enrich our lives and the lives of others. We are blessed and honored by this wonderful occasion.

 

We embrace our theme for the Gala: "Creating Community Daily Builds a Dwelling for God".

 

In 1986, after moving to Scarsdale, we joined Temple Israel Center, seeking a Conservative congregation that embraced full participation by women. At that time, we enjoyed the sermons, teaching and personal acts of kindness of Rabbi Turetsky.  At T.I.C., Barbara, a professional librarian, actively participated on the Nursery School Board, the Religious School Board, the  Religious School PTA, and the Board of Trustees. Our three children, Liz, Lauren and Adam each attended the Religious School. Liz and Eli were married in our sanctuary in 2005.  We want to acknowledge the lifelong support and mentoring of Cantors Jack and Fredda Mendelson for our daughter Liz which led to her current position as a Cantor at Central Synagogue in New York.

 

Outside of our synagogue, Barbara is on the board of the National Aphasia Association, an association that promotes a greater awareness of the rehabilitation services available to people whose communication skills have been impaired due to strokes and other forms of brain trauma. Barbara is on the board of Student Advocacy, a nonprofit agency that helps parents and their children who are experiencing serious difficulties in school related to learning, emotional and physical issues. She also works with senior citizens at the Osborn Retirement Community as well as through Project Dorot. With her children, Barbara raised funds to help build a library at the Hawthorne Blythedale Children's facility.

 

Steve is a member of the Board of Trustees and served as a member of the Executive Committee. In 2008, Steve helped launch our Employment Advisory Initiative (www.templeisraelcenter.org) to help Temple Israel Center families adversely affected by the on-going difficult economy. We encourage each of you to support this initiative by volunteering to be a mentor for those seeking career advice and expanding networking opportunities. The TIC Employment Advisory Initiative has become a model for the UJA Connect to Care project, and it has provided support to other congregations nationally.

 

We are forever grateful for the leadership, teaching and support of our incredible Temple Israel Center clergy and staff as well as being members of a most caring and committed congregation. We also want to join in personally expressing our congratulations to Sandro and our appreciation and respect for the many years he has so ably served our community. Sandro exemplifies the high quality, professionalism and personal commitment of our dedicated staff and we are honored to share the evening with him.

 

Please join us in generously supporting our Gala and by celebrating with the Temple Israel community on March 24.   We are delighted that “Creating Community Daily Builds a Dwelling for God” is the theme of the evening. We are inspired by the values that this theme exemplifies as we continue our daily efforts to help us find the courage to make our lives a blessing.