UJA-Federation of New York's Northern Westchester Community Kicks Off Its 2014 Annual Campaign Year

UJA-Federation of New York’s Northern Westchester community kicked off its 2014 Annual Campaign with Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, author of A German Life: Against All Odds Change Is Possible. Born in mid-1950s Germany, Dr. 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, Dr. Wollschlaeger eventually converted to Judaism, emigrated to Israel, served in the Israel Defense Forces as a medical officer, and now lives in Miami, Florida.

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, New York, 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.”

[Photo credit]

Photo by Will Landin

About UJA-Federation of New York
For more than 95 years, UJA-Federation has been a central force for communal planning and philanthropy in the New York Jewish community. Through UJA-Federation, almost 60,000 donors pool their resources to help people in need, inspire a passion for Jewish life and learning, and strengthen Jewish communities around the world — to address the issues that matter to us most as Jews and as New Yorkers. Working with nearly 100 network beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations, our reach spans from New York to Israel to more than 70 other countries around the world, touching 4.5 million people each year. Because we do the most good when we do it together. For more information on how to donate or how to volunteer, please visit our website at www.ujafedny.org.