The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Pfeffer

Annual HHREC Gala to Honor Paul Elliot and Grace Bennett on Thursday, October 26

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Grace Bennett, a Chappaqua resident and publisher of two publications, Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk magazines, and Paul Elliot, a Rye resident and Founder of ELCO Management an investment advisory firm, will be the honorees at the upcoming Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center’s (HHREC) annual gala on October 26 at the Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club.

Both honorees have had a long-standing commitment to the White Plains-based organization that creates compelling programs on the Holocaust, genocide and human rights crimes for students and teachers and encourages today’s students to speak out and be ‘upstanders’ against all forms of prejudice and bigotry.

HHREC Gala Honoree Paul Elliot and his family. (L-R): Arthur Stein, Sabrina Stein, Lauren Elliot, Barbara Elliot, Paul Elliot, Leora Elliot, James Elliot, Spencer Elliot and Jack Elliot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the organization’s inception in 1994, HHREC has provided lessons to more than 1,750 teachers and thousands of middle and high school students in Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam counties. “We honor Grace Bennett and Paul Elliot with gratitude and admiration for their exemplary service to HHREC. Grace has been a valued and respected member of HHREC for many years.

Grace Bennett with her father, Jacob Breitstein a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor. The photo was exhibited in the L’Dor Vador project (From Generation to Generation) produced by Seth Harrison of The Journal News. PHOTO COURTESY of SETH HARRISON The Journal News

“As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Grace brings passion and commitment to Holocaust remembrance. Her contributions include, but are not limited to, participation in all aspects of marketing and promotion, and she was featured in the L’Dor Vador (From Generation to Generation) project where she and her father’s photos and interviews were highlighted in the highly acclaimed documentary and photo exhibit,” noted Millie Jasper, the Executive Director of HHREC. The project was produced by Seth Harrison of The Journal News and HHREC was instrumental in providing the survivors and the second and third generation family members for the photo exhibit and documentary.

Paul Elliot has been a board member for many years and a consistent supporter of the Center’s programs. “Paul chairs the Endowment Portfolio Committee where he consistently brings his financial expertise to all discussions. His leadership, marked with vision and wisdom, continues to strengthen the Center,” commented Jasper.

“Survival of the organization is very important to me. There is no substitute for when a survivor or a member of the next generation shares their personal story with students. Funds are vital so that we can continue that process and reach more kids and make it part of their curriculum,” said Elliot.

Bennett became involved with HHREC after writing some ten years ago that she was a child of Holocaust survivors in her “Just Between Us” column that appears in this magazine every edition. A reader, Richard Laster of Chappaqua, was the first chair of HHREC’s board and suggested that she explore the group. “Since then, I have viewed my own role largely as simply spreading awareness through the Inside Press publications while I encourage others to learn about and support this group too.” Inside Press publications have had numerous articles on Holocaust-related topics throughout the years.

“Since my divorce a decade ago, the constants in my life have been incredibly meaningful. One has been my involvement with HHREC. They bring Holocaust education into our schools by recognizing and honoring teachers who take that mission very seriously. Through their extraordinary annual Human Rights Institute (involving some 30 schools each year), they help shape the student leaders of tomorrow to fight hate and bigotry in all its forms by introducing the concept of being an ‘upstander,’ explained Bennett.

In addition to a wide range of programming with the Human Rights Institute, HHREC has a Speakers Bureau featuring authors and an extensive library of related literature open to the public. “HHREC has helped so many survivors, and now children of survivors can develop and share our family’s stories through the GenerationsForward initiative.”

“The survivors are leaving us soon. It’s up to us now. My involvement with HHREC provides me with a sense of hope for our collective future.” Bennett will be attending the gala with her family including her father, Jacob Breitstein, a 95-year-old survivor whose mother and four brothers and sisters all perished. Tickets to the gala can be purchased at www.hhrecny.org.

Musical Duo: The Kennedys Set to Grace the Stage at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

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For more than two decades, husband and wife team Pete and Maura Kennedy have performed on stages in the U.S. and the U.K., as a folk/pop duo and as members of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra. Now for the first time ever the show will be one of the inaugural events in a special benefit concert at the new Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (ChappPAC), formerly known as the Wallace Auditorium on the Reader’s Digest campus. The benefit concert titled “Life is Large” at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 22 will raise funds for the Axial Theater, a professional theater company founded in 1999 that is a member of the Westchester Arts Organization. Axial Theater presents contemporary theatrical hits, timeless stage classics and original works in addition to hosting a bi-monthly Sunday Writers Series for play development.

The Kennedys have released over a dozen CDs, are longtime core artists on metropolitan New York’s jazz radio station WFUV and were named Artists-in-Residence at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Their original music has been described as uplifting, encouraging and empowering, and their choice of covers is emblematic of their love for the classic songwriting of Buddy Holly, The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Long time New York City residents, they are regulars at the Clearwater Festival in Croton-on Hudson and have played legendary venues including Carnegie Hall, the Beacon Theater and the now defunct Bottom Line.

Tickets for The Kennedys’ Axial Theater benefit are $45 and can be purchased online by searching for “Axial Theater” at brownpapertickets.com. ChappPAC will play host to a variety of cultural events in its inaugural season through December including children’s concerts, jazz performances and family movies.

The Chappaqua Performing Arts Center is located at 480 North Bedford Road. Ample free parking is available.

Feed Me Fresh: Eve of Culinary Delights on September 16 to Benefit MKCCC Scholarship Funds

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Mount Kisco Child Care Center Feed Me Fresh Benefit honoree Eric Hadar and event host

Ivanna Farms in Bedford Corners will be the beautiful and bucolic setting for Mount Kisco Child Care Center’s (MKCCC) 13th annual Feed Me Fresh: An Edible Evening benefit on Saturday, September 16, 5:30 p.m.; all proceeds are earmarked for MKCCC’s need-based scholarship programs. Over 50% of MKCCC families are low-income children who depend on partial tuition assistance to help them obtain high-quality early childhood education.

The event will feature delicious food from more than 20 local Northern Westchester restaurants that subscribe to the same culinary philosophy as MKCCC which has created a seed-to-table nutrition program called “Feed Me Fresh.” This is a hands-on curriculum that educates MKCCC students to have a natural appreciation for fresh, whole food. In addition to culinary delights from these restaurants, live music and an auction will offer attendees an enjoyable evening.

MKCCC will also be honoring Eric Hadar, the owner of Ivanna Farms and the event host as well as a long-time supporter of MKCCC. Among other honorees: Fran Osborne, who has served on the MKCCC’s Board of Directors since 2008 and ‘Team Amy’ which was established to honor Amy Marie Crabtree who died in 2009 of a brain tumor. The Amy Marie Crabtree Foundation raises money and donates 100% to causes that Amy supported during her lifetime. Amy and her husband, John, participated in the First Feed Me Fresh event at Crabtree’s Kittle House.

MKCCC is a nonprofit, accredited childcare facility that provides quality, affordable, early-care and education to a diverse group of children, ages three months to 11 years. Tickets to the event are $250 per person. For additional information about MKCCC or the event, visit www.mkccc.org/feed-me-fresh-event.

Friends of Karen School Supply Drive Helps Families With Children Battling Cancer

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Friends of Karen volunteers packing school supplies for the back to school PHOTO BY Barbara Wilkov
While back to school shopping is in full swing for most families this time of year, it is a difficult time of year for families with children battling cancer, or another life-threatening illness. Friends of Karen, a Westchester-based non-profit helps support these families with their annual Back to School Program which collects new backpacks, notebooks, markers, pencils and gift cards and distributes them to more than 850 Friends of Karen children in the tri-state area so they can begin the new year happily and successfully.

Friends of Karen parents say how shattering it is to go into a store and see healthy children, so excited about the new year, choosing their school supplies while their own child is in the hospital, uncertain about what the next day will bring. Parents often agonize between buying new school supplies for their “well” child or paying their ill child’s mounting medical expenses.
New backpacks (for all ages) and $25 gift cards (to Target, Forever 21, Macy’s, The Gap, Old Navy, Visa/MasterCard) are in high demand for Friends of Karen families. Other school supply items such as three- ring binders, filler paper, composition books and Crayola washable markers are also needed. Donations are being accepted until September 15 and can be mailed to office headquarters at 118 Titicus Road in North Salem or dropped off there.

Friends of Karen helps families throughout N.Y., N.J .and CT. The organization is unique in that it customizes the assistance they provide. Realizing that a life-threatening illness of a child impacts the entire family, Friends of Karen social workers work with each family member offering an individualized program of emotional, financial and day-to-day practical support. For more information, visit www.friendsofkaren.org.

Thanks to CELF: A New Generation of Students and Teachers Go Green

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Katie Ginsberg, the Founder of CELF, addresses attendees at CELF’s Annual Summer Institute
A group of more than 60 teachers from across the U.S. were huddled around tables tackling the issue of climate change in small groups in a simulation exercise. Divided into groups representing the governments of China, India and the U.S. among others and the fossil fuel industry, the teachers were tasked with convincing their governments and negotiating with industry for a way for them to work collaboratively to reduce climate change. The exercise was part of an intensive four-day workshop at Manhattanville College in Purchase called the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF) Summer Institute in Education for Sustainability, which enables teachers to integrate the concepts of sustainability into their existing curricula. Exercises like these at the CELF Institute can serve as a model for teachers to use with their students when they bring sustainability education back to their own classrooms.

Founded in 2003 by Chappaqua resident Katie Ginsberg, the CELF Institute’s mission is to make Education for Sustainability (EfS) an integral part of every school’s curricula and culture. The non-profit has worked with students and teachers from kindergarten through high school and in all types of public and private schools in urban, suburban and rural settings. Since its inception, CELF has worked with more than 8,000 teachers and school leaders and more than 800,000 students from 2,800 schools.

A former advertising executive, Ginsberg never thought that she would one day lead an award-winning sustainability education non-profit. Working on consumer campaigns for global clients such as Unilever, Ginsberg had first-hand exposure to product manufacturing and the research and development process. It was motherhood that ultimately spurred her though to become a dedicated environmentalist. “Having three children, I began to really pay attention to ingredients and what I was feeding them, washing them with and putting on their skin.”

Ginsberg’s ‘aha moment’ that inspired a career change came after her son came home excited from celebrating Earth Day at Grafflin Elementary School many years ago. They had interactive sessions and he went around investigating dripping faucets.

A climate change simulation exercise
“It was very empowering for him to see that he can make a change.” Ginsberg realized then that environmental education should be weaved into the curriculum throughout the year and starting in the formative years of kindergarten. She felt that sustainability education should be integrated into various subjects so that students could develop holistic thinking and an age-appropriate understanding of the intersection of social, economic, and ecological systems.

Ginsberg spent two years researching other environmental non-profits in other countries such as the U.K.,  Australia and Japan before starting CELF. The first CELF Summer Institute was held in 2005 with approximately 30 attendees. Ginsberg finds it very gratifying that the CELF Summer Institute has doubled in the number of attendees and now several teachers are coming with their administrators in groups so that they can truly embody the theme of the conference–“activating change” on a school-wide basis.

This year’s CELF Summer Institute had notable presenters such as former New York Times science reporter Andrew Revkin and Steve Kaagan of Climate Interactive, a Washington D.C.-based company that addresses climate change and related issues like energy, water, food, and disaster risk reduction.

Joseph Montouri, a CELF Institute attendee and a Social Studies teacher at Horace Greeley High School always considered himself an environmentalist. “I wanted to integrate environmental learning into my social studies teaching so I developed a public policy course at Greeley through the lens of sustainability. So much of what we do as social studies teachers is focus on the past without any connection to the present,” he commented.

Montouri is hoping to create a “sustainability house” in the newly redesigned L-building at Greeley, which is currently undergoing renovation and reconfiguration. “This would be a school within a school taught by a team of teachers emphasizing sustainability and the three Es– economy, ecology and equity.”

The concept of the “sustainability house” has been presented to faculty, students and parents and it was accepted as one of the uses of the new space. By attending the CELF Institute, Montouri felt that he was equipped with ideas about how to move the project forward.

“Our goal is to prepare these educators who are with these students five days a week for most of the year to have the skills, knowledge and tools to not only teach about sustainability but ultimately enable their students to do something about it and that the situation is not hopeless. The good news is that there’s much more interest and demand from schools for this type of learning than ever before,” explained Ginsberg.