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Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester
by Inside Press
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A grand evening event at Crabtree’s Kittle House, attended by 165 supporters and friends of BGCNW, featured five extraordinary teens. After deliberations by a panel of judges, three winners were announced to rounds of applause.
Grace Gerosa, a junior at Pleasantville High School, won the Youth of the Year Award. Grace, a Club member for 10 years and a competitive swimmer for 12 years, is a social media manager for her high school Varsity swim team, the Vice President for Sources of Strength, and a member of the Youth Leadership Task Force. She volunteers at Fox Hill Farms.
Zayaan Hussain, a senior at Horace Greeley High School, Zayaan received the Chris Curti Memorial Scholarship Award. A Club member for 10 years, on the Marlins swim team for 9 years, he swam in the National Level Paralympics competition, and volunteers at interfaith events, peer leadership and executive roles in school clubs.
Xio Nieves, a senior at Fox Lane High School and Club member of six years, received the Wilfred E. Jennings Leadership Award. Xio is a Junior Staff member and 2-time Youth of the Year finalist.
All winners travel to Albany with Club leadership to advocate on behalf of critical programming impacting NYS youth and families.
The other finalists were:
Katie O’Donnell, a sophomore at John Jay High School. She has been a Club member for 11 years and is part of the Marlins swim team.
Paige Fagan, a senior at Lakeland High School, and Club member for 10 years, works for the Club as a water safety instructor teaching younger members of the Club how to swim.
The judges for the finalist competition included WABC reporter, Marcus Solis; Westchester Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Chair Aleida Frederico; Robert Martin Company Managing Director Lawrence Gottlieb; Pro Bono Partnership Senior Staff Attorney Judy Siegel, and Examiner News Publisher Adam Stone.
The winner of the BGCNW Youth of the Year advances to a state-level event. The winner is tasked with participating in events, public speaking, and serving as a thought leader and advocate for their Club and community. They receive the benefit of a generous college scholarship, mentorship, and networking opportunities. For more information, visit bgcnw.com
by Inside Press
The Chabad Center serving Armonk, Chappaqua and Pleasantville, invites you to join the annual Community Passover Seder.
Two Chabad led Seders are being held on Monday and Tuesday evening, April 22nd and April 23, where Chabad’s Rabbi Butman says you can expect to experience the liberation and freedom of Passover and a delicious Seder in a beautiful setting and atmosphere. The Seders will take place at The American Legion Hall at 35 Bedford Road in Armonk, NY.
The Seder will be easy to follow and many parts will be said in English, Rabbit Butman said, and will not go for too long. “Together we will explore and discover the eternal meaning of the Haggadah, and enjoy a Seder in a family-like atmosphere, complete with hand-baked Shmurah Matzah, Fine Wine, and a wonderful dinner with unique traditional customs.”
The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. Passover (Pesach) commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Pesach is observed by avoiding leaven, and highlighted by the Seder meals that include four cups of wine, eating matzah and bitter herbs, and retelling the story of the Exodus.
If you have any questions or to reserve your seats, write to: chabadacp@gmail.com
by Inside Press
April 10, 2024 — A group of Westchester County area second-generation Holocaust survivors will appear live today on Zoom starting at 7 p.m. to discuss a book they have written and published documenting their families’ experiences during the Holocaust. Testaments of Courage in the Holocaust is a compilation of true stories told by the authors that describes the courage and resilience of their family members who escaped the Nazis’ final solution.
“Putting this book together was a labor of love for me – a gift to the dear friends I met when I joined a Storykeeping Workshop sponsored by the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.” said Melanie Roher, one of the authors of the book. “When I listened to everyone’s stories during the class, I wanted to remember them, and not lose them over time. It has been a joy to work with each of my classmates, whose parents’ stories now live on these pages. “
Roher lives in White Plains, NY, and she is a member of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) GenerationsForward Speakers Bureau, a second and third generation group that includes children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who appear at area schools, synagogues, churches and other community events. HHREC Memory Keepers are trained speakers who tell their family’s story from their next generation perspective, adding new meaning to the survivors’ powerful stories of witness. Other local authors whose stories appear in the book include Pat Gaston (Irvington), Tina Goldman (Ossining), Michelle Griffenberg (Tarrytown), Ziporah Janowski (Croton on the Hudson), Gloria Lazar (Tarrytown), Joan Poulin (Somers), Vivian Pronin (Hastings-on-Hudson) Helen Rubel (Irvington), Dennis Schoen (Fairlawn, NJ), and Debby Ziering (Greenwich, CT.)
In the book Forward written by Lazar, she describes her experience working with fellow authors. “The personal histories in this book reflect months and years of research and reflection by a group of second and third generation descendants of Holocaust survivors, and in one case, a child Holocaust survivor. During the winter and spring of 2019, we met in a workshop each week and engaged in the arduous process of dissecting and writing our family histories. We searched through letters, diaries, photographs, audio and video tapes – every form of record – to uncover the struggle, displacement and survival of our family members who emigrated to the United States from almost every country in Europe where Jews were hunted by the Nazis. They are remembered by daughters, sons and grandchildren determined to document the courage of these brave individuals who escaped the Nazis’ final solution. The difficult journeys taken by our families reflect the ultimate triumph of the human spirit against the inhumane efforts by the Nazis to eliminate the Jews of Europe. We honor these brave men and women whose DNA we possess and whose spirit we hope to illuminate in our stories.“
The book is available for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Testaments-Courage-Holocaust-Children-Survivors/dp/B0C87SSX3L and is available for teachers to utilize in their classrooms from the HHREC Anna & Nicholas Elefant Library in White Plains.
To register for this event visit HHRECNY.org.
by Inside Press
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) of White Plains, NY has announced three Holocaust Survivors have joined their Speakers Bureau.
Dr. Victor Borden (lower right above) is the son of Holocaust survivors Rywen (Roman) and Mina Bornsztajin (Bronstein), who were born and raised in Lodz, Poland from prosperous families. Victor tells the chilling story of his parents’ journey that started in Poland, as they survived imprisonment in the Soviet Union and eventually immigrated to America, where their son enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a physician.
Ernest “Ernie” Brod (upper left) is a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1938. As a young boy he had to confront the grim realities of his father being among the first Jews killed in the early days of the Holocaust and seeing his brother sent off on a Kindertransport to England. A series of near miracles saved him and his mother from serving time in a concentration camp, and they made their way to Lisbon, Portugal before they finally immigrated to America in 1941. Ernie tells the story of how he and his family struggled to survive and eventually resettle in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn where he met his brother for the first time. A lawyer by training, he has spent the past 40 years as a corporate investigator and has been widely recognized as a leading expert in the field.
Charles Srebnik (upper right) is a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1934 to Maria and Leon Srebnik. On May 10, 1940 German forces invaded Belgium, and by October the occupying military government began instituting anti-Jewish measures. His family went into hiding to escape the German onslaught by living at a cottage overlooking a lake near Genval.
Charles shares his story of being saved by a Catholic priest by hiding in orphanages to survive and eventually immigrating with his mother to America.
“We are very pleased to have such distinguished Holocaust Survivors who are witnesses to history join our Speakers Bureau and share their experiences with area high school and college students, and people who gather in our local communities.” said Millie Jasper, Executive Director, HHREC. “here stories will endure as they are of historical significance, and we need to hear them today more than ever.“
For more information about the HHREC Speakers Bureau, and to schedule an appearance at area schools, synagogues, churches and civic centers visit HHRECNY.org
About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in White Plains New York that serves schools, synagogues, colleges, churches and civic centers in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley area. The HHREC Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. HHREC works with teachers and students to help schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, the HHREC has brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations to more than 3,000 teachers, and through them to thousands of students. For more information visit www.hhrecny.org call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org
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