Engage Volunteers Recognized for Service

The three JCCs of Westchester celebrated the first birthday of a new Baby Boomer volunteer corps known as Engage. Over 75 volunteers got together to celebrate the first birthday of this program with speakers and representatives from a number of social service committees that benefit from the work and dedication of these adult volunteers. The event took place on Sunday November 2, at the Doubletree in Tarrytown.

The day included a presentation on Collective Responsibility with Rabbi Michael Paley , a fair where various social service organizations had a chance to speak with volunteers, a wrapping station where volunteers put together birthday baskets for the needy to coincide with the program's first birthday and four adult volunteers were honored for their work:

Frana Mills of Scarsdale has been a volunteer at Young Israel of Scarsdale for 40 years, becoming the synagogue's treasurer and taking on responsibilities that have made her indispensable to the staff and clergy. She's been an active volunteer with Engage since the program's inception, acting as team leader for Engage In Baking (where volunteers baked hammentaschen for the senior Purim party run by the Bronx Jewish Community Council), offering ongoing administrative assistance to the Engage office at the Rosenthal JCC in Pleasantville and basically being a go-to Engage volunteer.

Lynn Millstein began her first Engage volunteering assignment as a marketing assistant for JCC on the Hudson. In this role, she designed the layout of the program for the Westchester Engage launch event last year, posted numerous items on local Rivertowns web sites for the JCC, and helped with general copywriting and design tasks. Throughout the summer Lynn volunteered with Engage at The Food Bank for Westchester and at Sunrise Day Camp, a summer program for children with cancer and their siblings.

Sue Rozin of New Rochelle, is the driving force for Engage. In September she put her efforts into helping Israeli soldiers. IDF soldiers are not issued all of the gear that they might need. Some things they either have to buy themselves of do without. So Susan organized a group of 35 women who knitted army-regulation hats. Her efforts resulted in 43 soldiers receiving warm hats. Susan is on the board of the JCC of Mid-Westchester and is a member of the Westchester Engage Leadership Advisory Committee.

Rhonda and Seymour Schrieber are Engage volunteers for initiatives run by Westchester Jewish Community Services: Rhonda, with Kids Kloset in White Plains, and Seymour, with the Seniors program at Sinai Free Synagogue in Fleetwood. Since the early spring, each has consistently visited their respective agencies on a weekly basis providing help and support to those in need. At the Kids Kloset, Rhonda helps sort donated clothing and create outfits to the specifications of orders submitted by social workers throughout Westchester.