Volunteers Come Together to Refresh Residential Treatment Facility in Pleasantville

UJA-Federation of New York in Westchester and J-Teen Leadership volunteers came together at JCCA’s Edenwald Center for a fall “refreshment” volunteer experience. Families, teens, and Edenwald residents painted murals and decorated tiles to beautify this residential treatment facility for children with emotional and cognitive disabilities in Pleasantville run by UJA’s partner agency, JCCA.

The event took place on Sunday, October 22, 2017. Participants, who came from all over the county and spanned all ages, also packaged donated toiletries as a special treat for the young people living on the JCCA campus, many of whom are in foster care.

Event chairs were Ben Brucker of Scarsdale, Kate Eichel of Scarsdale, Ben Friedland of Scarsdsale, Elissa Strauss of Irvington, Anya Wiebke of New Rochelle, and Mauri Zemachson of Scarsdale, as well as our teen chairs from J-Teen Leadership, Alix Weiss of Armonk and Jessica Baden of Stamford, Connecticut. Amy Gutenplan of Mount Kisco serves as UJA’s Westchester Community and Volunteer Services Chair.

Photo captions:

Photo 1: (From left) Coco Zemachson, Juliana Stein, Billie Eichel, and Summer Eichel, all of Scarsdale, decorate tiles.

Photo 2: J-Teens (from left) Molly Nick of Mount Kisco, Maya Rose of Chappaqua, Sam Aries of Mount Kisco, Zach Weinberg of Mount Kisco, Brooke Solomon of Chappaqua, and Rachel Keiles of Mount Kisco pack toiletries for residents at Edenwald Center.

Photo 3: (From left) Jane, Lisa, and Jeff Gerson of Scarsdale sit before colorful tiles made by volunteers to decorate Edenwald Center.

About UJA-Federation of New York:

For 100 years, UJA-Federation has inspired New Yorkers to act on their values and invest in our community for the biggest impact. Through UJA-Federation, more than 50,000 donors address issues that matter most to them, pooling their resources to care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future. Working with a network of more than 80 core partners and hundreds of other nonprofits, UJA-Federation is the world’s leading local philanthropy; our reach extends from New York to Israel to nearly 70 other countries around the world, touching 4.5 million people each year. Please visit www.ujafedny.org for more information on how to donate or volunteer.

About JCCA:

Since 1822, JCCA’s mission has been to provide the highest quality child welfare and mental health services to New York’s neediest and most vulnerable children. We are guided by the Jewish mandate of tikkun olam — the responsibility of every person to make the world a better place. We work in partnership with 17,000 children and families every year to build on their strengths, preserve the family when possible, and help create new families when necessary, so that all children may thrive in a safe and loving place they can call home. Visit www.jccany.org for more information.

About J-Teen Leadership:

J-Teen Leadership is a community service leadership development initiative for Jewish high school students who want to make a difference in the world today. What makes us unique is that teens plan and lead our projects. Based in Westchester, we welcome teens from New York and beyond, of all backgrounds and affiliations. Through local service projects and hands-on service trips, with skill building in leadership, advocacy, and philanthropy, we do our part to improve the world (tikkun olam). Our programs are empowering, collaborative and fun. For more information on J-Teen Leadership, please visit our website at www.jteenleadership.org.