UJA-Federation's Northern Westchester Community Kicks off 2015 Campaign Year with Author

UJA-Federation’s Northern Westchester Women’s Philanthropy kicked off its 2015 Annual Campaign with Dr. Sima Goel, author of Fleeing the Hijab: A Jewish Woman’s Escape from Iran. When the Ayatollah Khomeini decreed that all women in Iran must wear a hijab regardless of their religion, Sima Goel, a 13-year-old Jewish girl who had previously demonstrated against the Shah’s oppressive regime, decided she must escape her home country. Her memoir, Fleeing the Hijab, recounts her dangerous journey through Iran’s deserts to Pakistan and, finally, to freedom in Canada.

Guests at the event, which took place at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, also heard from Janmarie Brown, director of the Gateways Program for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children in Pleasantville. The program is run by the Jewish Child Care Association, an agency that UJA-Federation supports. “Children at risk are going to be a focus of our community this year,” said Chappaqua resident Michele Gregson, chair of UJA-Federation’s Northern Westchester Women’s Philanthropy Board. “It’s hard to think that we have children in emergency situations right here in our backyard, in Pleasantville.”

The centerpieces on the tables, which featured hibuki dolls and toiletries, will be donated to the Gateways program. Hibuki, which means “hug” in Hebrew, is a form of therapy created by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), another UJA-Federation beneficiary agency.

“In 2011, hibuki made its way to Japan, where the JDC visited tsunami-affected regions and trained Japanese professionals to use the doll to help kids talk through their worries,” Gregson reported. “Now, we’re bringing these dolls all the way from Israel to Pleasantville to help young girls through their own, very traumatic experience.”

About UJA-Federation of New York
For more than 95 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 55,000 donors address issues that matter most to them, pooling their resources to care for New Yorkers of all backgrounds and Jews everywhere, to connect people to their Jewish communities, and to respond to crises close to home and around the globe. Working with nearly 100 network beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations, UJA-Federation is the world’s largest local philanthropy; our reach spans from New York to Israel to more than 70 other countries around the world, touching 4.5 million people each year. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit our website at www.ujafedny.org.

[Photo Caption]

Speaker Dr. Sima Goel (center) with (from left) Mindy Bass of Chappaqua, vice-chair of UJA-Federation’s Northern Westchester Women’s Philanthropy Board; Michele Gregson of Chappaqua, chair of UJA-Federation’s Northern Westchester Women’s Philanthropy Board; and Event Chairs Jessica Morgenthal of Armonk and Tracy Stein of Chappaqua, who also serves as vice-chair of the board.