Join us for a joyful 25th Anniversary Celebration on October 21st from 10am to 12pm at the Boys and Girls Club (79 7th St, New Rochelle, NY 10801). We’ll have fun activities, music, and a pizza party! The WJCS Parent Child Center is a FREE early childhood learning program for children from birth to age 4, who attend along with their parents or caregivers. The program runs from October to May. Click here to register.
Each quarter, WJCS celebrates employees who go above and beyond, demonstrating their dedication and commitment to WJCS’ mission and clients. We feel so privileged to work with wonderful staff who have care, compassion, and expertise. Read below to learn about our most recent Quarterly Staff Award Winners.
Thanks to your generosity, our 2025 Back-to-School Drive was record-breaking! Because of you, hundreds of children from under-resourced communities in Westchester will start the school year with the supplies – and the confidence – they need to succeed. We are deeply grateful for your support. Together, we helped set students up for a great school year ahead. Your donations ensured that children in our behavioral health clinics, school-based satellite clinics, after-school enrichment classes, the Parent Child Center, and many other WJCS programs are entering the classroom with the tools they need to learn, thrive, and reach their potential. We ...
by Ava Propper Rubin (From left: Jodi Maxner, WJCS VIP Coordinator; Susannah, VIP participant; Maria F. Callarame, External Affairs Manager at St. Joseph's Medical Center) “Volunteering at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers has been a wonderful experience for me. It has been the perfect stepping stone as I re-enter the world of work. I work as a cashier in the gift shop four days a week. I am slowly overcoming my fears of getting back to work and socializing in professional environments. I have gained confidence that I am capable of being professional in the workplace.” ~Susannah, ...
by Ava Propper Rubin Take some Mitzvot (religious commandments), throw in Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), and sprinkle the vast Westchester communities served by Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), and you have a great opportunity for Jewish youth celebrating their B’nai Mitzvah to experience fulfillment and help others. When taking on the responsibilities of Jewish adulthood at ages 12 or 13, many boys and girls in our community are asked or required to do a Mitzvah Project. In anticipation of their Bar or Bat Mitzvah, they reflect on issues that are meaningful to them and work with community organizations ...
As the school year winds down, WJCS is already looking ahead to September — and to the many families in our community who will face the overwhelming challenge of preparing their children for the new school year. With the cost of living rising and financial pressures mounting for so many, the burden of back-to-school shopping has become more than just stressful — it’s simply out of reach. You can help children in under-resourced Westchester communities start the new school year strong! Last year, thanks to generous supporters like you, we provided hundreds of students with essential supplies. This ...
On Wednesday June 4th, Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) hosted its 5th Annual Holocaust Survivor Day Luncheon. The event brought together dozens of Holocaust Survivors living in the Westchester community along with their family members and caregivers. Holocaust Survivors Day is dedicated to celebrating the strength and impact of Holocaust Survivors. “In bringing survivors of the Shoah together, we celebrate their strength, resilience, connection to community and Jewish peoplehood, and generational wisdom,” said Marcy Gringlas, Ph.D., President of the Seed the Dream Foundation, which sponsored the event. The joy of being and celebrating together was evident to all those who ...
Life-threatening illness can take its toll, not only on an individual but also their family. That’s why, for years, WJCS has provided individual and family counseling and supportive connections when people and their loved ones face chronic or life-limiting illness. Jane Slevin, LMFT, facilitator of a WJCS support group which is composed of people with a variety of illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, cancer, neuropathy, and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), explained “each month we discuss a wide range of topics, like coping mechanisms, symptoms, family dynamics, navigating the medical system. and life in general.” “When I joined the group ...
On Wednesday June 4th, Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) will host its 5th Annual Holocaust Survivor Day Luncheon. The event will bring together and honor dozens of Holocaust Survivors living in the Westchester community. “Seed the Dream Foundation is proud to support over 30 communities across the United States in recognizing Holocaust Survivor Day on June 4, 2025. As we mark this fifth annual Holocaust Survivor Day, we celebrate the resilience, courage, and legacy of Holocaust Survivors, and the lives they’ve built with strength and with grace,” said Dr. Marcy Gringlas, Ph.D., President of Seed the Dream Foundation, which ...
It’s Jewish American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the many contributions Jews have made to the United States and explore their American experience. Here are some films and books that focus on the American Jewish experience. The Jewish Journey: America – This documentary includes interviews with scholars and Jewish-American writers, many of whom are immigrants themselves. They share the varied stories of migration through the last five centuries, with a rarely explored look at the actual journeys to get here. Shared Legacies – This film focuses on the often-forgotten story of the coalition and friendship between the Jewish ...
This is the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend, what many of us think of as the beginning of the summer season. The warmer weather brings a bounty of reasons it’s easier to commit to improving our own well-being. Exercising outside—whether it involves walking, jogging, or playing tennis or golf—is infinitely more pleasurable when the sun is shining, grass is green, and flowers are blooming. Local farm fresh fruits and vegetables are available in local grocery stores and outdoor markets. Gardening is not only an activity that keeps you fit; many people find it calming and therapeutic. Need more inspiration ...
Spring Happenings Thank you for being such an important part of our WJCS community. With your support, we provide thousands of Westchester residents with services and programs that change their lives for the better. Here are just a few snapshots of recent activities at WJCS. WJCS Early Childhood Programs hosted fun, heartwarming, and creative activities in observance of The Week of the Young Child (El Dia de Los Ninos), an annual celebration launched in 1971 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Families throughout Westchester, including in New Rochelle, Sleepy Hollow, and Tarrytown, enjoyed interactive story ...
This is National Nurses Week, a recognition of the incredible nurses and nurse practitioners who serve across our agency. "At Westchester Jewish Community Services, our mission of providing compassionate, high-quality mental health and social services would not be possible without the dedication, expertise, and heart that our nurses bring to their work every day," said Seth Resnick, M.D. DFAPA, FASAM, Chief Medical Officer at WJCS. "Whether supporting clients in our mental health clinics and assisting in care coordination or providing community-based services in our residential programs, our nurses play a vital role in promoting well-being, safety, and dignity for ...
May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a time when we recognize and celebrate the contributions Jewish Americans have made to our country. For Westchester Jewish Community Services, this month carries special meaning. "Our agency was founded by Jewish Americans whose values of tikkun olam (repairing the world) are woven into everything we do. Their legacy of care and support lives on in our daily work: comforting the vulnerable, supporting the isolated, and ensuring that dignity and opportunity are available to all." As we mark this heritage, we also reaffirm our commitment to stand against antisemitism, which sadly remains a reality, ...
Each quarter, WJCS celebrates employees who go above and beyond, demonstrating their dedication and commitment to WJCS’ mission and clients. We feel so privileged to work with wonderful staff who have care, compassion, and expertise. Read below to learn about our most recent Quarterly Staff Award Winners.
April is National Volunteer Month. All of us at WJCS are deeply indebted to our amazing crew of over 200 volunteers, who help our programs and participants grow and flourish. On behalf of all of our WJCS staff, thank you for the time and effort you dedicate to volunteering for our agency. Our volunteer corps plays an essential role in ensuring that our agency fulfills its mission to help people of all ages and backgrounds overcome emotional, social, educational, vocational, disability, and spiritual challenges. Our volunteers play an important role in helping our clients lead lives with strength, resilience, and ...
Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D., author of Raising Resilience and Director of the Barnard College Toddler Center and Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology, will be the Keynote Speaker at the upcoming. WJCS Samuel Kahn Memorial Lecture. The lecture will take place on Wednesday May 14 from 1:30-2:30 pm via Zoom. Dr. Klein will focus on raising resilient children in an age of uncertainty. She will discuss how research on trauma and its impact on emotional and intellectual development, including her own findings, can help parents offset and even avoid damage that could derail their children’s future. The stressors and traumas could ...
Supporting WJCS transforms lives. Below are stories shared by four WJCS clients. Please watch the videos below and hear how, with the help of WJCS, they were able to build resilience, gain hope, and create better lives. MENTAL HEALTH treatment can save a person’s life. Help make that happen. Fund 12 therapy sessions for $2,500 and be the reason someone finds hope again. LGBTQ+ YOUTH need a safe, affirming community…now more than ever. Fund 6 support groups that foster connection and build strength for $1,000. YOUNG ADULTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS deserve to ...
Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) held a hugely successful Gala at Brae Burn Country Club on Tuesday, April 8th with more than 350 community and business leaders, government officials, and Westchester residents, all passionate advocates for helping those in need in Westchester. Scarsdale residents Joel S. Beckman and Gillian Rittmaster were honored at the celebratory event hosted by one of the largest human service non-profit organization in the county. The evening was filled with inspiring words and personal, transformative stories of WJCS clients who shared their struggles before coming to the agency and how the organization transformed their lives. ...
Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) hosted a Passover Luncheon for members of its Holocaust Survivors program at Beth El Synagogue Center In New Rochelle on Wednesday April 3rd. In partnership with UJA-Federation of New York and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, WJCS created a pre-holiday celebration filled with music, delicious food, and many smiling faces. Holocaust survivors attended with family members and caregivers, all of whom delighted in the opportunity to be together. "WJCS is committed to ensuring that Holocaust survivors in Westchester feel supported, both in practical ways as well as socially and emotionally," said ...
April is National Volunteer Month. WJCS is so fortunate to have over 250 dedicated volunteers who assist and support our organization in a wide variety of programs. Shira Stein has been a volunteer in the WJCS Marketing Department since June 2024. “I am in the middle of a career change. To break up the monotony of applying for jobs and to be part of something bigger, I sought a volunteer opportunity,” says Shira. “A friend of a friend connected me to the WJCS Marketing and Communications Department where I’ve been able to use my experience in researching, crafting, and ...
(From left: Seth Diamond, WJCS Chief Executive Officer; Milagros Rivera, WJCS Director of Human Resources; Scott Bojer, Area Vice President at Gallagher; Stephan Spilkowitz, WJCS Director of Engagement and Culture) Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) is delighted to share that our agency has been named Best-in-Class Employer by Gallagher. Scott Bojer, Area Vice President at Gallagher, visited WJCS Headquarters in North White Plains and presented the award to WJCS CEO Seth Diamond and WJCS Human Resources Director Milagros Rivera. “This Best-in-Class designation is a reflection of our agency’s unwavering commitment to creating a workplace where employees feel valued, supported, ...
This February, WJCS youth programs throughout Westchester are observing Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is dedicated to raising awareness about teen dating violence and promoting healthy relationships, with a particular emphasis on consent this year. Consent is fundamentally an ongoing mutual agreement between partners regarding their experiences. While often associated with physical or sexual activity, it pertains to the decision-making process behind actions, not just the actions themselves. The WJCS Young People Achieve (YPA) program is educating White Plains High School students about the importance of consent and boundaries with peers and partners. Self-care ...
