Scarsdale resident and WJCS Board member Linda Plattus hosted the 20th Annual WJCS Have a Heart for the Holidays Luncheon, along with WJCS Board Members Sarah Kayle and Nina Ross; NextGen Council Members Yael Friedland and Samantha Stavis; and Host Committee Michelle Dinenberg, Poornima Eber, Allison Friedland, Fara Friedman, Jennifer Galeon, Jessica Levinson, Jessica Eckhaus Modell, and Robin Silk. The event was a huge success raising over $12,000 and nearly $4,200 in toys from 125 donors that will be distributed to WJCS clients who live in under-resourced communities.

(From left) WJCS Director of Development Jennifer Kaplan & Ampacet Director of Sustainability Doreen Becker

(From left) WJCS Director of Development Jennifer Kaplan, Cuddy & Feder Administrative Assistant Tami Escobar, Cuddy & Feder Associate Katherine Sempell

Both Ampacet Corporation (left) and Cuddy & Feder (right) generously contributed toys and gift cards to the WJCS 2025 Have a Heart for the Holidays Gift Drive, bringing great joy to children in need throughout Westchester!

Thank you to all who supported this year's drive!

The WJCS ParentChild Center of New Rochelle hosted a joyful celebration for its 25th Anniversary with music, toys, games, block building, and other fun activities! Dozens of children, WJCS staff, and Assemblyman Steve Otis were on hand to take part in the quarter-century milestone occasion.

WJCS Shelanu & Supper Club members gathered at Bet Am Synagogue in White Plains to celebrate Sukkot and Rosh Hashanah. Members also kicked off the holiday season by taking a trip to NYC and enjoying hot cocoa in Bryant Park!

Residents in WJCS Chai House celebrated the Sukkot holiday by decorating the sukkah, dining in it, and designing artistic mini-sukkahs that were used as centerpieces at our Holocaust Survivor Sukkot Luncheon!

More than 50 Holocaust Survivors, along with their relatives and caregivers, gathered to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale. The Annual 2025 WJCS Sukkot Luncheon was attended by Congressman George Latimer, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, State Senator Shelley B. Mayer, and Michael Elkin, CFO of the Claims Conference (Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany).

WJCS POINT (Pursuing Our INdependence Together) participants spent the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park resort! Members enjoyed resort amenities, dinner at the Hard Rock Café, pottery painting, an escape room, and a trip to the Mystic Aquarium. 

WJCS Center Lane partnered with The LOFT: LGBTQ+ Community Services Center to host a Halloween party! The event was well-attended by 30 LGBTQ+ youth and allies in grades 6-12. Participants came in costume and enjoyed games, crafts, candy, and community!

In partnership with Westchester Reform Temple and Meals on Main Street, WJCS delivered Thanksgiving meals and frozen turkeys to 90 families with food insecurity as well as homebound seniors throughout the County!

WJCS Community Programs celebrated the season at their Annual Holiday Party at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel. Participants and their families enjoyed a delicious dinner, a festive holiday movie montage featuring photos from throughout the year, and a lively DJ who kept everyone dancing and having fun!

We were so proud to host our first Family Volunteer Day Event on Veteran’s Day. Approximately 60 children, parents, families, and local community groups gathered at HQ to volunteer their time. Donors contributed nearly $3,000 in much-needed supplies for hygiene kits that will be distributed to WJCS Satellite School-based Clinics in 11 schools throughout Westchester. Volunteers packed 206 Personal Care Kits filled with shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste, and Menstrual Kits for adolescents.

Our WJCS Fall 2025 Legislative Breakfast was a huge success! WJCS Executive Staff shared information about WJCS programs, including those that support early childhood education, after-school services, school-based satellite clinics, and trauma and behavioral health clinics. We are so grateful for our legislators’ support!

What a beautiful Bat Mitzvah project! Thank you to Daphne Baron who baked challahs and, with her mom, distributed New Year’s gift bags filled with honey, apples, honey cake, and challahs to Holocaust Survivors who are part of WJCS programs in Westchester. Thank you for making the start of the new year so special!

WJCS NextGen Council has been busy! Volunteers packed 25 art kits in honor of the 25th anniversary of the WJCS ParentChild Center in New Rochelle. These kits will go to families in need, helping to spark creativity, joy, and connection at home. (left). NextGen also partnered with Alice + Olivia in Greenwich, CT for a Shopping for a Cause event. The proceeds will support vital WJCS programs serving under-resourced families across Westchester. (right) Lastly, our NextGen volunteers stepped up and mobilized in a major way this holiday season, organizing a generous food pantry initiative to support families for Thanksgiving. Thanks to their leadership and the contributions of our community, hundreds of households supported by the WJCS Food Pantry at the Mary J. Blige Center received holiday essentials and fresh ingredients to celebrate with dignity. (below)

Stephan Spilkowitz, WJCS Director of Engagement & Culture

WJCS CEO Seth Diamond was recognized by City and State NY for his well-deserving accomplishments on the 2025 Westchester Power 100 list. Congratulations, Seth!

We are so proud to have been 1 of the 50 organizations selected as a Top Place to Work in New York by City and State NY Magazine! WJCS was recognized for our commitment to our staff through the generous benefits and employee wellness programs we offer in addition to our leadership's commitment to ensuring a trauma-informed culture where all staff feel they belong.

Amanda Garfinkle, WJCS Chief Advancement Officer, represented WJCS in Washington, D.C. as part of The Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA)’s General Assembly and Advocacy Day, marking her first experience advocating on Capitol Hill on behalf of our clients and community. During the visit, Amanda met directly with Senator Gillibrand – in addition to Congressman Lawler’s and Congressman Goldman’s Chiefs of Staff – to discuss the urgent need to protect and strengthen SNAP and Medicaid benefits, sharing the real impact policy changes would have on the individuals and families WJCS serves.