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Family Volunteer Day Event: Food Pantry Drive 2026

2026-01-20T14:26:47-05:00January 20th, 2026|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , , |

More than 95 volunteers gathered at Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) Headquarters in White Plains on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for a Family Volunteer Event. Children and their parents assembled 50 Winter Hug Care Packages filled with soup cans, hot cocoa packets, tea bags, milk cartons, mittens, Teddy Bears, and hats that will be distributed families in need through our Food Pantry at the WJCS Mary J. Blige Center in Yonkers, NY. Participants also donated 20 cases of pasta, rice, beans, crackers, cereal, shelf stable milk, and more. "These community donations of essential goods are so important to ...

20th Annual WJCS Have a Heart for the Holidays Luncheon

2025-12-03T12:41:28-05:00November 20th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , |

Scarsdale resident and Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) Board member Linda Plattus hosted her 20th annual 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 on November 19. The luncheon raised over $10,000 and more than 250 toys have been collected so far. Local community groups are expected to collect close to 1,000 more toys in the next few weeks. Gifts will be distributed to WJCS ...

Family Volunteer Day Event: Personal Care Kit Drive 2025

2025-11-19T13:19:57-05:00November 18th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , |

Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) was proud to host its first Family Volunteer Day Event on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2025, at Headquarters in White Plains, NY. Approximately 60 children, parents, families, and local community groups, including Girl Scouts Troops #2190 and #2775, and members of the Young Men’s Service League of Westchester gathered at WJCS 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 different schools located in Peekskill, Elmsford, Rye, Eastchester, and Yonkers. Volunteers packed 206 Personal Care Kits filled with ...

Congratulations to our WJCS 2025 Second Quarter Staff Award Winners!

2025-10-17T14:52:10-04:00October 17th, 2025|Categories: Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: |

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.

WJCS Annual 2025 Sukkot Luncheon for Holocaust Survivors

2025-10-20T13:20:15-04:00October 10th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

More than 50 Holocaust Survivors, along with their relatives and caregivers, gathered on Thursday, October 9th to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale. The luncheon, hosted by Westchester Jewish Community Services, 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 CEO Seth Diamond, and Allison Danzig, Coordinator of WJCS Holocaust Survivor Services, spoke to the guests, which also included many WJCS Board members, about the ...

The WJCS Parent Child Center is celebrating 25 years in New Rochelle!

2025-09-10T15:15:55-04:00September 10th, 2025|Categories: Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , |

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.

Congratulations to our WJCS 2025 First Quarter Staff Award Winners!

2025-07-22T14:01:42-04:00July 22nd, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , |

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.

Thank you for supporting our 2025 Back-to-School Drive!

2025-08-28T14:12:22-04:00August 28th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , |

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 ...

Gaining Skills and Confidence: WJCS’ Volunteer Internship Program (VIP)

2025-07-02T16:17:07-04:00July 1st, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , , |

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, ...

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Projects at WJCS

2025-06-26T16:53:58-04:00June 26th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , |

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 ...

WJCS 2025 Back-to-School Drive

2025-08-29T15:36:50-04:00June 12th, 2025|Categories: Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , |

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 ...

WJCS Hosted Its 5th Annual Holocaust Survivor Day Luncheon

2025-06-05T15:03:03-04:00June 5th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , |

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 ...

Supporting Each Other Through Chronic Illness

2025-06-05T09:54:20-04:00June 4th, 2025|Categories: Mental Health, Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , |

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 ...

Jewish American Heritage Month

2025-05-28T13:42:47-04:00May 28th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , |

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 ...

9 Ways to Boost Your Sense of Well-Being

2025-06-04T15:42:01-04:00May 22nd, 2025|Categories: Mental Health, Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , |

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 ...

WJCS Spring Happenings 2025

2025-05-13T14:46:57-04:00May 13th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: |

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 ...

Jewish American Heritage Month: A Note from WJCS CEO Seth Diamond

2025-05-08T12:14:21-04:00May 8th, 2025|Categories: Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , |

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, ...

Congratulations to our WJCS 2024 Fourth Quarter Staff Award Winners!

2025-05-05T15:48:50-04:00April 30th, 2025|Categories: Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , |

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

2025-04-25T14:42:29-04:00April 25th, 2025|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , |

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 ...

Raising Resilient Children

2025-04-24T17:19:34-04:00April 24th, 2025|Categories: Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , |

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 ...

Give for Good. Change a Life.

2025-04-18T14:03:30-04:00April 18th, 2025|Categories: Gala, Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , |

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 ...

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