National Volunteer Month
National Volunteer Month
Lauren Candela-Katz is appointed Chief Advancement Officer at WJCS
Westchester County Jewish Community Services (WJCS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Lauren Candela-Katz as Chief Advancement Officer, effective October 9th. Candela-Katz has dedicated her career to supporting organizations that are deeply invested in improving the lives of those experiencing life’s most difficult challenges. Most recently, she served as Chief Development Officer at Lifting Up Westchester, an organization that serves the homeless in Westchester County. Previously, she was the Chief Development Officer of Abbott House which serves those with intellectual and developmental needs. Candela-Katz began her career at the Jewish Federation of Stamford and spent a decade ...
Meaningful Friendships that Promote Mental Wellness
This year the WJCS Compeer program, a supportive friendship program in which each volunteer is matched with an individual recovering from mental illness, celebrates its 50th anniversary. By facilitating friendships, Compeer helps mental health clients feel less isolated and more integrated into their communities. Compeer started as a small program in upstate New York and has grown into an international organization with over 40 chapters. Compeer volunteers commit to spending time with a mental health client for a year or more. Research has shown that most Compeer clients see improvements in multiple areas of their lives as a result ...
Volunteer Spotlight: Earle Marsh
Earle Marsh had a flourishing career, working at some of the biggest names in media, including the A.C Nielson Company, NBC, CBS and Showtime. He even wrote an award-winning book that received the American Book Award in 1980: The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-present. It was released in nine editions from 1979 to 2007. When he left Showtime in 1984 Earle bought his first computer and found a new field of fascination and interest. He learned enough, completely self-taught, to run the IT (Information Technology) operation for a law firm in Manhattan from 1991 ...
10 Reasons to Support the WJCS Gala!
Support the WJCS Gala!
Volunteer Spotlight: Steve Cohn
WJCS is privileged to have over 250 active volunteers. Here, Steve Cohn, shares his experience as a WJCS volunteer. "When I ended my 30-year career as Editor-in-Chief of Media Industry Newsletter in July 2016, I answered a "request for volunteers" post on the White Plains Library's website. After going through a background check (made me feel like a VIP), I worked on event information on library flyers. In March 2020, with the onset of COVID-19, the library shut everything down. (The reopened library now posts announcements online-only, with the writing done in-house.) That initial experience put me on a volunteering ...
It’s Volunteer Appreciation Week!
It's Volunteer Appreciation Week, a perfect time to celebrate the 250+ active volunteers who assist WJCS staff in many of our 80+ programs. We are so grateful to all of our volunteers, who range in age from young students to seniors, for the dedication and skills they bring to their work at our agency. While our volunteer opportunities are currently primarily virtual because of the coronavirus, they still provide plenty of opportunities to help others and make a difference. Our volunteers tell us they feel that helping others helps them. It provides purpose to their lives. As Rabbi Hillel ...