What’s New at WJCS! Fall 2024
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WJCS 80th Anniversary Gala: A Huge Success!
WJCS Gala honorees Michele Brettschneider and William Shirley (right) with CEO Seth Diamond Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) welcomed 250+ guests to their 80th Anniversary Gala on March 28th. WJCS Board members Michele Brettschneider, a Scarsdale resident, and William Shirley, a longtime Larchmont resident, were honored at the Brae Burn Country Club event. The evening was especially celebratory as WJCS, now one of the largest human services organization in Westchester, is commemorating its 80th anniversary. "We were founded in 1943 as a small organization that served a few families who were struggling in Westchester. WJCS now has over 80 programs and ...
Dean Howell Joins WJCS Board
Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), one of the largest human service agencies in Westchester county, is proud to announce that Dean Howell, Managing Director at Deloitte, has joined its Board of Directors. Mr. Howell has worked at Deloitte since 2016 and focuses on helping Higher Education and Government clients transform in a digital, cloud-enabled world. Previously, Mr. Howell worked at IBM, AT&T, and Oracle in a variety of technical solution engineering roles. He has worked with Westchester and NYC high school students, mentoring and inspiring their interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) while promoting the importance of higher education ...
Bruce M. Freyer Named President of the WJCS Board of Directors
We are thrilled to announce that Bruce M. Freyer has been elected President of the WJCS Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2022. Freyer became involved with WJCS in 1997 and has held a variety of Board positions, including Chair of the Development Committee, Chair of the Jewish Programs committee, and Member of the Audit, Budget and Finance, Children and Youth Services, Government Relations, Investment, Managed Care, and Nominating Committees. “Bruce has been invaluable in furthering the mission of WJCS in countless ways,” said WJCS CEO Seth Diamond. “He has been integral in developing strategic initiatives, a passionate and ...
It Takes a Village
At WJCS, we're proud that we serve 20,000 Westchester residents, of all ages and backgrounds. But we can't do it alone. We are so grateful to our community partners who are generous and compassionate in so many ways. Loftex is a perfect example. Loftex is a textile company that manufactures beautiful towels. For years, Loftex has provided towels for WJCS clients in under-resourced communities. One of Loftex's taglines on its website (https://loftex.com) is "Making People Feel Good." When WJCS clients receive towels from Loftex they feel very, very good—both because they enjoy the luxurious towels and also because they feel ...
Juneteenth—Celebrate Freedom
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an American holiday honoring and celebrating African-American ancestry, history, achievements, and struggles. In particular, this celebration honors the day in 1865 when enslaved peoples in Texas and Louisiana finally heard they’d been freed, more than two and a half years after the date of January 1, 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation had become official. Juneteenth is now recognized as a state holiday or state holiday observance in various U.S. states, with New York officially declaring it a state holiday in 2020. However, Juneteenth celebrations and events having been taking ...