In This Issue:
- President's Message
- Susan's Eight Annual Holiday Appeal
- Kindertransport Viewing
- Art for ORT
- Congratulations to our new board for 2001-2002
- Member News
- Westfield Works Wonders
- Culinary Delights
- The New ORT Book Club
- ORT News
February, 2004
March, 2003
February, 2002
October/November, 2001
April/May, 2001
February, 2001
December/January, 2000–2001)
October, 2000
May, 2000
 SVORT Bulletin Archives: October/November 2001 |
||||||||||||||||
|
by Nicole Mason Belated Happy New Year for the year 5762! I am excited and honored to be our Chapter's new co-President. Hayley graciously agreed to stay on for another year as co-President with me. Many of you may not know me, so I will say just a few words to introduce myself. I have been an active member of SVORT since I moved to this area over 4 years ago and have held a couple of chair positions on the Board during that time. I hope to have the opportunity to get to know more of you. I want to take this opportunity to also express sadness and sympathy for the victims of the 911 tragedy—both those that lost their lives and those that lost loved ones. Now the whole country, and world, is repeating a motto that has been ours since WWII—NEVER AGAIN! I think ORT plays a role in making sure "never again" is a reality. It is important that we continue to educate Jews and non-Jews to be self sufficient and knowledgeable about Judaism. Through education, hopefully we can chip away at the ignorance and fear that drives hate. In light of current events, both here and in Israel, it is imperative that ORT continues to thrive. We have some really great programs over the next couple of months, and I hope to see many of you at these events. This year, we are really focusing on bringing in new members. Now more than ever, we need more members in order to keep the vision and mission of ORT alive. Please come out to our events. (We planned them to be fun and of interest.) Bring a friend, family member or co-worker with you, and feel free to simply tell others about an event if you cannot make it yourself. I am also excited to announce that Bernice Parris has agreed to be our PR/advertising chair and will help get the word out about ORT! Read on for event information and to meet the new Board! Regards, Nicole Mason Co-President, SVORT To My Sisters & Brothers in ORT, I start this a little tongue in check this year because the last seven years at Gift Wrap have taught me what ORTists can do. Whenever I have called upon your support you have come out in record numbers. You know that the HOLIDAY season is almost upon us and this year we NEED YOUR SUPPORT more than ever! Our booth has a great new location-back-to-back with Santa Claus. It is also the largest booth we have ever put up at 20 feet long. The booth is also getting a very stylish refurbishing job when we laminate it and paint it and put it the oven. Here is Quest #1: our set up and wrap schedule and request for HELP!!!!! Sunday, November 11th: 3:00 PM Load Booth @ Mike's 4:00 PM Load the stock @ the locker 7:00 PM Meet @ mall Unload and set up the booth We need ORT volunteers, hopefully able to work all three parts of this job. (If these same people can help put it to bed that would be great, because you will be familiar with how the whole thing works. Date to be announced.) The other groups are asked to help in all phases of Gift Wrap this year. We have a large booth but we are not going to overstaff, and the number of volunteers needed on a shift will be predetermined by past needs. If ORT wants to be able to earn the maximum that we can, you absolutely have to sign up as soon as you can. There will be competition for certain shifts. A word to the wise: the early volunteer gets what they want. We will announce the names of our scheduler and the shifts as soon as the mall tells us the final schedule. Ah yes, talking about scheduling we come to Quest #2: we need several people to schedule and an ORT coordinator. Wendy is willing to train and advise but she is unable to oversee the entire operation. Call Wendy Fotland at (408) 985-1236. Don't delay, as this is a very important job and the sooner started the easier to control. We as a chapter will be responsible for filling five days even if no one volunteers. Of course that won’t happen, right? Westfield Works Wonders will be held Sunday, November 18th 7-10PM. That is the kickoff event at the mall. We will participate by having free Gift Wrap. If customers don't like the free paper we can sell our papers. The free Gift Wrap is a great moneymaker for us and we need two volunteers to work a two-hour shift, then you can enjoy the mall and we provide a pass. P.S. The chapter is selling tickets. Official opening Day of Gift Wrap 2001 is Friday, November 23rd 9 AM - 10PM. To one and all, I apologize because I wish I could call personally and ask your help. But I spend my day at work on the telephone and I can't come home and spend my night on the phone again. Do you know if you can get a cauliflower ear from telephone abuse? All kidding aside, Wendy and I really need you to pull out all the stops and give the absolute maximum that you are able. Call early so we don't have "splikers" or a nervous breakdown. See You in the Booth! Susan Hertzberg (408) 941-9661 Please join us on Sunday, November 18, at 11:00 a.m. for Sunday Brunch and a viewing of the Academy Award® winner for Best Documentary Feature Film of 2000: Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport Wendy Fotland has graciously agreed to host this event. Please call Wendy at (408) 985-1236 to RSVP and for directions to her San Jose home. We absolutely must have RSVPs for this event so we can plan the right amount of food. Please RSVP by November 11. The cost for this event will be $5 per person, but is free if you join Women's American ORT on that day. It was a picture perfect day, the sun was shining, and many people came by to browse and buy their own perfect picture and shiny new jewelry! Art for ORT was our most successful year to date-our net sales topped $5,000! And we couldn't have done it without the ongoing support of our members and friends. A hearty thanks go to our many volunteers (my apologies to any persons missing): Bobi Levine, Wendy Fotland, Nicole Mason, Barbara Gani, Alice Wald, Susan and Roger Hertzberg, Dan McMahon, Sue Broad, Nittany Mason and Yasmin Santis. Special credit to Jerry Spector, who helped set out and bring back our signs and stayed all day as cashier. (Note: All day means until 11 p.m. so that he could balance the sales for the day and enter the artists’ information in a spreadsheet.) Another special thanks to Judith Rosner who helped all day at the event! Thank you to the committee: Pola Harrel (artist extraordinaire!), Rachel Levy, Francine Gani, Nancy McMahon and Sandi Spector for their continuous efforts to make Art for ORT successful! Finally, thank you to Francine and Marcel Gani who graciously opened their home to the artists and patrons. We look forward to celebrating our 10th Art for ORT show and sale next Spring. Again, thank you for supporting our students!
Mazel Tov: to Silicon Valley ORT Member Randi Brenowitz. At July’s National Convention, she was elected to the position of National Vice President. Congratulations, Randi! Others from the Bay Area elected to national office include Sharon Ufberg (Secretary), Lee Maier and Mara Kahn (Board of Directors). to Nicole Mason, our new co-President, who has just been accepted into the 2002–2003 WAO National Mentoring Program. The goal of this program is to pair visionary women with seasoned and dedicated leaders of WAO to ensure a vibrant and healthy future for our organization. Welcome New Members: Elaine Harris, Michael Healy, Lisa Rauchwerger, AJ Reed, Janice Schneider Thank You New Life Members: Ruth Bareket, Ellen Bob, Susan Brenner, Kay Brown, Wendy Fotland, Barbara Frank, Francine Gani, Louise Gluckman, Dr. Elsa Gordon, Sylvia Katzman, Stevan Leonard, Rachel Levy, Nicole Mason, Dafna Mizrahi, Phyllis Newman, Judith Rosner, Lynne Rovin (If you have not received your Life Member Pin, please email hayley@svort.org or call (650)780-9223.) Condolences: to Nina Wouk on the passing of her mother. Valley Fair will kick off the holiday season the Sunday before Thanksgiving with a benefit shopping night. On this night only, enjoy entertainment, refreshments, door prizes and free gift wrapping, provided of course by ORT and the other groups helping us this year. (If you would like to volunteer to wrap for an hour and half on Nov. 18, please call Wendy Fotland, (408) 985-1236.) There will also be fabulous store discounts, including 10% off at Anchor Blue, 20% off at Eddie Bauer, 10% off at Jane's Hallmark and $10 off purchases over $75 at Sharper Image. Tickets are required for this special event. The entire $5 cost of the ticket goes to ORT—what a great fundraiser! Please call Wendy for tickets to buy or sell. Get a jump on your holiday shopping, see the new location of the gift wrap booth, have fun and support ORT-what more can you ask? We are privileged to have our own Lisa Rauchwerger, celebrated author and artist, who will talk about Making memories with your kids - Sharing through cooking. Lisa will have available her wonderful cookbook, Chocolate Chip Challah, and Other Twists on a Jewish Holiday Table, and also various activity books to share with your children. If you've never had chocolate chip challah, it is a real treat. These books also make great Chanukah gifts, and ORT will benefit too. To complement the culinary theme, we will have a cookie exchange. Bring two dozen of your favorite cookies, (and of course, the recipe) to share. Join us at Diane Rauchwerger's home. 147 Cromart Drive, Sunnyvale. Please call Alice Wald (408) 737-1670 to RSVP. (Please no children. Even though Lisa is speaking about activities with children, this event is geared toward adults only. Thank you.) The new ORT Book Club has now met twice and had great discussions about The Red Tent by Anita Diamant and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. You, too, can join us for some fantastic discussions. Our November meeting will be held on November 28 and we'll be reading The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis. (Buy the book now!) We're skipping December because of Gift Wrap, but will be back on January 16, 2002, with The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. (Buy the book now!) Contact and location information for these meetings is in the calendar of this bulletin. Please bring any book titles you would like to see the Club read so we can plan for future meetings. LEARNING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST THROUGH ART World ORT has recently put online a new website (http://www.holocaust-education.net) which concentrates on art works produced within the camps and ghettos and offers a new approach to learning about the Holocaust. Students can view high-quality images of drawings and paintings and then read the life-stories of the artists that produced them. This is a collaboration with the Beit Lohamei Haghetaot (The Ghetto Fighter's House Museum, Israel) to create an important new Internet resource for those teaching and learning about the Holocaust. (source: http://www.ort.org) Women's American ORT supports the campaign to support the passage of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2001 (H.R536), which will require insurance companies to cover a 48-hour stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. Up to now, many women have been forced to go home within hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctors, still groggy from anesthesia, and sometimes, with drainage tubes still attached. Lifetime Television has a petition supporting this legislation on its website at http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html. Please consider signing this petition to help make a difference in the care a woman receives at such a critical time in her life. More ORT news is available at: http://www.waort.org/newsletters.html. |
||||||||||||||||
