The WRT Inspired Giving Annual Fund, along with our Spring Celebration, is WRT’s main source of operating support beyond membership dues and tuition.
It is through the generosity of our community that we can fully carry out our mission, attract and retain world-class staff, uphold the highest standards of learning and worship, and offer engaging and innovative ways to experience Jewish life.
Your generous support enables us to carry out our vision and mission.
Click here to help support the Inspired Giving Annual Fund
Click here to download the Inspired Giving Annual Fund pdf form
Nicole and Edward Risener
JLL Class Parent, Philanthropy Committee Co-Chair, Volunteer
WRT holds a special place in our families’ hearts. It is one of the only places that the four of us share, differently but equally. The temple has helped us establish roots here in the Scarsdale Jewish community when we moved here five years ago and has become the central defining Jewish home for my husband and me and our two sons. We are so grateful for everything that WRT has to offer, and giving to the annual Inspired Giving Annual Fund is a chance to do something meaningful to us each and every year.”
Sydney and Jordan Solomon
ECC Parent, Philanthropy Committee Member, ECC Cocktail Party Chair
WRT has truly become a cornerstone of our family’s life, enriching each of us in unique and meaningful ways. Being part of the philanthropy committee and helping plan the ECC Spring Party has allowed me to give back, support the teachers who have become part of our family, and strengthen the sense of community. For our children, WRT offers a space to form lasting friendships, explore their Jewish identity, and deepen their connection to tradition. As a couple, we’ve made lifelong friends and deepened our commitment to serving the community. We look forward to continuing our journey as members of WRT, excited to grow alongside this community as our family grows and evolves.
Sheryl Spivack-Braun and Jim Aiello
Trustee, Philanthropy Co-chair
I recently celebrated a milestone birthday with friends and family near and far. As I reflected on the next chapter of my life, I thought about the people, places, and experiences that made the biggest impact in the past decade and Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) was top of that list. While physical gifts are always appreciated, my partner Jim and I decided to celebrate this occasion by supporting our beloved WRT.
WRT has been my family’s spiritual home for over 10 years and when I thought further about why WRT was so important to me, I thought of my children, their naming ceremony, their B’nai mitzvah, confirmation, and JLL experiences. With WRT’s professional guidance, we created a fundraising opportunity in lieu of gifts for friends and family to contribute to the Norman L. Blumstein Youth Fund. This fund helps WRT provide scholarships to encourage youth to attend Jewish Youth programs, including summer camps. I saw firsthand how the URJ Jewish summer camp experiences and inclusive Jewish learning made an incredible, positive impact on my children Shauny and Adrien and we knew instantly, that was how we wanted to give back. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who celebrated this milestone with me, in person or in spirit, while carrying on the tradition of L’dor v’dor, from generation to generation, and many thanks to WRT for being our spiritual home for over a decade!
Nancy and David Michaels
2024 Honorary Co-Chairs, 70th Anniversary Celebration and Former Trustees
As honorary co-chair of WRT’s 70th Anniversary Celebration, I wasn’t sure what to say, when asked to speak from the Bima. I reflected on how I came to Westchester Reform Temple 33 years ago, I didn’t end up using these remarks but I thought I would share my story! Rabbi Jacobs liked to use my husband David and me as examples of how not to join a temple- we never met the Rabbi, never walked into the building, never attended a service. We joined because we lived across the street. Miraculously, it was the best ignorant decision we ever made. Fast forward two years when our son, BJ was in the 3’s. Susan Cheskin, the then head of the ECC, asked me to co-chair the ECC Committee, and as they say, the rest is history. My husband then became WRT’s Treasurer, and he got sucked in. WRT did that to us. My father used to think we joined a cult! When a new Religious School Program called Sharing Shabbat began, I enrolled our family, although my husband emphatically said, “Great, but I’ll never go”. During our 7 years in the program, we attended every week as a family, with two parents and three kids. As I said, WRT Just sucked us all in! Westchester Reform Temple is more than this building—it’s even more than our clergy. It’s my family, my community, and my home.