JCC golf/games fundraiser is a hole-in-one
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- Marci Ginzburg, Beth Rubach, Jamie Molluzzo, auction co-chairs Jenna Gutmann and Melissa Garden, Briana Holden, Candice Flax, Gabrielle Marcus, Ariella Basloe, and Jillian Somberg. (Photos courtesy JCCOTP)
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- JCC CEO Jordan Shenker, presenting sponsors Sharon and Jeff Kurtz and Richard Kurtz, and JCC chair JoJo Rubach.
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- Michael Kollender, event co-chair Tracy Reichel, JoJo Rubach, special events chair Marci Ginzburg, event co-chair Dan Cohn, and Allison and event co-chair Cory Hechler.
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- Erica Polavieja, Alana Hershkin, Lauren Gordon, and Lindsey Epstein play mah jongg.
This year’s annual “Play Fore! the Kids Golf and Games,” a day sponsored by the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly, brought participants, family, and friends to the Montammy Country Club in Alpine on August 7.
For the last 17 summers, JCC family and friends have played in the golf classic, raising funds to bring a better quality of life to children with special needs. This year, players and friends raised essential funds to support more than 800 children who come to the JCC to gain important life skills, have fun in summer camps, and take part in a range of educational and recreational programs.
In addition to golf, the day featured a third year of Play Games fore! The Kids, where game lovers had the chance to play mah jongg, bridge, or canasta, as well as men’s and women’s tennis.
“Providing basic life experiences for children with different abilities is a core JCC mission,” the JCC’s CEO, Jordan Shenker, said. “This year, the ground may have been a little soggy from the rain, keeping our golfers from completing their course, but it didn’t interfere with their spirits or prevent them from enjoying quality time with friends or a spectacular dinner reception, where they enthusiastically bid on exciting online and live auctions.
“There were hundreds of happy JCC supporters in attendance and thanks to them and our generous sponsors, auction contributors, chairs and staff, we raised the funds we were hoping for to continually develop new services for people in our community with special needs.”
A highlight of the evening featured Shelley Levy, the director of the Guttenberg Center for Special Services, who told the story of Gil Tov, a 20-year-old with autism and apraxia. Gil has participated in the center for 15 years. The program has helped him gain critical skills and the confidence he needed to write for his school newspaper, Celebrate the Children, and to embrace his unique visual talents by reading mammograms.
The JCC extends special thanks to its presenting sponsors: the Hechler family and the Kurtz and Spadaccini family; event chairs Daniel Cohn, Cory Hechler, and Tracy Reichel; the auction committee chaired by Melissa Garden and Jenna Gutmann; the games committee chaired by Allison Hechler; and special events chair Marci Ginzburg. For more information, go to www.jccotp.org/playforethekids, call Michal Kleiman at (201) 408-1412, or email her at mkleiman@jccotp.org.
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