Sinai benefit set for February 23

Sinai benefit set for February 23

Sinai students (Photos courtesy Sinai Schools)
Sinai students (Photos courtesy Sinai Schools)

Sinai Schools will hold its annual benefit dinner on Sunday, February 23, at the Marriott Glenpointe Hotel in Teaneck. This year’s honorees are Rabbi Yosef Adler, Philip and Peggy Danishefsky, and Rabbi Yehudah and Laurie Minchenberg. The Community Partnership award will be presented to Brad Ruder, who is the president of Brad-Core /Humanism in Building and the founder of Senior Source.

Rabbi Yosef Adler of Teaneck’s Congregation Rinat Yisrael is rosh hayeshiva of Torah Academy of Bergen County. Rabbi Adler has played a vital role in the success of Sinai Schools’ 30-year partnership with TABC. As a Sinai partner school, TABC embodies the inclusive educational environment that encourages Sinai students to thrive both academically and socially. Rabbi Adler often speaks of the profound benefits and life lessons that TABC’s students derive from having Sinai students as part of the fabric of their school. Both in this way and from the pulpit at Rinat, Rabbi Adler has been a leader in changing community attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Philip and Peggy Danishefsky have supported Sinai Schools because of the unique role that Sinai fills in the community. To encourage others to give to Sinai, they recently established the Danishefsky Family Scholarship Fund at Sinai Schools, in memory of their parents Rabbi Joel and Jaelene Danishefsky z”l, Marlene Sikes z”l, and their sister Shele Danishefsky z”l, all of whom were vigorous advocates for Jewish education.

Sinai parents for more than 13 years, Rabbi Yehuda and Laurie Minchenberg have three children at Sinai, and have experienced firsthand what is possible when a child is provided with the individualized education he or she needs. These exemplary parents are deeply involved in the growth of each of their children and partner with the educational and therapeutic professionals at Sinai to maximize their children’s abilities. Sinai’s feature documentary at this year’s dinner will tell the gripping story of the Minchenberg family, in a follow up to Sinai’s acclaimed “Heroes,” which left off seven years ago with their son Tuvia’s deeply inspirational bar mitzvah.

Brad Ruder, president of BRAD-CORE/Humanism in Building, prides himself in his focus on designing and building spaces to improve the lives of others. Senior Source, the nonprofit he founded, has provided essential vocational opportunities for Sinai students for several years, teaching them the vital skills that will allow them to flourish as independent and productive members of society. As a further testament to his dedication, Brad recently established the BRAD-CORE “Humanism in Building” Scholarship Fund at Sinai.

Sinai, which operates seven inclusive special education schools across New York and New Jersey, has worked with children with a wide range of developmental, intellectual, and complex learning disabilities for almost four decades. Sinai is recognized for its excellence in special education, providing highly individualized programming and extensive therapies to meet each child’s individual needs, paired with a Jewish education. The costs Sinai takes on each time they accept a new student are extraordinarily high.

Sinai’s annual benefit dinner is the single largest fundraiser of the year, and it is critical to Sinai ’s ability to serve the families who need them. For more information, or to make reservations or a donation, call Pam Ennis, Sinai’s director of development, at (201) 833-1134, or go to sinaidinner.org.

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