Fundraising

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A Fun & Inspiring Fund-raiser: A Grand Night at the Museum

As a wonderful fund-raiser for our Section, we’ll be sponsoring a gala Night at the Museum—the Morris Museum—the evening of Saturday, Nov. 5, beginning at 7 p.m. The museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road, in Morristown.

This elegant event—a scavenger hunt with a cultural twist—is open to members, spouses, significant others, prospective members, and friends of the Section. We’ll have a scrumptious dessert & coffee reception, plus a hunt for hidden treasures throughout the museum. You’ll discover and learn about the history of some of the museum’s most treasured pieces.

An evening of high culture and camaraderie, our Night at the Museum promises to be a memorable evening of fun for everyone. Co-chairs are Joy Buchfirer and Rhonda Goldberger, together with Lisa Barta.

Tickets are $50 a person (basic); $65 a person (sponsor); and $85 a person (patron). Please send your check (made payable to NCJW, West Morris) to Rhonda Goldberger, 22 Witherspoon Court, Morristown NJ 07960. For further information about this event, contact Rhonda at rgoldberger@verizon.net; 973-631-1517.

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‘Fashion Fit Formula’ to Be Spotlighted at Personal Giving Thank-You Brunch

Do you have a closet full of clothing and nothing to wear? Janet Wood Cunliffe of Fashion Fit Formula, addressed this conundrum at our Personal Giving Thank-You Brunch on Sunday, May 22, at 10 a.m., at a private home in Morristown. Everyone who donated to our Personal Giving campaign, under the leadership of Dorothy Cohen and Anne Gorman, was invited to attend. To make a donation to the campaign, contact Dorothy at dorothy_irvingcohen@msn.com.

According to Janet, the average American woman wears only 20–30 percent of her wardrobe. When she purchases the outfits, she likes the color and style. Yet, after wearing an outfit once or twice she feels frumpy and it gets pushed to the back of her closet. The cycle continues:

 Shop  Wear  Disappointment  Unworn  Eventually Discard  Shop Again  Repeat Cycle

This is not only a tremendous waste of financial resources but for many a source of emotional wear and tear.

The current trend in fashion is to dress according to your shape. But if this is the complete answer, why are so many clothes unworn?

There are many elements to the fit of clothing: shoulders, neckline, and the way the material glides over the body, for example. The one thing that has not been considered until now is your bone structure. No amount of dieting or exercising can change that. Once you have reached your adult height, your bone structure does not change. However, the difference in appearance when harmony and balance with your skeletal structure have been achieved is amazing.

The Fashion Fit Formula solution can prevent future buying mistakes. If an outfit is too long, it can always be altered to be made shorter, but if a jacket is too short, do you really want it to wind up in the back of your closet? The best place to shop is in your unworn clothing. Shopping your closet is all the rage these days, and many times a simple change in a hemline, the shortening of a sleeve, or a minor neckline alteration can transform an outfit from merely OK to extraordinary.

Learn how Janet’s Fashion Fit Formula can save you time, money, and aggravation! Here are some examples of simple changes that make a big difference:

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THEATER FUND-RAISER MARCH 13

We gathered to see a production of the one-man show “A Jew Grows in Brooklyn,” on Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m., at the Bickford Theatre in the Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, in Morristown.

The event, which was a fund-raiser for our Section, also featured an after-theater party at a private home. Coordinating the event was done Lisa Barta.

Growing up as a post-World War II generation Jewish American offered writer-actor-singer-musician Jake Ehrenreich material for plenty of nostalgic satire in “A Jew Grows in Brooklyn.” Essentially a solo performance with live musical accompaniment, Ehrenreich’s autobiographical compilation of stories and song commingles humor and sorrow, characteristic of traditional Jewish folktales.

The son of Polish immigrants who escaped the Holocaust, Ehrenreich spent his youth yearning to be the “all-American kid”–baseball and rock ’n’ roll were his cultural anchors. Ehrenreich’s exploration of his Jewish identity is built on emotional pivot points like this, poking at the sore spots of his family life with the fierce affection that Jews have for one another, then linking each comic anecdote to a more serious theme.

Tickets for this outstanding show were $40 apiece (basic) and $45 (patron). The deadline to order tickets was February 15. For further information, contact Lisa Barta (lisakb53@yahoo.com).

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Personal Giving Thank-You Brunch & Installation

We held a lovely Thank-You Brunch for donors to our Personal Giving Campaign and the Installation of Officers for 2015–2016. Installing officer Susan Coen, former co-chair of the New Jersey, NCJW SPA Network, toasted our Section’s many achievements over the past year.

Then Peggy Grow, head of the Soothing Paws Program at Morristown Medical Center, and her lovely therapy dog Lilly, a Lab/Golden cross, gave a special presentation about the Soothing Paws Program and what a difference the program makes in the lives of the patients and staff at the hospital. The Personal Giving Campaign was coordinated by Dorothy Cohen and Anne Gorman.

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A Memorable Cabaret Night

Everyone had a wonderful evening at our Cabaret Night. The event was coordinated by Lisa Barta, our fund-raising chair. Others who pitched in to make the evening magical were Vicki Williams, Susan Neigher, Dorothy Cohen, and all the performers and exhibitors.

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

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Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

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The NCJW, West Morris Section Personal Giving Thank-You Brunch is going to the dogs! Morristown Medical Center’s Soothing Paws™ Pet Therapy representatives Peggy Grow, together with her dog Lilly, and Elizabeth Siccone, with her dog Cid, gave an informative presentation about this wonderful program on Sunday morning, June 14, at 10 a.m., at a private home in Denville. The NCJW, West Morris Personal Giving campaign is coordinated by Dorothy Cohen of Denville and Anne Gorman of Rockaway.

Since the beginning of time, humans and animals have shared a powerful connection. As part of the healing culture at Morristown Medical Center, the hospital has a thriving pet therapy program for patients, visitors and staff. The pet therapy program, called Soothing Paws, provides visits to most areas in the hospital, including the ICU, surgical waiting rooms, pediatrics wards, and the medical and surgical floors. Pet therapy enhances the hospital’s healing culture. A total of 18,000 individuals enjoyed visits from animals and their handlers at Morristown Medical Center in 2014.

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Straight from Broadway: NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN, WEST MORRIS SECTION SPONSORED FUND-RAISING OUTING–‘NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT’

Lisa Barta, left, and Marilyn Semer at “Nice Work If You Can Get It” fund-raiser.

National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), West Morris Section, sponsored a fund-raising outing to see the Tony-winning musical comedy “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m., at the Community Theatre, 100 South St., in Morristown.

The outing was open to the public.

It’s the Roaring Twenties and a cast of outrageous characters gather in New York to celebrate the wedding of wealthy playboy Jimmy Winter. But things don’t go as planned when the playboy meets Billy Bendix, a bubbly and feisty bootlegger who melts his heart.

This brand-new musical featured a treasure trove of George and Ira Gershwin’s most beloved, instantly recognizable tunes, set in a fresh and funny song-and-dance spectacular with a book by Tony winner Joe DiPietro (Memphis) and direction and choreography by three-time Tony winner Kathleen Marshall (Anything Goes). “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” was filled to the brim with classic songs, including “But Not For Me,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “I’ve Got a Crush on You” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.” This sparkling, madcap tale combined laughter, romance and high-stepping Broadway magic for an evening bursting with girls, glamour and the glorious songs of Gershwin!

The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.