Local Synagogue Offers Alternative Payment Plan
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Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El (SSTTE), a reform Jewish congregation with nearly 400 member families has announced the launch of an innovative financial partnership; The Congregation is replacing dues with a pledge commitment plan. SSTTE is offering this non-dues-based membership program to all of its current members, former members and unaffiliated Jewish households.
The announcement of the new financial structure was made on April, 12th, 2016 by Donna Vitale Ruskin, president of the synagogue. The new financial structure – known as a "pledge commitment model" – will be implemented for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Beginning in July, members, former members, and prospective Jewish members in the Westchester community will be able to continue their membership or join the synagogue by making an annual financial pledge. This annual pledge will be a self-selected amount that will reflect the member's chosen level of financial support for the synagogue. In the past, similar to the vast majority of other synagogues nationwide, members were billed a fixed amount for their dues. Ms Vitale Ruskin explained the reason for the financial structure change and states, "This significant change comes at the end of more than two-and-a-half years of intensive research and engagement, including with UJA-New York. Our clergy, staff, and lay leadership became fundamentally convinced that a fixed dues model was out of alignment with the values of our community. Our board of trustees is as deeply committed to inclusion as it is to fiscal responsibility. Through a series of forums and community conversations, the membership was involved in shaping the decision to adopt the pledge commitment model."
Furthermore Scarsdale Synagogue's senior Rabbi Jeffrey C. Brown gave his insight in regards to the new financial structure and stated, "This new financial initiative is also about reaffirming who and what our congregation is really about. A fixed-dues model suggests that the synagogue operates on a fee for service basis and we are simply not comfortable with that. We don't think of our worship – on the High Holidays or on Shabbat – as being akin to a sporting event or Broadway show. We aspire instead to strengthen the network of collaborative relationships with our members. We are all partners in building and sustaining a Scarsdale Synagogue community that is open to everyone, with the expectation that members will financially support our congregation in a way that reflects both their financial ability and their sense of investment in the future of our communal life." The Synagogue is hopeful that replacing the dues with this new pledge commitment plan will not only allow their own members to be more comfortable with their donations but also draw in new members into their community.
For further information, please contact Roberta Aronovitch, Executive Director, at 914-725-5175 or send an email to roberta@sstte.org
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont & Emanu-El is located at 2 Ogden Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583. www.sstte.org
Movie Screening: Making a Killing Guns, Greed and the NRA
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The Interfaith Coalition Against Gun Violence will be screening the movie Making a Killing Guns, Greed and the NRA on Wednesday May 4th at 7:00pm at The Scarsdale Congregational Church's Boynton Room. Following the film there will be a discussion with Leah Gunn Barrett, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. The film is free and there is parking across from the church.
Scarsdale Congregational Church
1 Heathcote Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583
For more information, call (914) 723-2111
Seasoned Players and New Talent Shine on Scarsdale Tennis Team
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The season was off to a bright start for the Scarsdale Raiders Boys Tennis team who were 4-1 before their match against league rival Mamaroneck on April 18th. Though they are a young team that graduated nine seniors last year, new talent arrived from the freshman and sophomore classes to fill the spots on the team and Coach Jennifer Roane was calling it a "rebuilding year."
However, on Monday, when first singles player Luke Smith went out to warm up, he experienced pain in his shoulder and couldn't continue to play. He had played in a USTA match the previous weekend, and the shoulder did not feel right. Undefeated so far this season it was a big blow to Smith and the team that he was not able to compete in this important match. So, before the contest against Mamaroneck even began, Scarsdale had to forfeit first singles.
Mamaroneck then moved their first singles player 
Hope Crawford down to second singles where he met Scarsdale Junior Raf Schott. Hope and his brother Courage came to Mamaroneck from Ghana last year, and together won the Section 1 doubles titles and then took the state title as well. So Raf had a formidable opponent. Though he waged a tough fight, he lost the first set 0-6 to Courage but did manage to get three games off his opponent in the second set.
Senior Captain Zach Steinberg played a long match in third singles. He was also defeated 6-3, 6-2 and said his opponent was a great net player who surprised him by coming up to the net at least 60% of the time. Steinberg was also previously undefeated.
Things ultimately went better for the first doubles team of Harrison Peltz and Evan Josephs, both in their senior year. They started out badly, losing the first set without taking a single game but did not give up. In the second set they improved their communication, drove to the baseline and managed to keep their opponents away from the net. They took the second set 6-2 and then went into a super tiebreaker, winning 10-4 and taking the match.
Second doubles features a new team of sophomore Suhas Vennan and Junior Alan Chung. After 
losing the first set 6-1, they improved their consistency and mixed up their shots to come back in the second set, where they were initially down 5-1 but lost only 6-4. Suhas has a strong net game and the two work well on the court together.
The third doubles team includes the only freshman on the team, Gus Thompson. He is the youngest player on the team, but the tallest as well and has great wing span at the net. Gus and Junior Jonathan Schwartz pulled out a 6-3, 6-4 victory, by winning their serving games and driving to pass their opponents at the net. Fortunately their power along with their opponents' unforced errors added up to a win for the Raiders.
Though the team had already lost the match but the time the fourth doubles team fought it out, everyone stayed to watch seniors Jack Axelrod and Adam Kazan play out a long, long match. The two looked like they were truly enjoying the game –though it was a real cliffhanger. They won both sets narrowly, 7-5, 7-5, making the score for the match 3 for Scarsdale and 4 for Mamaroneck.
There's a long season ahead, with 14 regular matches followed by the playoffs. With 4-5 matches a week the team will have many opportunities to practice and win.
3-on-3 Adult Basketball Tournament Raises Over $45K
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Backyards Sports Cares held its Fourth Annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament fundraiser on the campus of Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, NY this past Saturday, April 16th.
More than $45,000 was raised at the tournament, which attracted hundreds of basketball enthusiasts, devotees and fans. The proceeds from the event will support BYSC's successful sports programs serving kids from under-served communities and those with special needs.
In a day complimented by great food and lots of fun, NCAA champion and collegiate basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg was on hand taking part in photographs, signing autographs and serving up sagely advice to the players. All the same time, the Westchester Knicks City Dancers took everyone through their latest dance moves while the day was highlighted by an "All Star Game" in which special needs children participated. The Star Kidz, All Starz! inspired the crowd with its rousing rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Backyard Sports Cares founder and Executive Director, Danny Bernstein, stressed how the funds raised by the tournament are used to directly fund programs to help children. "The monies raised will enable young athletes to participate in a number of programs, including 'Friday Night Tennis,' a weekend summer camp for kids from Mount Vernon as well as covering travel fees for children who otherwise would never be able to participate in a Travel Soccer program," Bernstein said. "It has just been a truly great day."
Adult Basketball Tournament Champions and Trophy winners:
Open - most competitive: BYS Team 1
35 years+ - Barron's Ballers
Adult Recreation: White Plains Finest
High School – grade 9 –12: Pelham Team
Panthers Look To Hit Their Stride
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The Edgemont Boys Varsity Tennis Team had a rocky start to the season, which began with a frustrating 5-2 loss to the Harrison Huskies on Wednesday April 6. Because they were on spring break, the team was missing a handful of starters. This meant different players had to fill the void left by vacationing team members. Junior Charlie Miner played first singles, and lost 6-1, 7-5. Miner was followed by regular third singles player Lenny Marlow, who stepped up and played second. Marlow's match was an absolute marathon that lasted over two hours and ended in a thrilling third set super tiebreak; unfortunately for Edgemont, Marlow fell just short losing 10-6 in the final set. Fourth doubles team Shane Englander and Ahmad Allen picked up the only doubles win for Edgemont. They battled back after losing the first set 6-0, and eventually won in a third set super tiebreak.
Team Record: 0-1.
The next match for the Panthers was their first league match against the Hastings Yellow Jackets on April 5. As expected, the Panthers dominated from top to bottom. Janoscar Kjellberg started it off with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory at first singles. Seniors Berber Jin and Krishna Saraf won their singles matches at second and third singles respectively. Miner and Jain took care of business at first doubles, as did Conway and Kaul at second. Englander and Shifren struggled early in the first set, falling behind 5-0; but they battled back to win 7 straight games and took the first set 7-5. They went on to pick up an easy second set victory, adding to the point tally for Edgemont. Hoesterey and Allen ended the match in a dominating fashion, winning fourth doubles 6-0, 6-0 in a match that lasted no more than 30 minutes.
Team Record: 1-1.
The Panthers' next opponent was one of the strongest teams in the section; the Mamaroneck Tigers on April 11. The Tigers returned a tandem of brothers, the Crawfords, who last year captured the first ever doubles state title for Mamaroneck. To the Panther's pleasant surprise, the brothers were not at the match for personal reasons. Despite this, Edgemont still knew this would be a tough match (Edgemont lost to Mamaroneck twice last year), and a tough match it was. Edgemont lost the match by a count of 6-1. The lone bright spot for the Panthers was a win by Sarvesh Kaul and Krishna Saraf at second doubles. When asked about the match, Kaul said, "Picking up the first set is always big. It gave us great confidence as we looked to close it out in the second set." Kaul and Saraf were able to finish it off in the second, winning by a final score of 6-3, 7-6.
Team Record: 1-2.
The Panthers will have to refocus for next week's matches that include league rivals Pleasantville and Keio, as well as a difficult non-league match vs. Scarsdale. When asked how the team should handle the loss to Mamaroneck, senior captain Aaditya Jain said, "We have to take it on the chin and use it as motivation to get better so that when we play them again at the end of the season, we can play up to their level".
The Panthers may be disappointed with how the season has started, but they have plenty of matches left to reestablish themselves as one of the top teams in Section 1.
