Local Students To Climb the Ritz Tower To Support Gilda's Club

Fourteen Scarsdale and Edgemont high schoolers will climb 41 flights at the Ritz Carlton to benefit Gilda's Club Westchester on Monday night October 7. The Ritz Carlton Westchester is the tallest building between Westchester and Boston and a total of 500 people, climbing individually or in teams are expected to climb to the top of the Ritz Tower.

Among the climbers will be 14 high school students from an Edgemont and Scarsdale team who have been touched by cancer and want to get the word out about support for teens at Gilda's Club Westchester. The group is comprised of 10th and 11th graders who have already raised over $2,100.

The Edgemont-Scarsdale Steps Ups are climbing to help sustain the important operations of Gilda's Club Westchester, as well as to have a meaningful and fun-filled evening. The team is currently in training: some are doing cardio at the local gym in anticipation while others are climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator at Gilda's Club.

The team has gotten sponsors by advertising in the community and soliciting from family and friends, many of whom in turn decide to join the cause as well and get more sponsors. The team has raised over $2,100 with several individuals raising over $150.

Scarsdale/Edgemont students include:
David Scharf, 15, Edgemont HS
Zach Falk, 16, Edgemont HS
Hannah Litt, 15 Edgemont HS
Jessica Stern, 15, Edgemont HS
Jessie Rubin, 16, Edgemont HS
Melissa Polin, 16, Scarsdale HS
Jordanna Roman, 15, Scarsdale HS
Madeline Frankel, 15, Scarsdale HS

Gilda's Club Westchester Youth Committee: Pictured at top by row (front to back) and left to right.

1) Natasha Valk-Braunstein,
2) Olivia Iannotti, Billie Kolinsky, Elana Heisner, Jenna Stein, Jessica Stern, Madeline Frankel, Hannah Litt
3) Alexia Iuni, Ben Tait, Gabriela Colmenares, Aneri Suthar, Melissa Polin, Jade Brown, Jeremiah Finkelman-Mahoney, Gus Raynor
4) Stacey Zanoni (coordinator), Je'lyn Brown, Charlotte Mead, Jared Roseman, Sienna Barlow, Akeem Charles, David Scharf, Jessie Rubin, Lily Eslinger, Zach Falk, Kara Eslinger, Jacob Forchheimer,
Andrew Nicholson (co-coordinator)

Teams and individuals may register for the event at the climb homepage: www.GildasStairClimb.org, or by calling the Gilda's Stair Climb office at: 914.813.2756.