Friends of Luke Moretti Donate $200K To Support Spinal Cord Research
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Over 600 friends and supporters of Scarsdale’s Luke Moretti raised almost $200,000 to support the Luke Moretti Fund to benefit the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for Spinal Cord Research. The gala event was held on October 24 at LIFE in Ardsley and a wide swath of the community turned out to drink, dine, see Beatlemania and stand behind the Moretti family after their son Luke suffered a spinal cord injury during his freshman year at Vanderbilt.
The well-choreographed event included a silent auction lead by sportscaster Bruce Beck, promotion from Jimmy Fink of 107.1 the Peak, a proclamation from Westchester County Deputy Director Kevin Plunkett, remarks from Luke’s brother Marcus Moretti and thanks form Dr. Debra Morosini, who is Dana Reeve’s sister and represented the foundation.
In addition to donations from the 600 attendees, there were checks from more than 300 non-attendees and the silent auction raised $35,000.
Scarsdale’s Rich and Stacey Baumer produced this ambitious event with help from event committee members, Elyse Abraham, 
Deedee Cohen, Elyse Flagg, Brendan Marx, Anne Moretti, Jennifer Stone, Lindsay Sturman, and Amy Tuller.
Rich Baumer was thrilled with the results. Commenting on the event, he said, “The event, attendance, and generosity exceeded all our expectations. We had an unbelievable organizing committee, sponsors, people providing goods and services (Godiva, Jimmy Fink, Bruce Beck, Sandy Alexander Printing, etc.), and attendees. The venue itself was ideal, and everybody was there because of the faith, love, courage, and inspiration of Luke and the entire Moretti family. I think it showed the true essence of community and how this town comes together for each other. The Moretti family was awed by the outpouring of love and emotion in the room, and would like to once again, thank everyone who helped organize, attend, donate, work, prepare, donate, etc. Donations can still be made at www.LukeMorettiFund.Eventbrite.com or by mailing a check, made out to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, to Rich Baumer, at 33 Park Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583.”
Photos by Alison Fial Greene
Vote by Mail for the Citizen's Nominating Committee
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This year, for the first time, voters in local elections for the Citizens Nominating Committee can vote in person on November 14 or vote by mail before then. Ballots are available at Village Hall and the Scarsdale Library, were mailed to residents, and can be downloaded from www.scarsdaleprocedurecommittee.org.
Here are instructions on how to vote by mail:
Visit the Procedure Committee website where you can download the ballot.
1. Print the ballot; make as many copies as there are in your family who are eligible to vote and haven't voted yet and don't plan to vote in person;
2. Vote for up to two candidates from your elementary school district; ONLY TWO!
3. Vote on all three ballot amendments
4. DO NOT SIGN THE BALLOT
5. Put only one ballot in an envelope and seal it.
6. SIGN THE SEAL AND PUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AS THE RETURN ADDRESS (this helps prevent ballot box stuffing).
7. Mail the stamped envelope before 5 pm on November 13 to:
Scarsdale Procedure Committee
P.O. Box 284
Scarsdale NY 10583
According to David Brodsky, chair of the Procedure Committee, almost fifty mail-in ballots have been received already, but about 10% are not complying with the requirements to put their name and home address on the envelope and to sign the seal of the envelope. "It is critical to comply with these requirements," Mr. Brodsky said, "or the ballots inside will not be counted. People who have not done so can revote and their original ballot will be discarded."
Hopes are high that the new voting procedure will boost the total voting to well over the previous high of 664 in 2009. Most years have averaged in the low 500's, Mr. Brodsky noted.
Helping Others Through Music
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The 6th annual concert bringing together different religious and musical groups to benefit at-risk children from the Edward Williams School in Mount Vernon will be held on Saturday, November 17th at 7:00pm at St. James the Less Church in Scarsdale in collaboration with Westchester Jewish Community Services and Westchester Reform Temple. The musical theme for the event is Celebrating Kings of the Old Testament/Torah.
This unique concert is a joint effort of the Episcopal and Jewish communities in Scarsdale. Their five previous concerts have raised over $215,000 and have sent over 300 disadvantaged children to the Wagon Road Camp in Chappaqua for 7 weeks each summer.
The Children’s Choir of the Edward Williams School along with children from Scarsdale will join forces (40 children) to sing a song of inspiration with orchestra to celebrate the 6th Anniversary of this Benefit. Internationally acclaimed Canadian violinist Marc Benzekri will be the guest artist performing Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccio.
Orchestra musicians from the greater New York City area donate their time and talent for this special performance of classical music. The concert will include Mozart’s Overture from The Magic Flute, 2 world premieres for choir and orchestra by Maestro Bischof, a spiritual for choirs and orchestra and Brahms’ legendary Symphony No. 4. For most of the children, this event is the first time they will experience classical music. On the day of the concert, the children attend the dress rehearsal and get to meet the professional musicians and ask them questions about music and their lives as performers.
“Our first five years have been both exciting and inspiring,” said Dorothy Yewer, Co-Founder and Benefit Chair. “The community has been incredibly supportive of our work and the crucial need that exists so close to home. The children are empowered by participating in the Benefit and we are looking forward to growing our audience and helping even more children as we begin our next five years.”
The beneficiaries all attend the WJCS Amazing Afternoons Program in Mount Vernon during the school year. The program gives 125 at-risk elementary school aged children a safe place to learn and grow after school during the critical 3-6pm time frame when their parents or guardians are usually at work. During the summer there is a void in these children’s lives and many desperately need a safe, productive environment that their families cannot provide for them.
To purchase tickets please call 914.723.6100 extension 203 . Tickets are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Sign up for the Third Annual Spelling Bee
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To Bee or not to Bee: that is certainly not the question as the Friends of the Scarsdale Library gear up for the third annual Adult and Teen Spelling Bee, to be held on Friday, February 1, 2013 at 7:30 PM in the Scarsdale High School Auditorium. The Spelling Bee, a Scarsdale institution in the making, is an important fund raising event for the Scarsdale Library. Over the past two years, monies raised through the Spelling Bee have been used to make significant technology upgrades to the Library’s community room and to plan enhancements to the children’s room.
Besides raising money, the event provides a great evening of entertainment to the community during the winter doldrums. Trivia games, music, a silent auction, and emcee Ed Coleman, the radio voice of the New York Mets, will keep audience members regaled between rounds of the Spelling Bee. Of course, coming to the Bee and supporting friends and neighbors on the spelling teams will get the audience’s competitive blood racing.
Participants in the Spelling Bee compete as teams of up to three people. Anyone of high-school age and above may participate, and the entrance fee is $150 per team. Two rounds, the first written, and the second oral, winnow the field of teams down to the finalists and ultimate champions. As Library trustee, Florie Wachtenheim, notes of her debuting team (Terri Simon and Jonathan Flaxer), “With great anticipation (Does anyone know a good spelling tutor?), we’re putting ourselves on the spelling line for a very good cause!”
Besides participating on a spelling team, sponsorship opportunities are available to businesses and individuals. Contact Spelling Bee co-chair Sara Werder at 472-6264 or sarawerder@gmail.com to discuss sponsorship levels.
The deadline to enter as a team is December 31, 2012. Only 20 teams will be accepted, so get your application in soon in order to avoid being shut out of this fun event. Application forms are available at the Library or online. For more information, contact Sara Werder or her co-chair Renu Lalwani at 917-584-8834 or renublalwani@gmail.com.
Car Wash and Benefit for Lakota Children Sunday 10-14
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This Sunday, October 14, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., the Scarsdale High School Pine Ridge Reservation Aid Club is teaming up with the Scarsdale Congregational Church (SCC) and the Lakota Pine Ridge Children’s Enrichment Project to sponsor a Car Wash and Benefit for the Lakota Children of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. This awareness and fundraising event - - featuring music, a bake sale, a silent auction and raffle, and “good, clean fun” - - will take place, rain or shine, at the SCC, located at 1 Heathcote Road in Scarsdale. All proceeds will benefit the Lakota children of Pine Ridge.
Bring your car to be washed, enjoy the refreshments, listen to the songs of Scarsdale High School’s premier a cappella group, “For Good Measure,” and participate in the silent auction and raffle! Local merchants have generously donated items for the auction and raffle, and they are hoping to see the community come out to support the event.. While you wait for your car, volunteer your time to package items for the Lakota children. Bring a new pair of snow boots, running shoes or a snow jacket to send to a school on the reservation.
The high school club is coordinating the event with the SCC’s Youth Action Committee (YAC) and the Lakota Pine Ridge Children’s Enrichment Project, the successful non-profit organization started by Maggie Dunne, a 2009 graduate of SHS and a current senior at Colgate University. Ms. Dunne was inspired to create the project in 2007 after going on YAC’s first service trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation, organized by the Rev. Fran Wise Grenley, the SCC’s Senior Minister for Congregational Care and Outreach. Since then, Rev. Grenley and YAC members have continued volunteering with RE-MEMBER, a non-profit, non-religious organization that works with the Lakota Indian communities living on the reservation. Ms. Dunne’s project has provided over $100,000 in aid to children on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and her dedication to the Lakota children was recognized nationally in April 2012, when she was awarded the Grand Prize in Glamour Magazine’s Top 10 College Women contest.
The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota covers more than 2.8 million acres in southwestern South Dakota, making it 
the second-largest reservation in the United States and larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. The reservation, home to approximately 28,000-35,000 people, is located in Shannon County, where its per-capita income of $6,286 makes it the second poorest county in the United States. Some startling and disturbing statistics about the reservation are: Unemployment rate: 80-90%. Lowest life expectancy in the United States, with an average life span of 48 for men and 53 for women. Percent of residents living below the federal poverty line: 49. Children living in poverty: 69%. Infant mortality: 3 times higher than the national average. Teen suicide rate: 4 times higher than the national average.
Last year the Scarsdale community sent 5,000 pounds of donations of mostly new items to the children of Pine Ridge Reservation, through the Lakota Pine Ridge Enrichment Project, and its Fall Supply Drive provided clothing, boots and warm outerwear to thousands of children and families.This year they are asking Scarsdale neighbors to donate new boots, running shoes, and snow jackets to help to keep hundreds of Lakota children warm this winter.
The Car Wash and Benefit for Lakota Children will take place this Sunday 10/14 from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Scarsdale Congregational Church. All proceeds will benefit the Lakota Pine Ridge Children's Enrichment Project, Ltd., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Contact the project at lakotakids@gmail.com and follow it at http://lakotakids.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook and Twitter @Lakota_Children. For more information about the Car Wash and Benefit, call (914) 806-2720.
Contributor Katie Colella is a SHS senior, who volunteered at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 2011 and is president of the SHS Pine Ridge Reservation Aid Club.
