JBFCS CELEBRATES 2013 ANNUAL SPRING BENEFIT
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SOCIETY AT THE PLAZA
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Jean Shafiorff And Michael Bloomberg
Melissa Russo
Jean And Martin Shafiroff
Mario Buatta
Oscar Plotkin With Sharon Bush
Ann Rapp With Roy Kean
Tony Mann With Jean Shafiroff, Joyce Cowin, Jerold D Jacobson,
Seymour R. Askin, Jr., Paul Levine, Jean Troubh And Michael Album
The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (JBFCS) celebrated its 2013 Spring Benefit honoring Seymour R. Askin, JBFCS Honorary Chair of the Board, Jerold D. Jacobson, Proskauer, Partner, Jean Shafiroff, JBFCS Board Member and Paul Levine, JBFCS Executive VP & CEO at New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Melissa Russo, WNBC news anchor, served as master of ceremonies.
The evening began with a flourish, as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the cocktail hour to address the crowd and thank JBFCS, noting that “you can’t do it alone” and that the work of JBFCS is a necessity for the city to help its residents in need. At the conclusion of the cocktail hour, the attendees moved upstairs where master of ceremonies Melissa Russo introduced Tony Mann, the President of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Mann announced the news to the 375 attendees that some $1.3 million dollars had been raised for the organization.
After Fred Yerman blessed the bread, Paul Levine, Executive Vice President of JBFCS, was introduced by John Herrmann, the former President of the Board of JBFCS. Outgoing VP and CEO Levine reflected upon his time with JBFCS and concluded by thanking everyone involved with the organization and the leadership under which he served.
Chair of the Board Jean Troubh then introduced honoree Seymour R. Askin, Jr. who outlined his detailed past with Big Brothers, the Jewish Board of Guardians, and JBFCS, working with those in need. He said his mother taught him that “people who are able to live well have an obligation to pay it back in some way.” Jerald D. Jacobson, the next to be honored, spoke about his four decades spent as counsel for JBFCS and the experience of working with four generations of leadership in the organization.
Jean Shafiroff, the final honoree of the evening, was then introduced by Joyce Cowin. Jean, in attendance with her husband Martin and daughter Elizabeth, kept her address brief, noting with genuine modesty that the actual heroes are the staff, the volunteers, and the thousands of individuals that JBFCS helps and houses.
The $1.3 million raised will benefit JBFCS’ 175 community-based programs, residential facilities, and day-treatment centers that annually serve more than 55,000 New Yorkers-in-need of all faiths, races, and cultures.
JBFCS has been a trailblazer in treating social problems for more than a century. Today, the organization is one of the nation’s largest and most respected nonprofit mental health and social service agencies—every night, more than 1,000 individuals call a JBFCS residence home. The work of JBFCS is built upon a network of more than 2,200 professionals, including social workers, licensed psychologists, and psychiatrists, as well as a cadre of clinical support personnel in continuing day treatment and residential treatment centers, and a corps of more than 800 dedicated volunteers.
JBFCS provides a comprehensive network of mental health and social services to promote well-being, resilience, and self-sufficiency for individuals and families in need in the New York metropolitan area. As leaders in the field of human services, JBFCS’ mission is clear— 175 social service programs. 1 mission. To get help to those who need it.
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