Rosh Hashana L’Chaim & Volunteer Awards
16:00 Tuesday 17 September
The success of Netanya AACI is due to the dedication of a huge team of devoted volunteers who contribute selflessly and enthusiastically to our many activities throughout the year. We will be saluting their tremendous achievements and showing our appreciation of their wonderful work at our Bill Bernstein Volunteer Event. Bill Bernstein was a man who embodied the true sense of volunteerism, and it is his spirit that we see in so many of our volunteers which allows us to grow from strength to strength. The afternoon is dedicated to all our volunteers, collators, deliverers, and members of Management.
This year we are pleased to honour three individuals who have made a dramatic difference to our programming and our strength as an amuta (non-profit) organisation.
Melissa Dubinsky began volunteering at Netanya AACI almost from the moment she made Aliyah eight years ago. She began working in the library and, during COVID, was one of the few volunteers able and authorized to come to the premises when almost everything was closed. She participated in the enhanced mobile library programme and quickly took over the Zoom administration together with Rod Press. If it could be Zoomed, we figured out a way to bring Netanya AACI’s programmes into our members’ living rooms.
Unexpectedly, the position of Chair became vacant and, together with Paulette Woolf, she tackled this position in close cooperation with Rachel Rubin Hirsch. For over four years, they spent days and nights trying to figure out how to keep Netanya AACI vibrant under extremely challenging conditions.
Melissa remains responsible for the IT parts of the Amuta, including the website and our computer infrastructure, as well as the library which is particularly dear to her. She looks forward to a (slightly) less frenetic term as a continuing volunteer at Netanya AACI.
Melissa considers herself fortunate in that her husband and both adult children live in Israel.
Sharon Weiss made Aliyah with her husband in 1983 and lived in Ra’anana for three years. They moved to Netanya in 1986 and Sharon worked in the
Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan for close to 30 years where she was PA to the manager of a large diamond company and was very happy there. Within this time, they became proud parents to three daughters and grandparents to eight adorable grandchildren, and both of their parents z’l made Aliyah with Sharon’s parents settling in Netanya.
When the diamond office closed in 2014, Sharon found another job in Tel Aviv, before Covid hitting in 2020 and being made redundant. She decided to look for work close to home, and in 2021 saw that Netanya AACI needed volunteers, so she walked into the office and offered her services. Sharon was immediately snapped up by Fran to work at Rivhit, and then was persuaded by Rachel to take minutes at the meetings. Sharon also learned how to work at the Box Office and volunteers there too.
She loves volunteering as the work keeps her brain active, she enjoys her co-workers’ company, and she’s met so many interesting people.
Renee Rosenberg was born in 1952 and married her husband Zvi in 1971. Together they made Aliyah in 1977. They have two daughters and one sabra son. They have lived in Netanya for over 45 years.
She has received an award from our Mayor for volunteering in Klita, won the Netanya AACI glamorous grandma award last year, is a retired English teacher and is also active in many Netanya AACI Chugim: choir, book club, writers’ aerobics, Drama group, as well as inputting many hours organising English Without Borders programme in our schools.
We would also like to show our appreciation of several volunteers who have served Netanya AACI in various capacities for many years.
Laura
Belkin has been valued by her fellow library volunteer Harvey Green; ” I have a shared a desk with Laura on a Sunday for a fairly long time and I find her so easy to talk to. She is down to earth, humorous, and very self-effacing. She is genuinely modest and is a pleasure to work and talk with as she is a most interesting person. It is my great misfortune that she is retiring from being a volunteer at the library. I sincerely miss her and I hope that one day she will be able to come back to our salt mines. She enhances anyone’s day.”
Marilyn Cardash has been a member of Netanya AACI for over 40 years. She became a volunteer and spent a fulfilling and fun nine years sitting at the front desk several times a month. She loved to help new or regular members enjoy their visits to Netanya AACI and answer any of the many questions personally or over the telephone. Marilyn has very fond memories of the conversations she had with members and the other volunteers, many of whom became good friends.
Robert Felton was born during World War II in Oxford, England, and was raised in Northwest London. He qualified as a chartered accountant after leaving school and ultimately ran his own practice – here he garnered skills which helped enable him to issue receipts in our Rivhit department after he made Aliyah in 2008 and joined Netanya AACI. Robert has two children who live in England.
Our Volunteer Appreciation Event is combined with our annual L’Chaim to the High Holidays. This is a lovely opportunity to get together with all your Netanya AACI friends and wish one another a Shana Tova.
All members of the community are invited to join us.
No reservations necessary. Please come and support our volunteers.
