Changing as the community changes

Comprised of 1,200 members and featuring programs that focus on contemporary problems, the 75-year-old National Council for Jewish Women, Peninsula Section, is as viable today as when it swore in its first president, Mar Berlind-Bach in 1936.

The NCJW, Peninsula Section, covers the Five Towns, Lynbrook, the Rockaways, Malverne, Franklin Square. People can join from other areas as well. The National NCJW was founded in 1893, after Chicago resident Hannah G. Solomon was asked to organize the participation of Jewish women for that city’s World’s Fair. When Solomon and the other women learned they would be relegated to hostess duties, they walked out. Instead, Solomon and her group founded the NCJW.

“We encompass Jewish values to serve our community,” said Bonnie Sperry, the Peninsula Section’s fundraising vice president.

Those Jewish values include helping the poor, women and children, on Long Island and in Israel. This grassroots organization made up of volunteers and advocates notes its mission as turning “progressive ideals into action.”

From its thrift store at 342 Central Ave. in Lawrence that sells a variety of donated items at low prices to installing what was the first handicapped accessible playground on Long Island in 2001 at Cedarhurst Park, the organization prides itself on being involved in the community. “We change as the community changes,” said Past President and Advisory Committee member Joan Riegel.

Its programs include “Bundle Up,” in which items are collected and distributed to needy new mothers as they leave the hospital with their newborn; “Duffle Up,” in which duffle bags are filled with age-appropriate items for children entering foster care; as volunteers provide support in Nassau County Family Court for victims of domestic violence, and supply entertainment and refreshments at the Five Towns Senior Center.

Sperry, current Section President Pnina Knopf and Riegel all became members through people they knew. “I had just moved into the community and was home with three small children,” said Riegel, who then lived in Woodmere, now lives in Hewlett and is a 40-year member. “I was invited and it has kept my interest.”

After moving to North Woodmere, Sperry was invited to attend a “New Generation” meeting by the mother of her daughter’s friend. Knopf, a retired teacher, was looking for something to do and became involved with SIBSPlace, a program connected with South Nassau Communities Hospital that works with children who have a sibling or parent suffering from cancer or another serious illness. “I volunteered, did outreach and then was appointed to the board, said Knopf, a member for nearly seven years.”

As president, Knopf is helping to ensure that NCJW remains vital. They recently partnered with Nassau County’s Domestic Abuse Coalition for “Clean Start,” where 6 dozen, 13-gallon cans with cleaning supplies were collected for women making a new start for themselves.

Last year, the group conducted a program on cyberbullying. “We were right on that,” Sperry said. The sections also lobby their elected representatives on issues such as women’s reproductive rights.

Every three years, the group organizes a mission to Israel. The last mission assisted a group of women who came to Israel with no skills and by partnering with a catering hall the NCJW helped the women learn the catering business. They were hired to cater breakfast programs in some Israeli schools, “It is powerful to meet these women and they say they want to be like you,” Knopf said.

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, the NCJW plans a luncheon on June 2 at the Woodmere Club and will honor Riegel with the Hannah G. Solomon Award that each section presents to a member who best exemplifies Solomon’s spirit. They also plan to rededicate the handicapped accessible playground in the fall.

“I really, really love being in the company of like-minded women who are bright, caring and want to make a difference,” Knopf said.