Metro Briefs April 2
The South Hills Genealogy Day and Pancake Festival will be held on Sunday, April 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road.
The day will include free genealogy programming with demonstrations and discussions of online resources and time to ask questions with the lecturers or partner up with a genealogy buddy. There is a nominal fee for the all-you-can-eat pancakes and eggs at the Pancake Festival.
Rebecca Kichta, editor, “Western Pennsylvania Genealogy Society Newsletter”; Marilyn Holt, department head, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; and Evan Wolfson, co-chair of the Mt. Lebanon Genealogy Society are the speakers.
Temple David will hold its annual spring sale on Sunday, April 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4415 Northern Pike in Monroeville. Bargains will include a $6 bag sale. Temple David is a Reform Jewish congregation that serves Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs. Learn more about Temple David at templedavid.org.
The Yom HaShoah Commemoration, 70 Years Since Liberation, will be held on Wednesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave.; doors open at 6 p.m.
Yom HaShoah is the day set aside to remember the approximately 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
The communitywide program is presented by the Holocaust Center, an independent organization of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, in collaboration with a string quartet featuring musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Harmonia Choir of the Pittsburgh School for the Choral Arts. The program will include a candle-lighting ceremony.
The program is free and open to the public. RSVPs are requested. Agnes Rocher and family are underwriting the program in memory of her husband, George Rocher.
Contact Samantha Chilton at schilton@holocaustcenterpgh.org or 412-421-1500, ext. 102 for more information and to RSVP.
The Waldman International Awards and Recognition Event will be held at the Andy Warhol Museum on Sunday, April 19. All entrants in the arts and writing competition and their families are encouraged to attend. The event will include all of the American and Israeli winning submissions on display at the museum as well as a brunch and educational opportunities for the students. Contact Emily Sabol at eunikel@holocaustcenterpgh.org or 412-421-1500, ext. 105, for more information about the program.
Women’s Philanthropy will partner with JFilm: Pittsburgh Jewish Film Forum for an exclusive screening of the film “Above and Beyond” on Monday, April 20 at 7 p.m. at the Manor Theatre, 1729 Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill. The private screening will be followed by a personal account by the film’s producer, Nancy Spielberg. The presentation of the Natalie Novick Women of Philanthropy Award will be made to Marlene Silverman before the film.
There is a $10 charge; dietary laws will be observed. The event is for women who make a minimum commitment of $1,000 to the 2015 annual campaign or young women (age 45 and under) who make a minimum commitment of $365.
Contact Stacy Skiavo at sskiavo@jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5223 for more information and to make reservations.
WorkAble, a United Way of Allegheny County-funded partnership of the Career Development Center of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Pittsburgh, North Hills Community Outreach and South Hills Interfaith Ministries, will hold a career fair for adults throughout the region on Thursday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Bethel Park Community Center, at 5151 Park Avenue.
Launched in the fall of 2012 and supported by the United Way of Allegheny County, WorkAble is a countywide employment and critical needs service for struggling adults. WorkAble serves unemployed and underemployed individuals throughout Allegheny County at NHCO sites in Allison Park and Millvale, SHIM offices in Bethel Park and JF&CS offices in Squirrel Hill.
The upcoming career fair will include employers from Allegheny Health Network, Eat’n Park, Goodwill, St. Clair Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC and others.
The career fair is appropriate for all levels of professional experience, and available positions range from entry level to director level. Available positions include jobs in administration, finance, customer service and positions in the healthcare field, among other opportunities.
Attendees can expect to meet one-on-one with recruiters for brief in-person interviews.
Individuals wishing to attend the career fair are encouraged to dress professionally, bring multiple copies of a resume and research employers and available positions beforehand. Attendees should be prepared to discuss specific positions that they have found and applied to online in advance.
Registration is required and can be made at 412-854-9120, ext. 107. Those who are struggling and need assistance can call the WorkAble hotline at 412-904-5993 or visit workableac.com.
Community Day School Middle School will hold a student-led Holocaust Remembrance Day service at the Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Keeping Tabs Holocaust Sculpture on the CDS campus, 6424 Forward Ave. in Squirrel Hill on Thursday, April 16 from 8:45 to 9:15 a.m. The Yom HaShoah commemoration will include music, readings, prayer and a candle-lighting service. This outdoor event is open to the community. RSVP to Jennifer Bails at jbails@comday.org or 412-521-1100, ext. 3206 to reserve seating.
The National Hillel Basketball Tournament board has announced that the University of North Carolina, New York University, the University of Kansas, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Yeshiva University are among the schools that have officially registered to participate in the 2015 National Hillel Basketball Tournament taking place at the University of Maryland, College Park April 17 to 19.
Forty teams are expected in College Park, all hoping to win the Kiddush Cup.
Visit hilleltournament.com for more information.
Hadassah Greater Pittsburgh’s inaugural Sweet Sunday event will be held on Sunday, April 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation at 4905 Fifth Ave. Sweet Sunday, a communitywide event for the whole family, will help raise funds for the Hadassah Medical Organization, which provides medical care to more than 1 million patients a year regardless of race, religion or nationality. At this event, bakeries, restaurants and confectioners from all over the Pittsburgh area will offer samples of their wares while promoting their local businesses. Guests will enjoy delicious treats, raffles and an afternoon of fun.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Contact the Hadassah office at 412-421-8919 or visit hadassah.org/events/sweetsunday for more information and to purchase tickets.
The March of Remembrance will be held on Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. The march will begin at the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues in Squirrel Hill and will end at the tent at Flagstaff Hill. Holocaust survivor Yolanda Avram Willis will share her story followed by a repentance service and candle-lighting in honor of the victims. Visit marchofremembrance.org for more information.
The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh, an organization that matches children with special needs with Jewish teen volunteers to create lasting friendships, will host its ninth annual Friends All Around fundraising event on Sunday, April 19 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Westin Convention Center.
This communitywide event will include a strolling dinner and dessert, fun activities, silent auction, raffle and a tribute to the Friendship Circle’s dedicated participants who are graduating from high school.
The theme this year, “Making Waves: The Ripple Effect of Friendship,” highlights the meaningful interactions and bonds that happen beyond the surface of the organization. The programs not only offer opportunities for youth with and without special needs to socialize, but also provide opportunities for parents and family members to engage in community building. The Friendship Circle promotes acceptance throughout the whole community.
To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, silent auction and raffle items or for additional information, contact the Friendship Circle at 412-224-4440 or info@fcpgh.org or visit fcpgh.org.
The Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh invites Foundation fund holders and prospective fund holders to its second annual free investment meeting and breakfast. A light breakfast will be served on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:45 a.m. at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., followed by the meeting from 8 to 9:30 a.m.
Three speakers will show how Foundation assets are invested and managed. Attendees at the free event, which is sponsored by Fiduciary Technology Partners, will also have an opportunity to gain expert perspective on investing and the national economic outlook. This is a nonsolicitation event. Dietary laws will be observed.
Stuart Hoffman, senior vice president and chief economist of the PNC Financial Services Group, will present his perspective on the state of the economy. BusinessWeek, USA Today, and the The Wall Street Journal have recognized Hoffman for the accuracy of his economic forecasts. He joined PNC in 1980 after six years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Geoffrey Gerber, chair of the Foundation Investment Committee and founder, president and CEO of TWIN Capital Management in McMurray, Pa., will offer opening remarks. Gerber is also a faculty member of the Aresty Institute of Executive Education, a program of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Jerry Katz, CFA, Foundation investment consultant, will present the overview of Jewish Community Foundation investments. Katz is partner and senior consultant at BilkeyKatz Investment Consultants of Pittsburgh. In 2002, Katz co-founded BilkeyKatz, a 100 percent employee-owned, independent firm that specializes in providing conflict-free investment consulting.
The Foundation raises and distributes charitable funds that support educational, cultural and human service programs. The centerpiece of the Foundation is the Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future, an endowment that generates funds to build and sustain a vibrant Pittsburgh Jewish community.
Contact Patti Flister at 412-992-5216 or pflister@jfedpgh.org for more information and to RSVP by April 14.
New Light Men’s Club is sponsoring a trip to The Meadows/Tanger Outlets on Sunday, April 26. The bus will leave New Light at 10:30 a.m. and return at 5 p.m. The cost is $28 per person and includes $15 in free play and a $5 food coupon for those visiting The Meadows. Call Sid Shapiro 412-421-4635 for information and to make reservations.
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh has welcomed Kellie Ayres as the new aquatics director in Squirrel Hill. Ayres, who was hired as a part-time swim instructor in 2012, became full time on March 23.
She comes to the Jewish Community Center from Carnegie Mellon University, where she served as assistant men’s and women’s swim coach and assistant aquatics director and also worked as head pool manager/certified pool operator/assistant swim coach at Edgewood Country Club. She earned a master’s of science degree in sport management and intercollegiate athletic administration from California University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and English language learner program specialist from Bloomsburg University.
“I’m excited for this opportunity to continue to grow the program, including aquatics fitness, group and private swim lessons as well as the Squirrel Hill swim team,” she said.
Contact Kellie at 412-339-5429 or kayres@jccpgh.org.
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