Abigail

ABIGAIL #3 - Albany, NY

Chapter President

National VP, PP Anna Kagan Bender

(518) 783-5056

Installation of officers for the 2011- 2012 term took place on May 25, 2011 in the Community Room at Ohav Sholom Apartments. We thank them for their hospitality and generosity. Outgoing President Barbara Hochberg turned over the gavel to our new Chapter President, N2ndVP PP Anna Kagan Bender. NVP PP Harriet Wicks officiated and installed the new officers after PP Elissa Peckage escorted them to the podium. It was a lovely evening with many of our Abigail members attending this important event.

The officers for 2011-2012 are :

NVP,PP Anna Kagan Bender - President

NS PP Sandy Carr - Vice President

PP Sally Tillman - Treasurer

Jan Rubenstein - Financial Secretary

Rose Shuman - Corresponding Secretary

Vacant - Recording Secretary

Eileen Greenfield - Mentor

On August 4th, 2010 we held our second Annual Potluck Dinner. The event was a big hit! Once again we enjoyed many delicious entrees and desserts at Temple Beth Emeth in Albany. We had a turnout of around 50 people. It was a fun and casual night. We presented a check to the Double "H" Hole in the Woods Camp, represented by Max Yurenda, Executive Director/CEO . In addition to our annual donation, Abigail presented Max with additional funds in memory of our dear departed member, Marian Cohen. We also welcomed seven new members and each new member was pinned by a past president.

Our Annual Milestoners and Past Presidents dinner was held on April 27, 2011 at the Crossgates Restaurant & Banquet House in Albany. In addition to honoring members who have reached milestones in their term of membership (see list below) we gave extra special recognition to Marcia Gingold and Naomi Kessler. Both celebrated 50 years with Abigail, making them Life Members! They were each presented with a Lifetime Membership Certificate from U.O.T.S. and a Proclamation from the New York State Senate for their achievements throughout the 50 years of service they have given to our community. In addition, PP Carol Rosenthal was named this year's Abigail "Woman of Valor". Carol was presented with a framed plaque giving the biblical description of a "Woman of Valor".

MILESTONERS 2011

50 years
Gingold	Marcia
Kessler	Naomi
45 years
Gisser	Zelda
Ikler	Elain
Klein	Natalie
35 years
Bloom	Michelle
Karp	Bernice
Leberman	Carol
30 years
Gordon	Shirley
Harrison	Diane
Salati	Roberta
Tyson	Terry
Ulrich	Dorothy
Zilber	Rose
25 years
Greenstein	Cindy
20 years
Calderon	Rose
Lipkin	Pamela
Sherer	Esther
Symansky	Dianne
15 years
Rose	Sonya
10 years
Adler	Paula
Altshul	Robert
Cohen	Leonard
Haven	Helene
Kovach	Rainy
Reiss-Weitzman	Jan
Rockowitz	Francine
5 years
Goldfarb	Lillian Z
Laddin	Beth
Levine	Hannah
Levine	Linda
Peckage	Janna
Ribner	Jessica
Santostefano	Joanna
Sherman	Ruth

Our first Annual Potluck Dinner was a smash hit! The event was held on August 5, 2009 at Temple Beth Emeth in Albany. We had a turnout of around 45 people and plenty of great food and desserts. It was a fun and casual night. We presented checks to Camp Hole in the Woods, represented by Linda Smith, and to Camp Braveheart represented by Sherry Huzar Sally Tillman obtained three cases of toothpaste and toothbrushes from Oral-B, which she presented to Jane Norris of Becky's House. The house is operated by Saint Peter's Hospital as a short term residence for cancer patients and their families. Their only criteria is that guests live at least one hour away from the hospital. Read more about at http://www.sphcs.org/BeckysHouse

Abigail has teamed with St. Peter's Hospital of Albany, Lifeline Services. At the current time we are providing a grant to pay the cost of Lifeline Services for three individuals a year.

Information about Lifeline Services from St. Peter's Hospital
http://www.sphcs.org/LifelineEmergencyAlert

Last year's Annual Chinese Auction was held on October 14th at the Capital Buffet on Wolf Road in Albany. As you know, the Auction is always our most successful fund raiser. Generous local vendors and individuals donated many prizes for this event. We enjoyed a delicious meal as tickets were drawn and winners were announced. We had about 80 people attend which made this our best attended function of the year. Thanks go out to Chair NS PP Sandy Carr and her helpers for all of the hard work. It takes real effort and a commitment of time to solicit the gifts, wrap them, arrange for the venue and set up the tables at the restaurant. Hopefully we will have some new volunteers for this year's auction and an even larger turnout of members and friends. The auction is scheduled for October 13, 2010. A flyer will be sent out in September. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the chapter President.

Our annual Bake Sale was held on Election Day, November 3, 2009, in the lobby of Ohav Sholom Senior Apartments which is an election polling location. The sale was a huge success. We sold all of our baked goods and jams. We also sold books this year. A BIG thanks goes out to Chair PP Sally Tillman and all of our bakers and volunteers. We are looking forward to an even better outcome next year at Ohav. Mark your calendars to volunteer. Flyers will be sent out announcing the event in October 2010.

Left to Right: PP Sally Tillman, Rheba Greene, PP Gilda Schuman, NS PP Sandy Carr,
and President Anna Kagan Bender

Abigail #3 was founded in 1857 in the city of Albany, New York. For over a century and a half, we have been assisting persons in the capital district and their families. prior to electricity, women's suffrage, the abolition and the civil war. We are the oldest women's philanthropic organization in the country. Brave women undertook the founding of this organization based on the principles of love and faith. Originally, they visited hospitals, provided the sick, poor and needy with home visits and food. They made sure that children in schools were given milk before there were school programs. Abigail has a very active chapter and many ongoing cancer service projects. A few of these accomplishments are listed below:

In 1947, UOTS, Inc. nationally dedicated its mission to helping individuals afflicted with Cancer. Abigail provides emotional and financial support to the cancer patient and their families in the Capital District. We also provide personal services such as prosthesis, wigs and other goods to uninsured or underinsured individuals. We can also help defray the cost of transportation. All requests are held in the strictest confidence, All contributions to Abigail #3 are tax deductible and he donations we receive stay in our local community. Please contact the chapter President at the telephone number above or by email. UOTS is a non-sectarian organization.

Things we do:

We have provided provide funding to such organizations such as Camp Double "H" Hole in the Woods, Gilda’s Club, Albany Medical Center Pediatric Oncology and Camp Bravehearts.

We created "Hats for Hugs". This is a program that donates hats to children and adults who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Anyone that can knit or crochet and has leftover soft yarn, please contact Deanne Palatsky at 518-489-6247. The response has been overwhelming.

Abigail #3, along with the other chapters, collects coins and dollars in canisters in a project called "miles of pennies". This money goes toward our pledge to the Double "H" Hole in the Woods grant to send children to camp.

Anyone wishing to join this prestigious chapter or make a donation may contact the President at the above telephone number or email address. Meetings are open to all who would like to hear more about our organization. Please join us! If you would like to see a sample of our chapter newsletter, please click the button below.


DATE	EVENT	PLACE / TIME
December 11, 2011	Executive Board Annual Holiday Brunch	Ohav Sholom Apartments - Room 108
May 2, 2012	Milestoner and PP Dinner	TBA You will receive a flyer with details
May 13, 2012	Annual Health Fair	Albany Jewish Community Center TBA
May 23, 2012	Installation of Officers	TBA You will receive a flyer with details