June 2010

Around Town

Project Honors Memory of Former
Rosenthal JCC Camp Counselor

Disasters and crises tend to unite communities in aid, and that is certainly the case after the untimely and tragic loss of Stephanie Crispinelli, the former Rosenthal JCC volunteer and camp counselor whose life was cut short during the earthquake in Haiti. In April, the Rosenthal JCC of Northern Westchester launched the “Stephanie’s Caring Bears” project, and the community has rallied around the cause.

Through the Rosenthal JCC of Northern Westchester, families are sponsoring cuddly little teddy bears given to first responders in Northern Westchester and beyond to comfort young children in emergency situations. The stuffed animals help children stay calm and occupied, freeing responders to go about their life-saving work.

So far, more than 1,000 bears have been sponsored, and the Rosenthal JCC has delivered more than 600 bears to local fire and ambulance corps and hospitals.

“Children are very frightened and stressed when they must be transported by ambulance,” said Captain Richard J. Cariello of the Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which received two baskets of Stephanie’s Caring Bears. “A critical component of our care is to provide comfort, which often can help stabilize vital signs. The stuffed animals provide an immediate comfort to the child. They are also very helpful to demonstrate on the stuffed animal what we need to do for the child.

Even though Stephanie is not here physically, she is certainly present in touching these children’s lives through these donated stuffed animals.”

Crispinelli had dedicated her life to helping others less fortunate, especially children. After working at the Rosenthal JCC’s Pre-School and Camp Katan in Yorktown Heights while attending Somers High School, she decided to major in early childhood education at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL. She volunteered to help in soup kitchens, build homes, and aid children with special needs while on missions in Jamaica, South Africa and Haiti with Food for the Poor, a world-wide charitable organization based in Coconut Creek, Florida.

“Stephanie exemplified the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world,” said Carol Diemer, Rosenthal JCC Yorktown Branch Director. “This was a girl whose circumstances and talents would have made it possible for her to do anything. Instead, she chose to work with the poorest of the poor and to apply her considerable powers of persuasion to encourage others to extend themselves and their resources to support the less fortunate, too.”

In addition, Stephanie’s family has created the Stephanie Crispinelli Humanitarian Fund in partnership with the Westchester Community Foundation to carry on Stephanie’s dream of helping the needy. The first project, scheduled to start in June, will provide funds to build an elementary school in Jamaica for first through third graders and will include flushing toilets, a nurse’s station and a kitchen for cooking hot meals. To help raise money, Stephanie’s two brothers, Michael and Nicholas, designed a t-shirt in Stephanie’s memory. In the first week, they sold over 200 t-shirts through Stephanie’s website www.stephaniesmission.org.

To sponsor Stephanie’s Caring Bears, the cost is $1.50 each or $18 for a basket of 12. Mail a check made out to the Rosenthal JCC to: 3565 Crompond Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10598. Donate online at www.rosenthaljcc.org.

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