The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2008 - Page 3
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JEWISH FEC)ERAIlQlSr NEWS
Tenth Annual Spring Lecture Featured Author Jenna Blum
The Tenth Annual Spring
Lecture sponsored by the
Women’s Division of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Charlotte
was held on Thursday, April 3
and featured Jenna Blum as the
guest speaker.
The event was co-chaired by
Ellyn Gross and Lauren Weiser
who led a very talented and ded
icated team of volunteers
including Amy Augustine,
Debbie Freedman, Jenny
Meiselman, Janie Meyers,
Linda Seigel, Lisa Cohen
Shapiro and Liz Winer. The
committee not only worked on
the overall planning of the
event, but also on marketing
and securing corporate and indi
vidual sponsorships.
Many thanks go to Mama
Ricotta’s and RBC Centura
Bank for their contributions on
the Sustaining Sponsorship
level.
Event Sponsors were Carolinas
Healthcare Foundation, Jane’s
Gems Boutique, Mike
Littauer Agency - Allstate
Insurance, Perfect Image
Printing, Polka Dot Bakery
and Varji and Varji.
Our Individual Table
Sponsors were Laxer, Long
and Savage, DDS, Sheri
Makowski, Dana Meiselman
and Jenny Meiselman and
Linda Seigel.
Ellyn Gross welcomed the
over 250 women who attended
the dinner which was held in the
Sandra and Leon Levine Social
Hall at Temple Israel. The room
was beautifully decorated in
chocolate brown and baby blue
by Creative Events, and the
delicious dinner was catered by
Mama Ricotta’s.
The Lecture took place in the
Sanctuary and after warmly
welcoming the group Lauren
Weiser introduced Meg D.
Goldstein who is Of Counsel in
the Charlotte Office of Poyner
& Spruill, and practices in the
areas of trusts and estates, taxa
tion, charitable giving and enti
ties. Meg is a well respected and
valued volunteer in our own
Jewish community and addi
tionally fundraises for United
Jewish Communities’ Network
of Independent Communities.
Meg talked about the power of
women’s philanthropy, the
importance of the Federation
Annual Campaign, and the
impact that every dollar makes
in the lives of Jews in need at
home, in Israel and around the
world.
The highlight of the evening
arrived when the lovely, articu
late and passionate author of
Those Who Save Us, Jenna
Blum stepped up to the micro
phone. Through word of mouth
and clever marketing, Those
Who Save Us climbed to #18 on
the New York Times Paperback
Best Seller List in February. To
promote the book, Ms. Blum, a
first time novelist, spoke to
book clubs, temple groups, and
federations throughout the
country, and praise for the book
created a buzz that spread from
mother to daughter, friend to
friend and book club to book
club. When Ms. Blum asked
the audience how many women
had read the book, a sea of
hands went up. Jenna quickly
made over 250 new “best
friends” in the audience who
were captivated by her warm
and witty yet honest remarks.
A favorite question with the
crowd was “Who would play
the book’s main characters in
the movie?” The answer: Anna
in later in life - Meryl Streep;
young Anna - Kate Winslet; and
Trudy - Jodie Foster.
The evening concluded with
a dessert reception featuring a
spectacular display of cupcakes
by Polka Dot Bakery, and a
book signing with author Jenna
Blum who warmly chatted with
each fan and new friend pur
chasing books.
If you would like to get
involved or share ideas for the
11th Annual Spring Lecture,
please contact Sue Littauer,
Development Director at the
Jewish Federation, by calling
her at 704-944-6758 or email
ing sue.littauer@jewishchar-
lotte.org.
The mission of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Charlotte
is to raise and distribute funds
to support and enrich the lives
of Jews locally, nationally, in
Israel and worldwide. Through
education, planning and com
munity building, the
Federation’s mission ensures
that Jewish values, goals, tradi
tions and connections are pre
served for current and future
generations.
JEWISH^
FEDE^RATION^
GREATER CHARLOTTE'
Local, Global, Eternal
„ , Author Jenna Blum sings a book for table captin Judv
Table sponsors Jenny Meiselman (left) and Dana Meiselman Morganstein. Photo courtesy Arthur Mottos, ArtShots. '
(right) join Federation Executive Director Sue Worrel.
Campaign 2008 at
a Glance
Campaign Total to Date
$2,628,659
Number of
Contributions
1,225
Percentage of Campaign
Complete
82.7%
as of April 12,
2008
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Linda Bass chats with author Jenna Blum. Photo
courtesy Arthur Mattos, ArtShots.
Co-chairs Lauren Weiser (left) and Ellyn Gross (right) with
author Jenna Blum.
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Stacy Gorelick contemplates the cup
cakes from Polka Dot Bakety. Photo
courtesy Arthur Mattos, ArtShots.
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