UJA Fundraising gala a success

North Shore Towers held its annual UJA Federation fundraising golf tournament and dinner dance on Sunday, August 17, raising more than $100,000 for the organization.
This marked the 29th year that the Towers has held the event. It began with a morning golf tournament with 65 participants. The event continued in the evening with a dinner dance at Towers on the Green, which was attended by approximately 140 people.
“Over the years North Shore Towers UJA Federation Committee raised large sums of money to help fund many agencies in New York and world wide,” committee chair Joe Scheinfeld said that night. “They helped improve the lives of so many in need. I’d like to thank each of you for attending our event and helping us reach our fundraising goal.”
Although difficult economic times were a concern when planning the fundraiser, Scheinfeld said that they were still able to raise more than $100,000 net to benefit UJA.
“We were very pleased with the amount of money that was raised,” Scheinfeld said.
This year, Lester Reiss was honored for his long-time commitment to the organization and the event. He has been apart of it for the last 29 years, which is when he and his wife Elly first moved to North Shore Towers. Reiss was also honored about 13 years ago.
Reiss, who has two children and four grandchildren, said that he was very pleased with the response of residents and thought the event was wonderful. His family was on hand to see him recognized for his work.
“I was so proud of them and they were so proud to be there,” Reiss said. “They were just elated.”
Scheinfeld said that he has never seen anyone as devoted to a cause as Reiss and that Reiss puts a great deal of time and effort into it.
Also during the dinner dance, past honorees were recognized and Scheinfeld was given a token of appreciation.
“This year, more people than ever will need the food banks, job retraining and counseling supported by UJA Federation of New York,” said Irwin Gershon, a development executive at UJA. “The residents of North Shore Towers, led by Joe Scheinfeld, dinner chair, and Lester Reiss, chair emeritus, have once again demonstrated their commitment to give back to the Long Island community.”