Women Celebrate Philanthropy in Style

An exceptional afternoon! Thank you to the 450+ community members who joined together for one of our most popular events of the year: The Women’s Philanthropy Spring Luncheon.

We celebrated entrepreneurial women and Israeli fashion with Keynote Speaker Sharon Tal, designer of Maskit, Israel’s luxury fashion brand. We also saw Maskit designs up close with a fashion show featuring Jewish Cleveland women and an exclusive trunk show. Sharon explained how Israel's immigrant culture inspired the Maskit brand when Ruth Dayan founded the fashion house in the 1950s, and continues to stay true to its roots today.

"We are a melting pot," she said. "We have 72 or more cultures in Israel. Our inspiration comes from all of these cultures."

Mazel Tov to Gayle Horwitz, recipient of this year’s Irene Zehman Award for excellence in volunteer service. Gayle is a young woman with a big heart, who “adopted” a Congolese refugee family new to Cleveland. Her volunteerism exemplifies the mitzvah of welcoming the stranger.

"I was taught in my family that when you have the chance to help someone, just do it and ask questions later," said Gayle. "I think that's a good philosophy to live by."

Watch a video about Gayle’s incredible volunteerism below.

A very warm thanks to our Event Chairs Susan Bass, Rochie Berkowitz, Kelli Gellis, and Marcy Schwartz, Women's Philanthropy Outreach & Engagement Chairs Amy Wain Garnitz and Adena Klineman, and Women's Philanthropy Chair Jennifer Korach for organizing this inspiring and empowering event!

And, a special thank you to all of our guests who participated in our Spring Luncheon service project – together, we donated hundreds of new and gently used special occasion clothing and accessories, and school supplies for the Cleveland Chesed Center.

View photos from the event on Facebook.

---