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Dear Scarsdale Community,
Throughout this pandemic, many of us have looked for opportunities to help others in need. Some have really stepped up and may or may not have been recognized. Here’s an easy way to make sure they get their due: Putting friends and neighbors on the Scarsdale Foundation’s Volunteer Honor Roll not only helps raise scholarship money for Scarsdale college kids who are having a tough time paying for school, it makes those being honored feel appreciated too! Some local heroes whom you might recognize include:
Honorees will be recognized with personalized e-certificates, on this website, and in local media. Repeat honorees will be informed each time they are named. Participate in the honor roll challenge: The goal is to place more than 2,021 local heroes on the Honor Roll by the end of June. This is the only major fundraiser the Scarsdale Foundation will hold this year, so donations are critical to ensure that all our students can continue their studies. We hope to raise about $50,000 via the Honor Roll, which will be a significant chunk of the overall $250,000 in scholarship funds we aim to raise. Mark Your Calendars: Although the 2021 Bowl Dinner will unfortunately not be held this spring, we will honor several years’ worth of extraordinary volunteers on April 28, 2022: last year’s Bowl winners, B.K. Munguia and Jon Mark, this year’s honoree, Michelle Lichtenberg, as well as the 2022 Scarsdale Bowl recipient. As we emerge from what has been a difficult period, this is a great way to say thank you to all our unsung everyday heroes and make a difference at the same time. Shine on Scarsdale! Randy Guggenheimer, Scarsdale Foundation President Nancy Michaels, Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Committee Chair
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Honor Scarsdale volunteers who have made a difference in our community. An easy way to keep the good vibe going for just $25/honoree Money raised helps provide college scholarships Scarsdale is a community where we know that we can rely on each other, especially when the going gets tough. This was truer than ever this past year, as so many in our community have given their time and talent to meet life-changing challenges posed by the pandemic.
Introducing the 2021 Scarsdale Foundation Volunteer Honor Roll, a fundraising and spirit-raising opportunity to thank everyone who stepped in to help Scarsdale shine during a dark time, helping us to move forward. As always, the money raised by the Honor Roll will help to provide crucial support to Scarsdale families facing financial hardship, making it possible to manage college tuition. We’re sure it won’t surprise anyone to learn that there is even more scholarship need than usual this year, as a result of Covid-related difficulties suffered by many. We encourage you to name to the Honor Roll the many friends, colleagues and neighbors who have made a positive difference in our community during 2020 — any community member who helped make our lives better in big ways or small is eligible! Examples of ways people might have helped:
These generous donations of time and caring fueled positivity in our daily lives as we all contended with the pandemic. The 2021 Scarsdale Foundation Volunteer Honor Roll is an easy way to keep the good vibe going. Your shout-outs and contributions of just $25 per honoree will help the Scarsdale Foundation provide scholarships to the growing number of Scarsdale students who require financial assistance in order to pay college bills. In 2020, the Scarsdale Foundation awarded $138,000 in scholarships to 32 talented and determined students. This year, the Scarsdale Foundation is setting an ambitious goal to raise $250,000 so that we can meet the growing post-pandemic need. We hope you will choose to participate in this simple yet profound way to show your appreciation for one another, and to help ensure that all of our Scarsdale students have the opportunity to realize their potential. It’s easy to make someone’s day and help others, all for just $25/Honoree:
Scarsdale Foundation Honor Roll members will be recognized:
Please think about all the people you know who make a meaningful difference here in Scarsdale and beyond who create a better place to live, work and play. We hope you’ll help the Scarsdale Foundation reach its goal for college scholarships and ensure that our students have a bright future! Strengthening the community since 1923, the Scarsdale Foundation has served a critical role as Scarsdale’s safety net, focusing on supporting local families who need financial assistance for college tuition, as well as on supporting local organizations. The Scarsdale Foundation must raise more funds to meet the urgent need of a growing number of Scarsdale families during this especially difficult time Students who graduated from Scarsdale High School or lived in Scarsdale during their high school years and who have completed their first, second, or third years of college are invited to apply to the Scarsdale Foundation for tuition assistance. For the current 2020-21 academic year, the Foundation awarded need-based grants totaling $138,000 to 32 students attending private and state-supported colleges and universities.
Applications for the 2021-22 academic year should be submitted online using this fill-in 2021 Scholarship Application Form by Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Additional information, including eligibility and required supporting documents, may be found on the College Scholarships webpage. Questions should be directed to Scholarship Committee Co-Chairs Anne Lyons and B. Kathleen Munguia at scarsdalefoundationscholarship@gmail.com. The Foundation welcomes contributions from the community to augment the funds available for distribution each year. Contributions may be donated to a specially earmarked Scholarship Fund of the Scarsdale Foundation, enabling the Foundation to carry on the tradition of helping students in need pursue a college education. Donations may be made on our secure Donate webpage or mailed to the Scarsdale Foundation at P.O. Box 542, Scarsdale, NY 10583. The Scarsdale Foundation also hosts the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner where Scarsdale individuals are recognized for their volunteer service to the community. The 2021 Scarsdale Bowl will be presented to Michelle Lichtenberg in a private ceremony in the spring due to current COVID-19 restrictions on larger gatherings. Michelle Lichtenberg, an extraordinary Scarsdale resident with decades of dedication to Scarsdale volunteerism, will be the 2021 recipient of the community’s highest award: the Scarsdale Bowl, which has been awarded annually since 1943 to “one who has given unselfishly of time, energy, and effort to the civic welfare of the community.”  The Bowl Committee, a diverse group of 15 community volunteers, selects the recipient after reviewing many worthy candidates who are nominated annually by the community. This past Sunday evening, the 2021 Bowl Committee voted to honor Ms. Lichtenberg. Afterwards, Bowl Committee Chair Nancy Michaels and Secretary/Treasurer Abby Sroka surprised her in person with the news, to which a shocked Ms. Lichtenberg responded with characteristic modesty, “I am honored and overwhelmed.” Then she added, demonstrating her reliable sense of humor: “and a little terrified!”
Reflecting on the significance of the Bowl Award, the honoree emphasized her gratitude to the many Scarsdale volunteers she had met and worked with along the way, and who contribute to the dynamic community that is Scarsdale. She expressed her heartfelt thanks, saying that “one of the sweet things about living here is the spirit of volunteerism, and all that can be accomplished together, especially in light of the acts we have witnessed recently,” said Ms. Lichtenberg. “We have to hold on to these things, or the world gets too dark.” “I am so proud to chair the Scarsdale Bowl Committee as we select such an outstanding honoree,” said Nancy Michaels. “Michelle is devoted to the Scarsdale community, volunteering her time and energy to numerous and varied organizations, always with her wonderful sense of humor, smile, and thoughtfulness. She is eager to bring people in, and to connect them with the issues or people that would strike a chord. Michelle hasn’t just served on multiple boards and committees in town — she pushes for change that makes for a better Scarsdale, and she gets results.” Ms. Lichtenberg began her volunteer work in Scarsdale at the schools with a series of PTA leadership roles at Greenacres, the Scarsdale Middle School, and at the High School. Under her leadership in 2003, the High School PTA tamped down pre-prom parties where kids would often get intoxicated, and instead instituted the now-beloved Red Carpet tradition, where students gather at SHS with their families and community members to take photos and board waiting buses. Since then, Ms. Lichtenberg has led the Scarsdale League of Women Voters, been a member of the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee, co-chaired the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol, and been an active member of the Friends of Scarsdale Parks, Scarsdale-Edgemont Family Counseling, and the Scarsdale Forum. She has also chaired the Scarsdale Procedure Committee, which administers the annual non-partisan elections in town, as well as the Council on Human Relations. Perhaps most significantly, in recent years, Ms. Lichtenberg, a former Scarsdale Public Library Trustee and President, has been a major force in the reimagining of the Library, playing a crucial role in the fundraising effort, serving on the Capital Campaign and Major Gifts committees, while also participating enthusiastically as a member of the Friends of the Scarsdale Library Board. “Michelle’s unwavering commitment to seeing the project through to fruition, along with her ability to build teams and provide support, was remarkable and will have a lasting impact on this community for generations,” says Dara Gruenberg, who co-chaired the Library’s capital campaign. As if that’s not enough, Ms. Lichtenberg is a member of the Greenacres Association, has been a Scarsdale Foundation Trustee since 2017, a STEP board member since 2009, and served on the Scarsdale Citizens Nominating Committee, where she is currently on the Procedure Committee. Also a board member of the Scarsdale Adult School since 2015, and an active volunteer at White Plains Hospital, Ms. Lichtenberg normally visits critically ill patients in the hospital’s cancer center on a weekly basis, something that is not permitted currently due to Covid, and is working toward her accreditation in Healing Touch therapy. A new grandmother, Ms. Lichtenberg delights in her family. Her sons Andrew and Alec both graduated from Scarsdale High School. Andrew, an attorney, his wife Michelle, and their baby daughter, Lila, live in Brooklyn, and Alec, a teacher, lives in Queens with his partner Natasha. Michelle relishes weekly trips to Brooklyn to hang out with Lila, loves to travel to far-flung places (during non-Covid times), and enjoys bike rides with her husband Frank, who is a Columbia Business School professor. On any given Sunday, they all might be found on the Lichtenbergs’ front porch taking part in a family drum circle. Since the traditional celebratory dinner is not possible given the pandemic, Ms. Lichtenberg will be honored at a small private outdoor reception this spring. Assuming the current health crisis has passed, the Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner will be back, bigger than ever, in 2022. On April 28, 2022 — please save that date! — we hope to gather in force to raise a glass to the spirit of volunteerism in Scarsdale by honoring not only Ms. Lichtenberg, but also 2020 Bowl recipients BK Munguia and Jon Mark, as well as spotlighting the future 2022 Bowl recipient. The entire community will be invited to come out to celebrate on that special evening! Hopefully we will have an unmasked ball!  The 2021 Scarsdale Bowl Committee will begin working to select the 2021 recipient of the Scarsdale Bowl award at its meeting on Sunday, December 13, 2020, and is seeking recommendations from the community for next year’s honoree.
The Scarsdale Bowl, under the sponsorship of the Scarsdale Foundation, has been awarded annually since 1943 to an “individual (or in exceptional cases to a husband and wife) who has given unselfishly of his time, energy and effort to the civic welfare of the community of Scarsdale . . . .” The founding donors of the Bowl believed that “many who serve generously and voluntarily, without office, honor, or publicity, are those most deserving of having their names permanently inscribed on the Scarsdale Bowl.” The community celebration dinner is currently scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 2021, at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase. NANCY MICHAELS Randy Guggenheimer, president of the Scarsdale Foundation, announced that Nancy Michaels will once again serve as chair of this year’s Scarsdale Bowl Committee, and Abby Sroka will continue as the Secretary/Treasurer. Members of the Bowl Committee serve a staggered two-year term. The members of the newly-appointed class of 2022 are Sergi Flaster, Elyse Klayman, Michael Rosen, Svati Shashank, Scott Silberfein, Loretta Vickers, and Han Zhou. The continuing class of 2021 is comprised of Matthew Martin, Dana Matsushita, Jeff Robelen, Andrea Seiden, Janice Starr, and Amber Yusuf. Jennifer Love, a Scarsdale Foundation trustee, will serve on the Committee as liaison. Randy Guggenheimer, president of the Scarsdale Foundation, is an ex officio, non-voting member. The Scarsdale Bowl Dinner 2021, themed “Shine on Scarsdale,” will pay tribute to the 2021 recipient, as well as officially honor 2020 Scarsdale Bowl winners BK Munguia and Jonathan Mark because we were unable to gather as a community during the pandemic. The Bowl Committee is grateful that despite the dinner’s cancellation, the Scarsdale community has been generous, waiving ticket reimbursements and making donations toward the Scarsdale Foundation’s college scholarships, which are now more crucial than ever. The hope is that, next year, the community will be able to properly celebrate the spirit of volunteerism, central to the civic life of Scarsdale, and that another group of deserving students will benefit from the evening’s proceeds. In addition, the new Honor Roll will allow everyone to recognize the day-to-day volunteerism of friends and neighbors while generating more support for the Foundation’s projects. The Bowl Committee welcomes community proposals for the next honoree. Suggest an honoree by completing the Scarsdale Bowl Nomination Form any time before the Bowl Committee’s first meeting on Sunday, December 13, 2020, but preferably no later than Wednesday, November 25, 2020. Alternatively, you may contact the Bowl Chair directly (email scarbowl@gmail.com or call 914-725-8310) or reach out to any current member of the committee with your recommendations. Nominees must be Scarsdale residents who do not currently hold elective office. The 2020 Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner, already rescheduled from April 22, 2020, to September 24, 2020, is unfortunately now cancelled because of health and safety concerns due to COVID-19. Instead, a small private ceremony will be held to honor Scarsdale Bowl recipients BK Munguia and Jonathan Mark. The outstanding couple will be honored again at next year’s Scarsdale Bowl Dinner on Thursday, April 22, 2021. Everyone who has already purchased tickets for the now-canceled 2020 dinner will be contacted with further details by email.
The money raised by the Scarsdale Foundation supports grants for deserving Scarsdale college students in need. The 2020 Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner was planned as a fundraiser for the first time, and as it happens, financial need this year was higher than usual due to economic stresses caused by the pandemic. Funds are very much still needed to support these scholarships. Anyone wishing to give may do so by visiting our Donate page. The Scarsdale Bowl Committee is grateful for the community’s support of the Scarsdale Foundation. Dear Scarsdale Community,
Based on the recent developments with the Coronavirus and the recommendation by the Department of Health to avoid large gatherings, the Scarsdale Foundation has rescheduled the Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner to Thursday, September 24, 2020. We look forward to honoring BK Munguia and Jon Mark together as we celebrate them and all Scarsdale volunteers who make Scarsdale Shine On. We appreciate your understanding and support during these unusual times. All sponsorships, table hosts, and donations will remain pertinent and all purchased tickets will be transferred and honored on our new date. Please continue to honor your friends and neighbors on the new Scarsdale Foundation Honor Roll and celebrate volunteerism. If you have any questions, please contact the Scarsdale Bowl Chair. B. Kathleen (B.K.) Munguia and Jon Mark, an extraordinary couple with decades of dedicated volunteerism to Scarsdale, will be the 2020 joint recipients of the community’s highest award, the Scarsdale Bowl. The Scarsdale Bowl is awarded annually to “one who has given unselfishly of time, energy, and effort to the civic welfare of the community,” according to the Bowl founding documents.
“B.K. and Jon are a couple who have volunteered in every area of civic life in Scarsdale. They have dedicated their lives to giving back to our community, and Scarsdale is a better place for their indefatigable commitment,” said Nancy Michaels, chair of the Scarsdale Bowl Committee. Munguia and Mark will be honored at the Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase. Michaels encourages all members of the community to attend. “It is a night to celebrate the spirit of volunteerism in Scarsdale. The Bowl Committee, a diverse group of 15 community volunteers, selects the recipient(s) after reviewing many worthy candidates who are nominated by the community annually.” This will be the fourth time that a couple is receiving the award in the Bowl’s 77-year history. The Bowl Committee will send out invitations at the beginning of March; however, one need not receive an invitation to attend. The entire community is invited to this wonderful, celebratory event. In the evening of Sunday, January 5, 2020, the Bowl Committee voted to honor Munguia and Mark. Delegates from the committee, including Michaels, Scarsdale Foundation President Randy Guggenheimer, Scarsdale Foundation liaison to the committee Seth Ross, and committee secretary/treasurer Abby Sroka, together with committee member Dara Gruenberg, arrived unannounced at the Munguia/Mark home to surprise the couple with the committee’s selection. Mark commented, “I am honored. I have to sit down.” Munguia, equally stunned, hugged Jon, and after a few moments of quiet astonishment said, “This is so overwhelming. I just can’t believe it. I am speechless.” Reflecting on the significance of the Bowl Award, Munguia and Mark expressed their deep gratitude to the many Scarsdale volunteers they met along the way who also contribute to the dynamic community that is Scarsdale and to whom they extend their thanks for this honor. Munguia began her volunteer work in Scarsdale at Heathcote School, where she organized gardening projects in the atrium and around the school grounds. She served on the School Board’s Legislative Committee, and the School Board Nominating Committee and Administrative Committee. Munguia also served on the Scarsdale Bowl Committee. Munguia, a tireless advocate for youth and teens, has spent several decades volunteering for the Girl Scouts in various capacities. Munguia served on the Citizens Nominating Committee, the Procedure Committee, and chaired the Scarsdale Citizens Non-Partisan Campaign Committee. She served on the Board of the Scarsdale Forum and as its president in 2011-2012. Most notably, Munguia was a board member and president of the now closed Scarsdale Teen Center, starting her service in 2001 and concluding with the closing of the center in 2018. She is also a trustee of The Scarsdale Foundation. Known as a quiet workforce behind so much of what goes on in Scarsdale, “BK embodies the essence of what the Bowl honors: unselfish devotion of time, energy, and effort for the civic welfare of the community. She has shaped so much of what Scarsdale is today, oftentimes quietly and behind the scenes. She is always willing to do the work others don’t want to take on, because that’s just who she is,” Michaels said. Mark, who grew up in Scarsdale, attended Scarsdale schools from kindergarten at the Griffen Avenue School, to Quaker Ridge School, to Scarsdale High School, Class of 1965. He spent the first part of his volunteer life in Scarsdale identified mainly as “BK’s husband” who helped wherever he was asked. However, for the last decade, Mark has created his own reputation as one of Scarsdale’s most dedicated volunteers. Mark served as a two-term Village trustee before becoming the Mayor in 2015. Mark also chaired the Scarsdale Bowl Committee in 2014-2015. In 2017, following his service on the Village Board, Mark joined the board of trustees at Westchester Reform Temple, where he currently serves as a vice president. Concurrently, he was the president of the Scarsdale Forum. Additionally, Mark chaired the Citizens Nominating Committee and then co-chaired the Scarsdale Non-Partisan Party Campaign Committee. “One of Jon’s most striking qualities is his humility. He has a quiet strength that pervades his leadership, and he treats everyone with respect. He is often the last to speak as he wants to hear all sides of an issue. He possesses a tireless work ethic. Jon is always willing to roll up his sleeves, no task too small,” said Michaels. Evelyn Stock, a longtime friend, declared enthusiastically when she heard the news, “I have lived in Scarsdale for 50 years and have known them and worked with them for over 20 years. I cannot think of a more deserving couple to win the Bowl Award. They are both remarkable volunteers in their own right who have given so much to this community, and their service has no limit. They are extraordinary!” Tickets to the Scarsdale Foundation Bowl Dinner will be available for purchase online or via check in early March. Check this website for RSVP and payment details at that time. The Scarsdale Bowl Committee will begin work at its first official meeting on Sunday, December 8, 2019, to select the 2020 recipient of the Scarsdale Bowl award and is seeking recommendations from the community.
The Scarsdale Bowl, under the sponsorship of the Scarsdale Foundation, has been awarded annually since 1943 to an “individual (or in exceptional cases to a husband and wife) who has given unselfishly of his time, energy and effort to the civic welfare of the community of Scarsdale . . . .” The founding donors of the Bowl believed that “many who serve generously and voluntarily, without office, honor, or publicity, are those most deserving of having their names permanently inscribed on the Scarsdale Bowl.” The recipient must be a Scarsdale resident who does not currently hold elective office. NANCY MICHAELS Nancy Michaels is serving as chair of this year’s Bowl Committee. Members of the committee serve staggered two-year terms. The members of the newly appointed class of 2021 are: Matthew Martin, Dana Matsushita, Jeff Robelen, Andrea Seiden, Janice Starr, and Amber Yusuf. The continuing class of 2020 includes Farley Baker, Karen Ceske, John Clapp, Dorothy Finger, Melpo Fite, Dara Gruenberg, and Bob Miller. Seth Ross, Scarsdale Foundation trustee, will serve on the committee as liaison, and Abby Sroka is continuing as the Committee’s secretary/treasurer. Randy Guggenheimer, president of the Scarsdale Foundation, is an ex officio, non-voting member. The Scarsdale Bowl will be awarded at a dinner on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase. The ceremony will pay tribute to the 2020 honoree and to the spirit of volunteerism, central to the civic life of Scarsdale. This year’s theme is “Shine on Scarsdale.” Suggest an honoree by completing the Scarsdale Bowl Nomination Form any time before the Bowl Committee’s first meeting, but preferably no later than Monday, November 25, 2019. Alternatively, you may contact the Bowl Chair directly (email scarbowl@gmail.com or call 914-725-8310) or reach out to any current member of the committee with your recommendations. The Scarsdale Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded $133,000 in scholarship monies to 29 students for the 2019-2020 academic year, its highest total ever. These need-based grants, awarded annually to college students who have graduated from Scarsdale High School or were Scarsdale residents during their high school years, are intended to offset some of the college expenses of students entering their sophomore, junior and senior years. One 2017-18 scholarship recipient expressed their gratitude: “Scarsdale Foundation scholarship funding made all the difference to me and my family. Without the extra support, college would not have been possible.” College tuition costs continue to spiral, increasing the number of student applications for assistance. The Scarsdale High School PTA Scholarship Fund for College provides scholarships for SHS graduates for the freshman year of college only. These students need help to fund their remaining undergraduate years of school. The Scarsdale Foundation helps offset college tuition expenses for eligible students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior years with demonstrated need. A significant number of scholarship applications come from single parent families facing economic setbacks, while others are from students whose parents have lost jobs or whose savings for college have been eroded or wiped out by business losses or devastating health care issues. We are proud that we have awarded over 1 million dollars in total — to approximately 25 students each year — over the last 10 years. In order to meet the growing need for scholarship assistance in our community, the Foundation accepts specially earmarked donations in addition to donations that can be made to its general endowment fund. “The Scarsdale Foundation is thrilled to be able to assist Scarsdale families in need to provide a college education for their children,” said Foundation President Randy Guggenheimer. “Thank you to all who have supported our scholarship program and general endowment fund!” Grants to Community Organizations The Foundation is also proud to announce that it made several grant awards to community organizations in the last 18 months, including $2,500 for fitness stations at Scarsdale High School and $2,000 to the Scarsdale Drug & Alcohol Task Force. In addition to providing support for institutions and individuals that encourage educational and human development and mutual understanding, one of the missions of the Scarsdale Foundation is to recognize those individuals in the community who through volunteer service continue to set an example of civic responsibility towards the betterment of the community. Every spring since 1943 the Scarsdale Foundation has hosted the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner and awards the Scarsdale Bowl to an individual who has given unselfishly of time, energy and effort to the civic welfare of the community. The Scarsdale Bowl is one of the highest and most prestigious honors that can be given to a Scarsdale resident and is reflective of one of the aspects that make our community so special. Our 2019 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner honoring Jill Spieler was a tremendous success. We look forward to seeing you at our next Bowl Dinner to celebrate Volunteerism on April 22, 2020.  |
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