(New York, NY) Over $270,000 was raised in a golf outing put on by the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) NY Real Estate Division, yesterday, Monday, September 9, 2013, bringing together 200 of New York’s most prestigious real estate professionals. The event took place at Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury, New York, and began with a golf tournament in the morning and concluded with a dinner presentation featuring IDF soldiers and IMPACT! Scholarship recipients.
FIDF NY Real Estate Division Golf Outing: (Right to left): Lieutenant Danielle, Communications Officer in Battalion 402, and FIDF IMPACT! Scholarship recipient Sharon; Photo Credit: Howard Wechsler
The Golf Outing Event Chairs were Joel Seiden, Jeffrey Mann and Ofer Yardeni, Chairman of the FIDF NY Real Estate Division.
Active duty IDF soldiers, who traveled to New York from Israel, attended the event and shared their stories with FIDF supporters. The soldiers included Lieutenant Danielle, a Communications Officer in Battalion 402, and Corporal Max, a soldier in Golani, who is currently in the Golani Commanders Course. Cpl. Max, originally from Great Neck, NY, is a Lone Soldier who made Aliyah (moved to Israel) to join the IDF. Another participant in the event was FIDF IMPACT! Scholarship recipient Sharon who served as a combat soldier in the Gaza Strip watching over the border. She participated in Operation Cast Lead, the Gaza Strip Operation, from December 2008-January 2009. She is in her second year of studying education in Beit-Berel College, with a specialization in English.
FIDF NY Real Estate Division Golf Outing: Corporal Max with extended family from Long Island; Photo Credit: Howard Wechsler
After the golf outing, guests enjoyed a beautiful cocktail hour followed by an evening program which featured Lt. Danielle as a speaker and paid tribute to IDF soldiers. “I would like to thank you all on behalf of the soldiers and commanders of my battalion. It is a great honor for me to finally see the faces behind the FIDF signs posted in the entrances of the synagogue, the gym and the soldier lounge in my base. Thanks to your generosity, there are soldiers in the middle of the Negev who can pray in a synagogue and enjoy a vacation after a year of intensive activity. Thanks to your generosity, there is a smile on many soldiers’ faces. For that, and for so much more, I would like to say thank you,” said Lt. Danielle.
FIDF NY Real Estate Division Golf Outing: (Right to left): Golf Outing Event Chair Jeff Mann with wife Ann Mann; Photo Credit: Howard Wechsler
The FIDF NY Real Estate Division was created in 2006 by a group of successful business and philanthropic leaders who were passionate about uniting members of the real estate community in support of Israel’s soldiers. The division has supported several construction projects including a wellbeing center at Revaya Base for Battalion 71 of the 188th Brigade, as well as other FIDF wellbeing programs to benefit the soldiers, and is an integral part of FIDF’s Tri-State Region.
FIDF NY Real Estate Division Golf Outing: Lieutenant Danielle speaking to the crowd; Photo Credit: Howard Wechsler
About Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF):
FIDF was established in 1981 by a group of Holocaust survivors as a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing and supporting educational, social, cultural, and recreational programs and facilities for the heroic men and women of the IDF. Today, FIDF has more than 120,000 loyal supporters, and 15 regional offices throughout the U.S. and Panama. FIDF proudly offers its support to the IDF soldiers and their families through a variety of unique and innovative programs. These opportunities reinforce the vital bond between the communities in the United States, the soldiers of the IDF, and the State of Israel.
For more information, please visit: www.fidf.org.
