December 9, 2005

NCSY Sends Out a Call to its Alumni Everywhere: Join Us for Our First Retreat, President’s Weekend, to Relive the Past, Plan for the Future

President’s Weekend, Friday, February 17 - Sunday, February 19, 2006
Holiday Inn Plaza Hotel
Edison, NJ

In its more than half century of existence, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, the Orthodox Union’s famed youth movement, has influenced the lives of many thousands of young men and women, who in turn went on to lead lives of Torah Jews as adults, raised their children to follow in their traditions, and assumed leadership in the Jewish community.

Now, for the first time, NCSY will bring its alumni together for a gala retreat to be held President’s Weekend, Friday, February 17-Sunday, February 19, 2006 at the Holiday Inn Plaza Hotel in Edison, NJ. The hotel is located 15 minutes from Newark Liberty Airport, and less than an hour from New York City, making it convenient both for alumni from the New York area and for those coming in from across North America and Israel.

The weekend will be replete with special events and great food, along with classes and workshops led by OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and NCSY alumni. Participants will relive the classic NCSY Shabbat Ebbs Away and Havdalah experiences.

“The weekend will be a rare opportunity for NCSY alumni to reconnect with old friends and cherished memories,” declared an alumna, Deborah Lewitter of Highland Park, NJ, a member of the Reunion Committee organizing the event.. “Alumni are invited to again share the magic of an NCSY Shabbat, but now with their children alongside of them. They will have the opportunity to renew old friendships and create new friendships with other alumni who share their passion for Torah. This will be an unforgettable experience for all.”

According to OU President Stephen J. Savitsky, “For many in the Orthodox community, NCSY is the OU’s signature program. Certainly, it has done more than any outreach effort, anywhere, to reinforce the Torah lifestyle in teens from yeshiva backgrounds, and to open the world of Torah and Shabbat to teens from public school backgrounds, who ever since have lived with their families as observant Jews. Now, these former NCSYers can be part of launching the much-needed NCSY Alumni Program.”

Martin Nachimson of Valley Village (Los Angeles) CA, Orthodox Union Youth Commission Chair, sees the NCSY alumni as a dedicated group working alongside the current generation of NCSY leaders on behalf of today’s Jewish teens. “I can’t wait for this historic event,” Mr. Nachimson said. “For years we have inspired teens who as adults have become leaders in our Jewish communities. It is now time to take the amazing and untapped energies and talents of NCSY alumni to create a force to bring NCSY magic to the Jewish teens of this generation who need NCSY even more than their predecessors did. Like the Fourth Son at the Passover Seder, today’s teens are so far removed from their tradition that they don’t even know how to ask or what to ask about living Jewish lives. That will be the role of the NCSY alumni – to help spread the word to Jewish teens everywhere about what NCSY can do for them.”

NCSY National Director Rabbi Steven Burg declared, “NCSY uniquely has public school clubs and chapters to reach out to Jewish teens wherever they are. However,” he added, “we must reinforce our capabilities in order to support an all-out effort to take those teens to the next level. NCSY alumni can be the experienced battle tested army to rally the support our teens so desperately need.”

The February retreat will have many special features, including:

• The always-inspirational NCSY atmosphere

• Newly renovated rooms

• Gourmet Glatt Kosher cuisine by Menagerie and welcome buffet

• Lavish Viennese Table

• 24-hour tea room

• “Club NCSY” children’s camp, baby sitting and teen program

Fun-filled post-Shabbat Carnival (for all ages) and kumsitz with an alumni all-star band

For information on costs, including an early-bird discount and special fees for children, contact Rabbi Dave Felsenthal, NCSY Director of Development, at 212-613-8153, or rabbidave@ou.org.

* * *

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 409,000 products manufactured in 83 countries around the globe.

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Orthodox Union Department of Communications and Marketing David Olivestone Director Stephen Steiner Director of Public Relations Main Office: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Phone: 212.613.8318 Fax: 212-613-0763 E-mail: steiners@ou.org  |  media@ou.org

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