National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI) will host its annual Women of Vision fundraising event on Thursday, September 26, at Adat Shalom Synagogue (29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334) featuring keynote speaker Rebekah Gregory, a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Gregory, a spectator at the marathon, suffered serious injuries shielding her 5-year-old son from the blast just a few feet away and had to have her leg amputated. Since then, Gregory has undergone 76 surgeries, but has embodied strength, resilience and unwavering courage, becoming a motivational speaker and the author of a best-selling book called
“Taking My Life Back.” She is also the founder of Rebekah’s Angels Foundation, a nonprofit organization which funds trauma therapy for families.
“We chose Rebekah to be our keynote speaker because she is a strong young woman who is closely aligned with our vision of protecting the rights of women, children, and families,” said President of NCJW|MI Amy Zeskind. “Rebekah overcame a very difficult challenge and has now dedicated her life to being an advocate for those who have survived trauma, inspiring audiences and readers of her book with a message of hope and empowerment.”
The Women of Vision event will also honor skinnytees founder and owner Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, an advocate for women and children’s charities, with the Woman of Vision Award. Bookstock, a used book and media sale which supports educational and literacy initiatives in metro Detroit, will receive the Josephine S. Weiner Community Service Award.
The Women of Vision Award recipient, skinnytees founder Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, is being honored because of her inspiring business story and her impact on the community.
Schlesinger-Wagner needed to reinvent her career at the age of 60 and went back to her roots as a knitwear designer, creating skinnytees, a one-size-fits-most clothing company which is now a $6 million company. Her philanthropic passion sees her sponsoring programs to help homeless children, shelters, women seeking to reinvent their working lives, medical research and communities providing housing, food and health services.
The Josephine S. Weiner Community Service Award recipient is Bookstock, currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Bookstock is a community service project through which hundreds of thousands of gently used books and media are collected, sorted and sold. The project has raised millions of dollars for educational and literacy programs in metro Detroit.
The Women of Vision event will support NCJW|MI’s many community impact projects and social justice advocacy work. Recent projects of the 133-year-old organization include the Back 2 School Store, which provides free clothing and school supplies to 900 Detroit children in need annually, the Backpack project which provides backpacks and school supplies to more than 1,000 homeless and low-income students in Oakland County, literacy outreach, fleece blankets for hospitalized children, and Kosher Meals on Wheels. The organization is at the forefront of voter advocacy, women’s reproductive rights and gun safety, holding programs and educational initiatives to promote these issues.
Tickets for the Women of Vision event are available at several donation levels, starting at $54. Registration is from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.; boutiques are open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and are open to the public; meet and greet with Rebekah Gregory, for patrons, is from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. speaker and awards presentation; 1:15 p.m. onwards will be lunch, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. For additional information on the program or to buy tickets go to ncjwmi.org/women-of-vision.
Gregory, a spectator at the marathon, suffered serious injuries shielding her 5-year-old son from the blast just a few feet away and had to have her leg amputated. Since then, Gregory has undergone 76 surgeries, but has embodied strength, resilience and unwavering courage, becoming a motivational speaker and the author of a best-selling book called
“Taking My Life Back.” She is also the founder of Rebekah’s Angels Foundation, a nonprofit organization which funds trauma therapy for families.
“We chose Rebekah to be our keynote speaker because she is a strong young woman who is closely aligned with our vision of protecting the rights of women, children, and families,” said President of NCJW|MI Amy Zeskind. “Rebekah overcame a very difficult challenge and has now dedicated her life to being an advocate for those who have survived trauma, inspiring audiences and readers of her book with a message of hope and empowerment.”
The Women of Vision event will also honor skinnytees founder and owner Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, an advocate for women and children’s charities, with the Woman of Vision Award. Bookstock, a used book and media sale which supports educational and literacy initiatives in metro Detroit, will receive the Josephine S. Weiner Community Service Award.
The Women of Vision Award recipient, skinnytees founder Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, is being honored because of her inspiring business story and her impact on the community.
Schlesinger-Wagner needed to reinvent her career at the age of 60 and went back to her roots as a knitwear designer, creating skinnytees, a one-size-fits-most clothing company which is now a $6 million company. Her philanthropic passion sees her sponsoring programs to help homeless children, shelters, women seeking to reinvent their working lives, medical research and communities providing housing, food and health services.
The Josephine S. Weiner Community Service Award recipient is Bookstock, currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Bookstock is a community service project through which hundreds of thousands of gently used books and media are collected, sorted and sold. The project has raised millions of dollars for educational and literacy programs in metro Detroit.
The Women of Vision event will support NCJW|MI’s many community impact projects and social justice advocacy work. Recent projects of the 133-year-old organization include the Back 2 School Store, which provides free clothing and school supplies to 900 Detroit children in need annually, the Backpack project which provides backpacks and school supplies to more than 1,000 homeless and low-income students in Oakland County, literacy outreach, fleece blankets for hospitalized children, and Kosher Meals on Wheels. The organization is at the forefront of voter advocacy, women’s reproductive rights and gun safety, holding programs and educational initiatives to promote these issues.
Tickets for the Women of Vision event are available at several donation levels, starting at $54. Registration is from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.; boutiques are open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and are open to the public; meet and greet with Rebekah Gregory, for patrons, is from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. speaker and awards presentation; 1:15 p.m. onwards will be lunch, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. For additional information on the program or to buy tickets go to ncjwmi.org/women-of-vision.
