Brooklyn, NY – Orthodox Jewish Women Honored By Brooklyn DA

Brookyn, NY – Three Orthodox women from Brooklyn’s Jewish community were among the thirty three women selected by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ office to be honored for their extraordinary community service.

This is the sixth consecutive year that the Brooklyn DA’s office has organized an Extraordinary Women campaign, paying tribute to local residents by recognizing their selfless actions during March which is also Women’s History Month.

Among the women recognized at a special ceremony this morning held at the Kings County DA’s office were Williamsburg resident Sarah Sander, a staunch advocate for Downs Syndrome children, Midwood resident Chavie Glustein, founder of BINA, and Borough Park resident Esther Friedman, a dedicated volunteer at Maimonides Medical Center.

An oversized calendar for the month of March, bearing the pictures of all the honorees was unveiled this morning in the lobby of 350 Jay Street, with one day of the month dedicated to each of the thirty two women, including a mother daughter pair being honored together. The thirty third honoree was honored with the DA’s Choice Award. Each of the women is designated as a Special Ambassador to her community and they will be further honored at a ceremony to take place on March 27th at the Supreme Court building. The thirty three honorees were selected from the approximately one hundred nominations received this year by a special committee from the Brooklyn DA’soffice and by previous honorees.

Williamsburg resident Sarah Sander, the mother of a twenty year old son with Downs Syndrome who not only mentors families with Down Syndrome children but created a magazine called Downs Syndrome Amongst Us. She also founded the first yeshiva program for Downs Syndrome children to be housed in a mainstream yeshiva, called Bonim Lamakom, which is located in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and currently has an enrollment of approximately forty five boys, ages six and up.

“I was reluctant to accept this honor, but I wanted other women to realize that regular people, like me and like them, have the ability to bring about change” Mrs. Sander told VIN News. “I was just an ordinary woman when my son was born, but when you are thrown into circumstances like these, you do what you need to do. Sometimes in life you are faced with challenges, but you can’t give up, you can’t throw in the towel, you have to rise to the occasion and I hope that other women will be inspired to meet their challenges head on.”

Chavie Glustein is the founder of BINA Stroke and Brain Injury Assistance, created after a close family member suffered a stroke at a young age. After five years of learning to navigate the system, the Midwood resident decided to use her expertise by assisting others in similar situations and to date BINA has provided invaluable assistance to over one thousand victims of stroke and brain injury, many of whom live in Brooklyn. BINA is the only Jewish organization specializing in brain injury which can strike victims of car accidents, strokes, skiing accidents and falls. It has been widely acclaimed by brain injury specialists and Mrs. Glustein has personally visited over one hundred rehabilitation facilities, met with specialists and therapists and attends medical conference all across the United States.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to meet other women who have accomplished so much within their communities,” said Mrs. Glustein. “It was heartwarming to share in each other’s life experiences.”

Now a grandmother, Esther Friedman has been visiting hospitalized patients since she accompanied her own grandmother at age ten on her mitzvah rounds at a local hospital. The Borough Park resident began volunteering at Maimonides Medical Center after moving to Brooklyn from the Lower East Side in 1970 and to this day, she continues to provide homemade cholent and other Shabbos food to Jewish patients as well as homemade white tablecloths sized to fit hospital bed trays. Mrs. Freidman uses her talents to chair both the Zichron Shlome Refuah Fund and Hatzalah’s annual Chinese Auctions and was recognized by Maimonides at their recent centennial as a long standing volunteer.