Torah Fund Region Vice Presidents Anchor Our Fundraising Efforts 

Welcome to my Chadashot spotlight on our remaining two dedicated 2024–2026 Torah Fund region vice presidents:  Sindy Manas, Garden State Region and Ariana Burrows, Mid-Atlantic Region. The Torah Fund team (Marilyn Berkowitz, Shelley Szwalbenest and me) continues to work with our dedicated group of Torah Fund region vice presidents. The three of us enjoy our time with this wonderful group and appreciate seeing the steady donation growth in this last campaign together—Oseh Shalom (Maker of Peace). 

Here is how Sindy and Ariana answered the following three questions: 

• What do you enjoy most about your Torah Fund position? 
• What past professional or personal experience helped you with your position? 
• Describe something about yourself that would surprise us or that makes you special to those who love you.   

Sindy:   

When a longtime Torah Fund chair became ill in my sisterhood, I stepped up to be her co-chair. This experience began my journey with Torah Fund. In this position, I enjoy meeting and talking with the Torah Fund chairs, learning how they raise money for Torah Fund and their ideas for programs. 

After working many years for a local CPA firm, I recently started and currently operate my own CPA firm. You need to be very organized to operate a business, and these skills directly translate to my Torah Fund work. My financial experience also helps working with spreadsheets, setting affiliate goals and helping my affiliate chairs with financial questions. 

I enjoy walking so I spend a lot of time at the Jersey shore walking on the boardwalk. I also love to knit and crochet and am currently working on a baby blanket for my new granddaughter who will arrive in February. 

Ariana: 

I find joy being the liaison between affiliate Torah Fund chairs and the Torah Fund office. I love the opportunity to add tips and suggestions when forwarding affiliate monthly reports. Also, I take pleasure speaking at meetings and events of affiliates and believe these visits with our Torah Fund donors—and kvelling with them when they make their goal—are the reward for my labors! 

For many years I was a fundraising executive at a child welfare agency and then at an organization serving seniors. I twice co-chaired the Philanthropy Awards Committee for the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ community-wide National Philanthropy Day. I have done on-air fundraising for local public radio stations and have provided counseling to small arts organizations applying for grants. As you can see, offering encouragement and meeting fundraising goals is in my blood! 

People are sometimes surprised to learn that I trained in modern dance and ballet, and (before fitness gyms) taught adult ballet classes where 25% of the students were men! 

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These two women have done exemplary jobs as Torah Fund vice presidents. They believe in supporting the five schools of Conservative Judaism and helping others to understand how every donation supports the continuation of our movement. 

My series of interviews demonstrates how our past experiences help each of us develop skills that aid us to be effective in our affiliates and in WLCJ. After reading my final installment of this series, I hope you enjoyed learning about these volunteers. Torah Fund would not be able to support the five Conservative/Masorti institutes of higher education without our thirteen region vice presidents. 

Are YOU interested in bringing your skills to the position of Torah Fund region vice president?