CAHAL held its eighth annual fundraising concert on Sunday, March 11, at Lawrence High School.
The concert featured some of the outstanding Jewish performers in the world today: 8th Day, Lipa Schmeltzer and Uri Davidi. The always popular Shloime Dachs produced the concert, and the Shloime Dachs Orchestra accompanied the performers.
The concert, CAHAL’s largest fundraising event of the year, was a sell-out, with over 750 people in attendance.
A Meet the Performers Event was held for sponsors and their children before the concert. The performers took time to chat and take pictures with the attendees.
Seasons sponsored the sushi and a display of delicious desserts and Mrs. Bracha Silverstein, a local party planner, decorated the room beautifully.
Uri Davidi opened the show. His beautiful voice and array of new and melodic songs set the tone for a series of outstanding performances.
Shimmie Ehrenreich, CAHAL’s Executive Director, thanked everyone for attending, especially the 70 sponsors, the most ever for a CAHAL event.
He also thanked the program’s directors, Mrs. Naomi Nadata and Mrs. Alice Feltheimer, for their years of dedication, and Pesach and Fraidy Osina and Shira Cohen for coordinating the event.
Ehrenreich expressed appreciation for the 12 local yeshivas that partner with CAHAL. Rabbi Dov Langer, a rebbe in CAHAL for 14 years, spoke about the program and presented some heartfelt stories of children who succeeded in CAHAL.
CAHAL is a partnership serving students in twelve yeshivas in the Five Towns, Far Rockaway, West Hempstead, Queens and greater Nassau County. Each school has children that require a program like CAHAL, yet most do not have enough students on the same grade level to open a class, nor the funding to provide related support services or professional guidance.
Only through the yeshivas’ joint efforts and CAHAL’s outstanding system of classes and services do the children with learning challenges have a school to call their own.
The sold-out crowd came alive when Lipa Schmeltzer came on stage. His amazing range and vibrant personality electrified the audience. 8th Day followed with their magnificent voices. They both drew tremendous ovations throughout the show.
Shloime Dachs, Lipa and Uri Davidi joined 8th Day on stage for the big finale. The final song was a beautiful finish to a magical evening of entertainment.
Dozens of children and adults, including members of the CAHAL Board of Directors danced during the finale. The event proved to be a huge success and raised much-needed money for CAHAL’s Scholarship Fund.