Selfhelp Celebrates 58 Very Special Birthdays

Friends, family, care givers and reporters gathered at Selfhelp Benjamin Rosenthal Prince Street Senior Center on October 13th to celebrate and honor Selfhelp's 58 centenarians.  Eighteen centenarians - including Holocaust survivors, poets, artists, great-grandparents - and more were honored in person at the event.

The room was very festive and the centenarians most surprised.

Russell Lusak, Vice President Administration, kicked off the celebration with moving comments and introduced Selfhelp's video tribute, "Living Life & Loving It; Selfhelp's Centenarians Look to the Future."  The video included a tribute to all of our centenarians and spotlighted three of our seniors with very different stories and backgrounds:  Holocaust survivor Steve Pulwars; dancer/great-grandmother and sports aficionado Elizabeth Angelo; and our dear Adele Lerner - painter, poet, blogger and philosopher.

Assembly member Grace Meng from District 22 Flushing was in attendance and addressed the centenarians with some kind words.  Also in attendance was a representative from Senator Toby Stavisky's Office, Stephanie Ramirez, who provided Certificates of Recognition to each centenarian.

Youngsters from P.S. 24 stole the show with their rendition of "Happy Birthday" and "When you're Smiling" -- which they were asked to sing again...and again.  The fifth grade class is part of Selfhelp's Intergenerational Learning Initiative which aims to close the gap between generations and foster respect and understanding among people of all ages and backgrounds.

Adele Lerner's Daughter, Harriet Kaufman, read a poem written by Adele that moved the audience and really set the tone for the event.

Elihu Kover read the names of each centenarian aloud as the young students presented them with balloons and a certificate of honor.

Each honoree also received a gift bag containing a Selfhelp mug, tea, a large print edition of Reader's Digest and other additional goodies.  Leo Asen cut the cake with Dr. Alexander Imich, our oldest Centenarian at 109 years old, and offered a multi-lingual toast which earned a loud round of applause.

Laughter, tears and many hugs were exchanged as Selfhelp paid earnest tribute to the talent, wisdom, experiences and advice that our centenarians provide as guidance and encouragement to others each and every day.

A wide range of media were able to attend or have asked for background materials.  These include:  The Wall Street Journal (photographer and columnist); WCBS-TV News; The World Journal (the largest Chinese Newspaper in North America); Jewish Week; Jewish Forward; PR Newswire (national); The New York Daily News and many others.  A brief tribute to Selfhelp's centenarians and a photo of Steve and Josepha Pulwars was also shown on the jumbotron in Times Square.
 
Media Links

Birthday Bash Held For 58 Centenarians In Flushing
WCBS, 10/14/10

1,800-Plus Birthday Candles
The Wall Street Journal, 10/13/10

Living Life & Loving It; Selfhelp Centenarians look to the Future
YouTube
 

Check out more photos from the event on Flickr