Hadassah to host Gardens of World tour, tea

To kick off its current Hadassah membership drive, "One to Grow On," the Emek Hallanot chapter of Hadassah will sponsor a docent-led tour of the Gardens of the World, 2001 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks at 7 p.m. Wed., Oct. 1.

Immediately following the tour, the chapter will host a dessert tea and membership orientation at the Gardens of the World Resource Center featuring Dorraine Gilbert, past Zionist and International Affairs Chair, discussing her grandchildren’s personal experiences as patients at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. A video highlighting Hadassah projects throughout the world will also be shown.

Bonnie Lipton, Hadassah’s immediate past National President, underscored the urgency of the "One to Grow On" membership campaign. "As violence has escalated in the Middle East, it has become clear that our state-of-the-art trauma unit at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center at Ein Kerem is being pushed to capacity. In order to continue our longstanding mandate of treating everyone who comes through our doors, regardless of their religious or ethnic background, we need to expand and reconfigure this unit into a major center for emergency medicine," said Lipton. "The best way to achieve our goals is to ‘grow’ our already strong membership to become even larger and more vibrant."

With more than 300,000 members, Hadassah is the largest women’s and Zionist organization in the United States. Hadassah is committed to supporting state-of-the-art healthcare in Israel and funding many other international projects.

The event (complimentary for non-members and $5 donation for members) is open to all interested Conejo Valley women. Reservations may be made through the regional Hadassah office at (818) 783-3488.