ORT Women’s Auction Nets Nearly $5K
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ORT Women’s Auction Nets Nearly $5K

Wrapped gifts were auctioned and re-auctioned to raise funds for ORT educational programming.

After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.

Home hostess Stacy Fialkow poses with event chair Beth Friedman. 
Home hostess Stacy Fialkow poses with event chair Beth Friedman. 

Stacy Fialkow’s Sandy Springs home was host to 40 “power” women who understood the good works of ORT and came ready to bid “blindly” on wrapped boxes to benefit the charity. On a cold night, Thursday, Jan. 22, professional auctioneer Seth Weiner kept the crowd bidding, flowing, joking, and above all, raising money where 100 percent of the proceeds went to benefit ORT.

Event chair Beth Friedman thanked the host committee of Jenna Shulman, Jodi Mekyten, Miriam Haviv, and Fialkow. Friedman recalled an equally cold night in 2014 where a similar ORT event raised just $1,880. Little did she know then that this night’s donations would almost reach $5,000. She recognized Daryl Lewis (whom she met at a post-Oct. 7 event), and Tin Drum Asia Cafe for catering the themed buffet with sushi, stir fried vegetables, tossed salad with ginger dressing, and salmon.

Fran Huff, Rhonda Gould, and Jami Kohn were among the first to arrive and show support.

“We need to patronize Jewish merchants,” Friedman emphasized.
ORT Atlanta president Robbi Strauss gave a hard-hitting talk about ORT’S role in providing education, and mental and physical health well-being for Jewish children. “We say ‘never again’; and here we are in 2025. Let’s put our hearts and money where they need to go.”

Strauss shared that in the ORT facility near Gaza right after Oct. 7, students were evacuated to make room for IDF soldiers to be brought in for a base camp.

A video was shown emphasizing ORT providing activities as escapes from unfortunate conditions, “by recognizing signs of PTSD with support and tools and time to heal.”

Southeast/Atlanta ORT Director Kenny Silverboard thanked past ORT professionals, Jenna Shulman and Rachel Miller, for giving ORT Atlanta such a solid stable base. He reminded the group that ORT operates educational programs in 39 countries with cutting-edge classes including STEM, AI, and robotics.

Auctioneer Seth Weiner kept things lively and encouraged gift buying.

Auctioneer Weiner, clad in a dazzling sequined dinner jacket, explained that the first 15 people to raise their hands would pay $100, and pick any unopened gift. Purchasers ran for the stacks and showed “their booty” to the groups’ “oohs and ahhs.” Items ranged from mezuzahs, a bold metallic tea kettle, aromatic spa kits, spices, a giant wood charcuterie board shaped like the state of Georgia, Cartier menorah stationary, to a wine decanter set shaped like an airplane hangar. Then there was a pair of ostrich passport covers, and a Lucite matzo box. One of the highest sought after items was an original art glass creation by Terry Schwartz. At least two donors were online off-site showing their items by cell phone and promising to later deliver the goods.

The special fun came from each gift’s clue card that cleverly hinted about the contents. ORT donor Robin Brill kept things lively by bidding on items that were purple, her favorite color. She even bought an item if the note pad got thrown in to much laughter and applause.

Weiner didn’t let a second pass without a fun quip to accelerate bidding, “It’s at $150, gotta go to $180 for Chai! …  Doesn’t Am Yisroel Chai mean the highest bidder? … Whoever wrote these clues must help kids with bar mitzvah ceremonies … Jump to $100, ‘cause why not? … I’m not acting this way because I ate gummies. I did not!”

Michelle Smith and Robin Brill chatted during dinner. Later in the evening, Brill was pumping up the bidding especially when it was her favorite color.

Then, to mix everything up and raise even more money, Weiner let anyone (the highest bidder) re –buy another’s treasure if it wasn’t their original “cup of tea.”

Earlier during the “mingling” dinner, Rhonda Gould, ORT board member, told the AJT, “I’m encouraged about the future based on who I see here tonight. The younger generation got more involved and motivated after Oct. 7 because it became more personal to them.” Gould was president of her ORT chapter, PALMWARD, in Florida before coming to Atlanta.

Fran Huff drove in from Jasper, Ga., for the event. Brill said, “I was involved with career ORT here in 1990 in downtown Atlanta where we created a wonderful community.”

The only thing more prolific than the desserts that apron clad Fialkow circulated were those checks made out to ORT.

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