Special to the Ledger

WESTPORT — Four Fairfield County residents will be honored at “An Evening with JFS,” the annual awards dinner hosted by Jewish Family Service of Fairfield County, to be held on Sunday, March 30 at Temple Beth El in Stamford.

The 35th annual Mitzvah Awards will be presented to Alison Wachstein, and Edith Samers and Ed Smith. The 9th annual Young Leadership Award will be presented to Adam Batkin.

JFS award recipients (l to r) Adam Batkin, Alison Wachstein, Ed Smith and Edith Samers. Photo credit: Alison Wachstein Photography

Weston resident Alison Wachstein has been volunteering in various local organizations since she moved to Connecticut 34 years ago. She is a long-time supporter of UJA/Federation Westport Weston Wilton Norwalk, where she has served on the board as well as various committees. She has also served on the Boards of Temple Israel in Westport, Connecticut Professional Photographer’s Association, the Fairfield/Westchester Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and Weston Women’s League. A professional photographer, she donates her photography skills to non-profits such as Discovery Museum, Near and Far Aid, JDC, Neighborhood Studios, UJA/Federation, Temple Israel, Weston Women’s League, Bartlett Arboretum and Jewish Family Service.

Since arriving in Stamford in 1959, Edith Samers has served on committees and boards of many organizations, including: the League of Women voters; the Stamford education system:  UCONN Center for Judaic and Middle Eastern Studies; Hadassah; United Jewish Federation of Greater Stamford, New Canaan and Darien (UJF); the American Jewish Committee for Fairfield County; AIPAC; and Jewish Family Service, where she has served as vice president, a member of the board and executive committee, and a member of various committees. Along with her late husband, Bernard Samers. She is a founding member of Chavurat Aytz Chayim.

Born and raised in Stamford, Ed Smith has held leadership positions at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, UJF and, with his wife, Edith Samers, Chavurat Aytz Chayim. He has also helped raise funds in Stamford for Israel Bonds and UJA, and manages the database for UJF.  Smith volunteered at Corporate Angel Network at the Westchester County Airport for ten years, organizing free flights on corporate jets for cancer patients.  Samers and Smith have been married for eleven years.

A resident of Greenwich, Adam Batkin returned to Connecticut after five years in Glasgow, Scotland, and resumed his career as a software developer for AQR Capital Management, a Greenwich hedge fund. He has served as co-chair of Tapestry (UJF Stamford) for the past two years, and is a member of the Stamford Chevra Kadisheh and the JFS Board.  He also frequently lends a helping hand to Jewish organizations and synagogues in the Stamford and Greenwich areas with technology issues.

An Evening with JFS will feature dinner and an auction, featuring jewelry, art, vacations and Yankee tickets. Proceeds will help ensure the continuation of the agency’s vital services for those in need. To attend or donate an item for the Auction, please contact Iris Morrison at 203-921-4161 or email at IMorrison@ctjfs.org.