The Kehilat Chaverim 36th anniversary planning committee: (l to r) Clarissa Basch, Art Feltman, Elaine Groundwater, Sheila Mascolo, Joan Walden, Sharon Sklar, Beverly Kaplan, Nancy Malley, Marcey Munoz, Ellen Coffey, and coordinator Janet Abel.

Kehilat Chaverim of Greater Hartford, a Jewish cooperative that was established in 1978, celebrated its 36th anniversary with an evening of dining and entertainment on Saturday, May 31 at the Mandell JCC in West Hartford. In attendance were 80 present and former members of the Jewish cooperative, including ten of the group’s founders, some of who live out of state but returned for the party.

After dinner, Ted Diesenhaus and Joan Walden, two of the founders, presented “Memory Lane,” a multi-media show that told the story of the group’s evolution from the Hartford Havurah with two dozen members established in 1978, to today’s organization of 85 member families.

Four non-profit organizations were selected to receive donations in honor of this double chai milestone: Charter Oak Cultural Center, Jewish Association for Community Living, the Jewish Family Services’ Anja Rosenberg Kosher Food Pantry, and the Parent Academy.