Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast

Manhattanville College’s Duchesne Center for Religion and Social Justice in conjunction with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) of Westchester and the Westchester Jewish Council (WJC), are proud to present the Annual Westchester/Fairfield County Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast, which brings together over 250 people representing approximately 100 local and state-wide government, religious, secular, and private offices and organizations, to celebrate the cultural and religious diversity of America.

 “The breakfast truly embodies Manhattanville College’s mission and values of being ethically and socially responsible in a global community,” said Father Wil Tyrrell, S.A., Director of the Duchesne Center for religion and social justice. “We have an amazing mix of students from 66 countries and 33 states on our campus, a student body that completes 30,000 hours of community service annually. It is perfectly fitting that Manhattanville host an event which acknowledges and recognizes cultural differences.”

The Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast was started by the American Jewish Committee in November 2002 in response to the 9/11 attacks. For the past few years, the organizing committee has honored individuals and organizations who impact local communities. Last year, the Duchesne Center was honored for its interfaith and community service work in Westchester.

This year three immigrants to the U.S. will be featured speakers including Manhattanville College senior Mame Cisse, an international student from Dakar, Senegal, who four years ago as a freshmen founded Global Donations.  The organization of international students provides support to countries in need. What started out as students collecting donations and items to send to people in countries suffering from war, famine, drought, poverty, and political unrest has now grown into an organization, which sponsors students to personally travel internationally to lend support to those in need to such parts of the world as Haiti and Guatemala.

This year’s event, which is co-sponsored by the Duchesne Center, AJC, and WJC along with 25 partner organizations, will be held on November 17, 2011 at 7:45 a.m. at Manhattanville College. Tickets are $16 in advance and $20 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit www.ajc.org/westchesterfiversity2011 .