Paying Tribute to New York's Frontline Workers

New York City NY

21 September, 2021

9:44 AM

Description

On Thursday, October 7, Workers Circle will pay tribute to frontline workers for their unwavering courage, presenting an inaugural Heroes of the Workforce/Arbeters Heldn Award to the New York Professional Nurses Union (NYPNU) during the nonprofit's annual benefit. The virtual event will feature celebrity readings, performances by singer, songwriter and actor Daniel Kahn, The Peace Poets, and frontline stories from one of the NYPNU nurses read by award-winning actress, Alfre Woodard. NYPNU represents the nurses of New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, Lenox Health Greenwich Village, and the Manhattan Eye Ear Throat Hospital. Lenox Hill Hospital was one of the first hospitals in the US to find themselves on the frontline of the pandemic with their ER and units rapidly filling beginning March of 2020. Because of workers like those represented by NYPNU, many more people are alive today. "We owe a debt of gratitude to all of those here in New York City and across our country who valiantly served on the frontlines of this pandemic and put their own health at risk to protect us all," said Ann Toback, CEO and Executive Director of the Workers Circle. "In particular, we recognize the Lenox Hill Hospital Nurses for their unwavering courage in the past months, and their commitment to providing lifesaving care and support to thousands of patients. And we recognize NYPNU, their union, which provides a strong collective community for its members to speak out and take action on critical issues, including patient safety, protection in the workplace, and speaking out against injustice in the greater society around us, including actions the NYPNU nurses took in support of the Black Lives Matter movement." "A nurse, at their core, is an advocate," says Kathleen Flynn, RN, President of the New York Professional Nurses Union. "We know how to read the signs and when intervention is required. Patient advocacy doesn't end at the bedside. We champion for safe patient care in all forms. Fighting for safe staffing and addressing racial disparities in health care are just as necessary and lifesaving as a vaccine. This recognition from the Workers Circle is a great honor and an acknowledgment of an ongoing partnership – it takes all of us to build a better world." During the past year, NYPNU members championed for an increased national response to the ongoing pandemic and advocated on behalf of racial justice and worker rights, which are core values of the Workers Circle's history and mission. The organization's first-ever virtual benefit will be held at 8:00 pm ET (with a special VIP event for sponsors starting at 7:30 pm ET. The event will feature top-notch musical entertainment, special guests, and other surprises. While the event is free, the Workers Circle encourages donations to support the organization's youth activism programs. For more details, to become a sponsor, or learn about ways you can honor the frontline workers in your life or pay tribute to the memory of someone you lost to COVID, visit circle.org/benefit. About the Workers Circle Founded more than 120 years ago, the Workers Circle (formerly known as the Workmen's Circle) is a social justice organization that powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism. For over a century we have provided this 360-degree approach to Jewish identity-building. Through contemporary cultural programs, strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, interactive educational experiences and more, we connect Jewish adults, kids and families of all affiliations with their cultural heritage, working to build a better and more beautiful world for all. Learn more at www.circle.org.