MIDWOOD — The Orthodox Union (OU) will collaborate with leading national organizations in the field for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week to present a communal event on the topic “Everybody Knows Somebody — Food, Body Image and Eating Disorders in the Frum Community.” 
 

The event will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Young Israel of Midwood synagogue, 1694 Ocean Ave. Admission is free. Doors open at 9 a.m.

The OU Department of Community Services has conducted a wide range of programs over the past several years dealing with eating disorders in the Orthodox Jewish community.
 

The event is co-sponsored with the National Council of Synagogue Youth; the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the largest nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to supporting those affected by eating disorders; and Mothers and Fathers Aligned Saving Kids (MASK), a national social service provider working with communities and families to prevent at-risk behavior.

 

Topics of discussion will include:
 

• “Eating Disorders 101: Signs, Symptoms, and Accessing Treatment,” led by Ilene Fishman, LCSW, and Sondra Kronberg, MS, RN, CEDRD.
 

• “Navigating the Pressures to be Perfect: Exploring Eating Disorder Contributing Factors,” also led by Fishman and Kronberg.
 

• “Pressures and Stresses Contributing to Food and Body Image Challenges in the Frum Community,” led by Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, spiritual leader of Khal Bnei Yitzchok and author of Starving Souls: A Spiritual Guide to Understanding Eating Disorders.
 

• “What Does Recovery Look Like? Discussing Their Recovery from Eating Disorders,” a panel discussion led by Jennifer Beaudean and Ellen Domingos
 

According to the NEDA website, “The Orthodox Union is partnering for the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week — the largest eating disorders outreach effort in the nation, with participation from all 50 states and more than 25 other countries in 2011. This growing force of volunteers is committed to raising awareness of the dangers of eating disorders as serious, life-threatening illnesses and the pressures, attitudes and behaviors that shape the disorders.”
 

For further information, contact the OU Department of Community Services at [email protected], or visit www.oucommunity.org.