The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Not for Profit News

Saint Joseph’s Medical Center and Saint Pio Foundation Announce A Margherita for a Smile Community Initiative

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Saint Joseph’s Medical Center President and CEO Michael Spicer joined with Saint Pio Foundation Founder and CEO Luciano Lamonarca and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano on May 25 to announce an exciting and unique community initiative called A Margherita for a Smile. Hollywood actor Joe Mantegna (“The Godfather: Part III,” “Criminal Minds”) attended the ceremony via video.

The A Margherita for a Smile initiative aims to provide a minimum of 1,000 authentic Margherita pizzas each year to community residents and patients in South West Yonkers. To celebrate the announcement, two pizza trucks were stationed behind Saint Joseph’s Medical Center’s Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation Family Health Center to serve Margherita pizzas to patients of the center. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held with a red ribbon attached between the two pizza trucks.

The initiative is available on the following two websites:

https://pizzaforasmile.org/
https://www.saintpiofoundation.org/smile

Michael Spicer, President and CEO of Saint Joseph’s Medical Center stated: “We are delighted to partner with Saint Pio Foundation on this initiative. In addition to our on-site patient food pantry at our Family Health Center and our monthly mobile food distributions with Feeding Westchester, it is unique to be able to offer our patients and members of the community a hot meal and an authentic Margherita pizza experience. Saint Pio’s Foundation and Saint Joseph’s Medical Center share the same mission, to help those in need. So, it is only fitting that we have partnered with them on this initiative to benefit our patients and the community we serve.”

“By launching this initiative, the Saint Pio Foundation intends to change the way we bring nourishment to those in need. We strive to feed not only the body but also the soul of those who are hungry. A Margherita Pizza delivers both experiences perfectly, and we could not be prouder to borrow from our Italian culture and cuisine to help Saint Joseph’s Medical Center’s patients that face significant health challenges,” said Saint Pio Foundation Founder and CEO Luciano Lamonarca.

“During his lifetime, Saint Pio set up a medical clinic for the poor that eventually became a large hospital called the Home for the Relief of Suffering, much like the Sisters of Charity did with Saint Joseph’s. We appreciate the Saint Pio Foundation’s collaboration with Saint Joseph’s to bring smiles and nourishment to people in need. This effort truly embraces the spirit of Saint Pio’s ministry and his life’s work,” said Mayor Mike Spano.

About the Saint Pio Foundation

Based in Tuckahoe, the Saint Pio Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization that promotes the legacy of Saint Pio, the popular modern Saint of the Roman Catholic Church, by supporting healthcare, educational, social, religious, and cultural initiatives that influence and advance the public’s knowledge of the teachings, legacy, and importance of Saint Pio.

About Saint Joseph’s Medical Center

Since 1888, Saint Joseph’s Medical Center has served Yonkers and the surrounding communities of Westchester and New York City with patient-centered, quality-focused inpatient and outpatient care, including specialized programs such  as orthopedics, cardiology, family medicine, geriatrics; and wound care; advanced emergency treatment; state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging and ambulatory surgery; inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services; and a network of primary care services serving Westchester, the Bronx and Manhattan. Its Saint Vincent’s Hospital Westchester division in Harrison offers a comprehensive range of mental health, addiction and residential programs serving Westchester and The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.  Please visit us on the web at saintjosephs.org and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

News courtesy of the Saint Po Foundation and Saint Joseph’s Medical Center 

 

Westchester County Office of Economic Development and Sustainable Westchester Team Up to Launch Clean Energy Accelerator Program

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Collaboration launches with formation of working group to identify local industry needs and support workforce development

Westchester County, New York  – The Westchester County Office of Economic Development is pleased to announce it has partnered with Sustainable Westchester to launch a Clean Energy Accelerator Program (CEA). The Program, which includes a Careers Working Group that recently met for the first time, convenes key stakeholders who will work together to identify the workforce needs of the clean energy sector and create strong clean energy career pathways for Westchester residents.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “The clean energy industry is booming, with state, federal, and utility incentives, creating more career opportunities at every education level. And, clean energy projects are increasingly in disadvantaged communities, creating an opportunity to train a local workforce who historically and disproportionately have been harmed by environmental burdens. Expanding Westchester County’s capacity in this sector will have a tremendous benefit to both current and future employers, as well as our residents.”

Westchester County Director of Economic Development Bridget Gibbons said: “We understand that clean energy project implementation can be challenging due to workforce barriers, which range from lack of skilled talent to limited awareness among potential workers of opportunities within the industry. The climate career field is growing and there are opportunities for residents to both build new skills and pivot existing skills to a new industry.”

Sustainable Westchester’s Interim Executive Director Jim Kuster said: “We are delighted to partner with Westchester County to scale career pathways in clean energy for residents. The heart of this work speaks to Sustainable Westchester’s mission and we welcome the opportunity to participate in an initiative that benefits the community, economy and environment.”

Sustainable Westchester’s Program Director Rachel Carpitella said: “As a non-profit in the clean energy sector we know firsthand the challenges surrounding recruitment, hiring, and retention. We see our solution provider partners seek to hire skilled workers and at the same time we are aware of community members across the county who desire a career.  This program solves for the missing links and will accelerate the just transition to a clean energy economy.”

Among the CEA Working Group’s goals, are:

  • Align resources to implement existing and develop new clean energy training programs;
  • Provide local clean energy businesses access to a qualified workforce and increase their capacity to broaden their activities, including potentially hiring workers at a subsidized rate through the NYSERDA program;
  • Create strong clean energy career pathways for Westchester residents;
  • Support local businesses to broaden their services in correlation with the market demand for clean energy; and,
  • Attract clean energy companies to Westchester and ensure workforce availability to accelerate the implementation of money saving, pollution reducing technology across the county.

About The Westchester County Office of Economic Development

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development works to improve the County’s economic well-being and quality of life.  This includes a broad range of activities to attract, create and retain jobs, and to foster a resilient, pro-growth and inclusive economy. For information, visit https://westchestercatalyst.com/.

About Sustainable Westchester

Sustainable Westchester is a nonprofit consortium of Westchester County local municipalities that facilitates effective collaboration on sustainability initiatives. Sustainable Westchester’s goal is to bring socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically viable solutions that create healthy, resilient, sustainable communities. For more information visit https://sustainablewestchester.org/

 

Editor’s Note: The above news release has been republished in its entirety to help support efforts of  the Westchester County Office of Economic Development partnering with Sustainable Westchester. Opinions and information presented have been neither independently reported or fact checked. Please refer questions pertaining to the news within to the sources cited.

 

 

Celebrating Service Above Self: A Look Back at the 2023 Awards at the Rotary Club of Chappaqua Charter Night

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The Rotary Club of Chappaqua held its annual Charter Night on Wednesday May 3 at Crabtree’s Kittle House. Attendees enjoyed a delicious dinner and an awards ceremony highlighting the accomplishments of our four wonderful honorees. The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self”, and this sentiment extends to every member, in every town. The Rotary Club of Chappaqua has been proud to carry that banner for 40 years, with many community service projects including our annual New Castle Community Day, as well as Pancake Breakfasts, Drive In Movie Night, Day of Service, and Charter Night. 

 

Charter Night is an important event, as we honor both a Rotarian and a Community Member for their acts of service. In addition, we also recognize one or more local high school students for their community involvement, providing them with a scholarship. Each of this year’s honorees were given special certificates of recognition from the Rotary Club, as well as our State Assemblyman Chris Burdick, and by Michael Weinberg on behalf of our State Senator Pete Harckham. 

 

The 2023 Community Honoree is Dawn Greenberg, the founder and Executive Director of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. Dawn has long been involved in working for our community, including co-founding the organization which became 914 Cares, along with many other endeavors. The CCBF, now entering its tenth year, has grown to become the largest children’s book festival on the East Coast, and continues to get bigger and better each year. One key aspect of CCBF is the fact that they donate a significant number of books to schools, libraries and other deserving recipients as well. As Assemblyman Burdick said, “Dawn is truly a pillar of the community, and that’s a phrase I use very judiciously”. 

We are also honoring Rotarian Marlene Canapi as our 2023 Paul Harris Fellowship Award Winner. The Paul Harris Fellowship award is the highest honour the Rotary Club can bestow upon a person, and represents a combination of fellowship and extraordinary service to the community. Marlene is the Immediate Past President of our local Rotary Club, and led the Club through the throes of the Pandemic, when meeting in person–a core tenet of our commitment to fellowship–was all but impossible. Her extraordinary commitment and work ethic helped keep Chappaqua’s Rotary Club alive. Outside of Rotary, Marlene is the Executive Director for ARC Stages, in Pleasantville. ARC Stages is a community based arts organization and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Marlene was unable to attend the ceremony due to international travel, but will be formally recognized at an upcoming Rotary meeting.

 

Last but certainly not least, this year we are proud to honor the exceptional achievements and community service of two local high school students, who will each receive a Scholarship from the Rotary Club of Chappaqua. Our recipients are Nathan Dang, and Netra Easwaran, both seniors at Horace Greeley High School. Nathan is a 4.0 student who will be attending Cornell University in the fall, but closer to home, he helped organize the first TedxYouth talks at Greeley, volunteers at the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, works as an English teacher for students in Vietnam, as well as working as a kids’ gymnastics coach at World Cup. 

 

Netra is also an exceptional student, who will be attending Yale in the fall. She has served as a student panelist on the CCSD Hiring Panel, a student speaker of TruthSquad, and has served our local, county and state communities by interning in the offices of Senator Pete Harckham, County Executive George Latimer, and US Senator Chuck Schumer. Netra also serves as a volunteer on the White Plains Community Youth Court, which provides alternative adjudication for youth misdemeanors, and as the Head of Tutoring Services at Youth4Better, a 51(c)(3). 

 

Both Netra and Nathan related some of their experiences as students and as volunteers. Nathan’s story was touching as he relayed how personal his community service efforts are, as someone who immigrated to the US as a young child. Netra was eloquent and polished as she spoke of the depth of meaning she felt when working with the youth courts.  

 

It was a truly beautiful evening, filled with gratitude and celebration. Please join us in congratulating each of these extraordinary individuals and thanking them

for their service to our community! 

 

The Rotary Club might just be the quietest multi-billion-dollar organization you’ve never heard of, it is made up of remarkable people doing remarkable things in communities all over the world. Rotary International has over 1.4 million members worldwide in nearly 50,000 individual clubs. The Rotary Foundation has over $27B assets under management, funded entirely by its membership, and every year thousands of service projects are completed. Nevertheless, since many people aren’t very familiar with the organization, we cordially invite you to learn more about Rotary of Chappaqua and consider joining us at an upcoming meeting. More information can be found at rotaryofchappaqua.com. We hope to see you soon! 

 

Editor’s Note: This story and several of the photos were submitted by Cynthia Schames on behalf of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua.

 

 

 

 

Over 350 Students From 31 Schools Attend 21st Annual Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center High School Institute at Iona University

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Area High School Students and Teachers Attend Education Event Featuring Nationally Recognized Storyteller as Voting Rights Activist

March 15th, New Rochelle, NY – Over 350 students and teachers from 31 schools in Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange and Suffolk Counties attended the 21st Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) High School Institute event on March 15th at Iona University in New Rochelle, New York.

The program began with welcoming remarks by HHREC Executive Director Millie Jasper and Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, Brother John G. Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Christian Studies, and Dr. Tricia Mulligan, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs of Iona University. Following the opening remarks, HHREC Director of Education Julie Scallero introduced keynote speaker Sheila Arnold. Ms. Arnold, CEO and Lead Performer of History’s Alive! appeared in character as Fannie Lou Hamer, an American voting and women’s rights activist and leader in the civil rights movement. She has performed as a Regional Storyteller at Colonial Williamsburg, the Valley Forge Teacher Institute, and at education conferences across the U.S.

Sheila Arnold, CEO and Lead Performer (L) and Julie Scallero, HHREC Director of Education (R)

The HHREC Student Institute workshops were led by experienced facilitators to encourage open discussions, as teachers encouraged their students to engage as activists or “Upstanders” in response to human rights violations. Following the workshops, Deputy Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins appeared to issue a proclamation that May 22nd to 26th will be “Westchester County Upstander Week,” This call to action was designed to encourage student activism and awareness by inspiring them to become “upstanders” (rather than bystanders) – and take an active role in changing the world by hosting an event in their communities to bring attention to a human rights issue.

The event culminated with a talk and Q&A with HHREC Board Chairperson and GenerationsForward Speakers Bureau member Michael Gyory. Gyory shared the story of his father’s cousin Agi Keleti, a 102-year-old Holocaust Survivor who survived the Nazis and outlasted the Communists to become the greatest female Jewish Olympian of all time – winning 10 medals in women’s gymnastics for her native Hungary. Agi is currently the oldest living Olympic medalist.

HHREC Board Chairperson and GenerationsForward Speaker Michael Gyory

Students were also recognized for their work in promoting human rights in their schools and communities.

  • The Richard A. Berman Leadership Award for Human Rights was awarded to Izzy Sampere and Allie Cooper of Byram Hills High School. This award is in honor of the longstanding commitment and dedication of Richard Berman to the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, and his commitment to community service and the education of ethically and socially responsible leaders for the global community.
  • The Andy Cahn “Community Service” Award was presented to Lana Weiser of Scarsdale in memory of the contributions and commitment made by Andy Cahn, former Assistant Director of Education for the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, who was instrumental in the creation of the High School Human Rights Institute.
  • The Neil Ginsberg Student “Upstander” Award was presented to Miyuki Oblitas of Mamaroneck High School. This award recognizes the contributions and commitment made by Neil Ginsberg to the Human Rights Institute for High School Student Leaders, and his dedication to the HHREC Educators Program Committee for over 20 years.

“We were very pleased at the response from area teachers and students who joined us in person for our program this year” said Julie Scallero, HHREC Director of Education. She added “It was very inspiring to hear from the students who were so well-prepared, and see their reactions as they heard from Sheila Arnold about the challenges faced by her character Fannie Lou Hamer and others as they struggled to achieve their right to vote. It was also encouraging to see the response to the talk by our Board Chair Michael Gyory about his cousin and the spellbinding story of how she survived the Holocaust to eventually become an Olympic medal winner and role model for our students. We believe the powerful messages we heard yesterday will resonate with these students for years as they become more active as ‘Upstanders’ to protect and preserve human rights.”

Participating schools included:  Ardsley High School, Blind Brook High School, Briarcliff High School,  Byram Hills High School, Denzel Washington School of the Arts, Dobbs Ferry High School, Eastchester High School, Edgemont High School, Hastings High School, Horace Greeley High School, Iona Preparatory School, John Jay High School, Mahopac High School, Mamaroneck High School, Newburgh Free Academy – Main Campus, Newburgh Free Academy – North Campus, Newburgh Free Academy – West Campus, New Rochelle High School,  North Salem High School, Ossining High School, Peekskill High School, Pelham Memorial High School, Pine Bush High School, Pleasantville High School, Ridgefield High School, Rocky Point High School, Rye Neck High School, Scarsdale High School, Sleepy Hollow High School, Somers High School, and Westchester Youth Alliance.

The HHREC Student Institute was developed to further their mission by promoting student awareness of human rights issues on a local and global level, and to empower students to be upstanders by creating and implementing Action Plans in their schools and communities. HHREC has organized and offered this event to Westchester County area students and teachers since 2002. Past events have been hosted in partnership with Iona College in New Rochelle. For more information visit HHRECNY.org or contact Julie Scallero at jscallero@hhrecny.org.

Millie Jasper is the executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC). This news is courtesy of the HHREC.

Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, Brother John G. Driscoll Professor of Jewish-Christian Studies, Iona University (L)
HHREC Executive Director Millie Jasper sharing proclamation from Deputy Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins

 

HHREC Promotes Education Program to Combat Rising Hate Crimes in Schools

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Incidents of hate crimes continue to cause concern in cities and towns across the country, and a rising number of these have been occurring in the greater Westchester County, New York area. As schools continue to grapple with ways to confront this growing wave, an increasing number of administrators are turning to new methods that attack the root cause of these incidents– ignorance and a lack of education on the topic.

In their ongoing effort to promote education as a means to stem this growing tide of bias-related incidents and hate crimes, The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) of White Plains, New York, a nonsectarian not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting tolerance and respect for diversity, offers a program designed to educate and sensitize juveniles involved in these crimes.  The HHREC Juvenile Offender program was developed to react to these offenses as they are referred by the Westchester County DA’s office, the Legal Aid Society , the Judicial System, local public and private schools, local municipalities, and the Westchester County Human Rights Commission. 

“We are very troubled at the evidence we are seeing and the spike in incidences of hate crimes including antisemitism over the past few years, particularly in our schools” said Millie Jasper, HHREC Executive Director. “These crimes based on religion, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation have increased dramatically, and they are often committed by youthful offenders.  The goal of our Juvenile Offender program is to work with our education partners to educate and sensitize these offenders – changing and rechanneling their bigoted and prejudicial attitudes that often result in hostile and offensive acts – by fostering tolerance for others, understanding and respect for diversity.”

The HHREC Juvenile Offender Program offers area schools the opportunity to:  

  • Educate juvenile offenders about the dangers of hatred and bigotry;
  • Provide role models for positive behavior, helping juvenile offenders change from perpetrators to activists in the prevention of bias-related incidents and hate crimes;
  • Help young offenders channel the hostility and anger that frequently lead to destructive behavior into more constructive directions;
  • Nurture pride in the juvenile’s own ethnic, racial and religious background and the ability to relate to the pride of other ethnic, racial and religious groups; and
  • Encourage juvenile offenders to gain an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of our community and our nation by learning about the historical roots and current concerns of various groups.

The topics for the program vary depending on the needs of the participants, but include the study of African American, Latino, Jewish and Asian histories and cultures, studies in homophobia and LBGTQ+ issues, diversity training, conflict resolution to combat racism, and others.  The course sessions includes exercises and discussions as well as speakers, and participants will be expected to complete reading and writing assignments. 

The program does not include juveniles convicted of violent crimes, or those with identified violent tendencies. Outcomes are measured by the program administrator, facilitators, school and justice system personnel, as well as by the self-assessment of the participants themselves.  According to the HHREC, wherever they have been able to offer this program, there has been “0% recidivism” involving those students.

There is no cost for schools to participate in this program. For more information, contact Millie Jasper mjasper@hhrecny.org Tel: 914.696.0738.

News Courtesy of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center