As this issue was going to press, my Facebook feed was deluged with media coverage about the Las Vegas shootings and pleas from friends to help victims of the many hurricanes that recently struck the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. These days it is so easy to fall into a state of despair every time you turn on the news no matter where you fall on the political spectrum.
When I was a little girl, the television show “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” was a perennial favorite in my house. I loved his calming voice as he took off his shoes and sang the theme song “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?. The hit television show didn’t shy away from current events of the day. Mr. Rogers used to say whenever you faced a scary or upsetting situation his mother would tell him, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
As a parent, I’m hoping to instill that sense of helping and volunteerism in my young children. Volunteering gives you gratitude (our issue’s theme by the way!) for all that you have and also provides you with a sense of purpose. It also helps to know that you can play an active role in helping someone in the face of tragedy.
That’s one of the reasons why I am so grateful to highlight our cover story on the tremendous work that the volunteers do at Northern Westchester Hospital day in and day out. Volunteer Idelle Skriloff repeats the adage that many volunteers share about their experience –“Volunteering gives me so much more than I give.”
Another wonderful volunteer organization featured in this issue is the Emergency Shelter Partnership. A consortium of 17 houses of worship in Northern Westchester band together to help provide a warm meal and a safe place for the homeless to sleep during the harsh winter months. And if you think homelessness is only an urban problem, think again. Many of the homeless who are helped through the program reside in Mount Kisco.
While the victims of the mass shooting and the hurricanes certainly need our help, remember that there are people and local organizations here in our own backyard that need your help too. And what can be more neighborly than that?
Best,
Stacey Pfeffer
Editor, Inside Press
The Chappaqua Orchestra Concert and Tree Lighting at the Greeley House are a time-honored tradition in New Castle that take place the first weekend in December. This year, however: “We’re kicking things up a notch,” confirmed Leslie Weissman, co-founder with Peg Kafka-Sackler of The Northern Westchester Artists Guild (NWAG), a not for profit consortium of some 75 area artists. NWAG took the initiative to spearhead Holidays Around Town and the plans are as follows:
When I was five years old and living in a different New York suburb I remember walking down the street to the nearby bus stop where that exact Big American Yellow Bus of our collective imagination would transport me to kindergarten. I may have been a bit of a nervous kid as, to me, the actual bus ride was fraught with near constant fight or flight scenarios. I even recall the peaceful serenity of the mostly empty bus heading home being shattered by an awkward exchange of glances between myself and the bus driver’s reflection in the rearview mirror. I was further embarrassed when he asked me, “Are you okay?” as I rushed off the bus. Ugh.
Introducing Congresswoman Lowey as the keynote speaker, state Assemblyman David Buchwald described Lowey as “a guide to this country in heeding the lessons of 15 years ago at home and abroad.” He stated that as a ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Lowey secured dollars for First Responders, and makes sure that the New York metropolitan area has received its fair share of 9/11 funds. He said Lowey has also been at the forefront of “securing our nuclear facilities, air and train facilities, and stood by our allies fighting terrorism overseas in their own land.”
