The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Midnight Run

Students in Byram Hills Global Scholars Program Working to Combat Homelessness with Midnight Run

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As a former student at Byram Hills High School, I was in constant awe of my peers who worked hard in the school’s two three-year programs, Authentic Science Research and Global Scholars. Students can choose to begin these programs as sophomores, working to conduct research on the current state of the social or scientific world and choose a particular subject they would like to delve into.         

Throughout the subsequent two years, they work with professionals in those fields. The goal is to contribute to their topic’s research or activism and make a concrete contribution to the world.

The work of rising seniors Ashley Weissman and Zoe Marcus left me no less impressed, as I learned about their work to combat homelessness in New York City. Having worked with the organization myself as a student in New York City, I was incredibly excited to hear about their passion for their work and genuine desire to make a difference, which was evident in a press release they sent out describing their project.

Weissman and Marcus explained their current efforts as well as future plans to get the Armonk community involved. After choosing their subject, they began to research ways to most effectively help those in need.

“When researching about homelessness, something that caught our attention was how most people donate things they think the homeless people would need, rather than what they actually need and want,” they wrote.

Outreach to ‘Midnight Run’

To get a better sense of how to most effectively aid those in need, they reached out to Midnight Run, a volunteer organization which seeks to take a more human approach to aiding the unhoused by organizing in-person, late night drop-offs of necessary goods. According to their website, Midnight Run organizes “over 1,000 relief missions per year, in which volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups distribute food, clothing, blankets and personal care items to the homeless poor on the streets of New York City.”

Dale Williams, the executive director of the organization, was once homeless himself, and explained to Weissman and Marcus that simple toiletries were one of the necessary items which many people overlooked when donating to relief organizations.

To begin making a change in their local community, Weissman and Marcus organized “mini lessons” to teach students at H. C. Crittenden Middle School about homelessness and Midnight Run. Then, they helped to create packages full of toiletries and necessary items to distribute during a run with the organization.

“We got these toiletries with our funding from the Changemaker presentation where different funders come together to give out money to help,” they said. “We are hoping to participate on a Midnight Run, and are just waiting to get the date.”

Their goal for the future is to get more people in Armonk involved with Midnight Run and the fight against homelessness. In the past, the organization has seen a shortage of volunteers to have been willing to participate in late-night runs to distribute goods, but Weissman and Marcus are hoping to increase those numbers by raising awareness with their project.

Over the remainder of their time in the program, Weissman and Marcus will work to “investigate global issues, analyze diverse perspectives, communicate ideas effectively in both English and a second language, and take action,” according to the program’s website.

Those looking to help them make a difference can find volunteer information at Midnight Run, where they describe the step-by-step process of organizing and executing a successful run. This begins with collecting and sorting clothes, assembling a crew of volunteers, reserving vehicles, which may include vans owned by the organization and loaned to volunteers by request, buying durable items such as toiletries, socks, and underwear, and more. The organization also lists information for their Saturday and Sunday morning breakfast runs. Visit MidnightRun.org to learn more.

Seeds of Giving and Sharing Grow too at the Pleasantville Community Garden

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By Molly Alexander

Community is defined as “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals.” While it’s not hard to find in many places, it can be easier to grow. David Juros and his son, Devon Juros, were eager to change lives through such a simple concept: a community garden.

Pleasantville Community Garden. Photos by Molly Alexander

Most people don’t know that at least one fifth of Westchester County needed food assistance about three or four years ago. Thanks to Devon and David, this number has most likely gone down as the food availability goes up. When Devon, age 11 at the time, heard this statistic in school, he felt the need to take action. Devon and his family had always volunteered together, helped with food preparation for Midnight Run and worked in soup kitchens but it just wasn’t enough. He came up with the idea to make a community garden so that everyone would have food because the garden’s harvests would go to local food pantries.

 It took about three years to learn exactly what was needed to garden, let alone funding tasks. Devon and his father had very little experience gardening besides Devon’s grandfather having a veggie garden and other family history of farming. Although Devon did have some knowledge under his belt, there was plenty of learning to do for a larger garden.

David and Devon also had to raise money and apply for grants, as well as create an organization and gain support from the community all from nothing. Finally, in June of 2014, 100 supporters came together and built the garden and planted the first seeds of the future.

In the community garden, they mostly grow simple foods because people who can’t usually afford such extravagant vegetables don’t really know how to cook with them in the first place. For example, kale is an example because it is both hard to work with, and those who don’t have enough to eat won’t bother their time with it. Good examples include green peas, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, squashes, peppers, and lettuces. They plant peas in early March, which grow until November depending upon the weather. Spinach and carrots can grow in the cold weather.

However, David and Devon don’t do this planting solo. While they usually maintain the garden, they host big events for the community where people can bring their kids and come help out. The community also has the opportunity to “own” the garden for week, meaning they manage it from Sunday to Friday, checking the water levels, weeding and/or harvesting the garden if necessary. David said that this is a good opportunity for families with children, seniors who want gardens but may not have the time or the room, and plenty of teenagers have signed up on their own. “It really teaches the community about growing,” David added.

 David has described his work with Devon as an incredible learning process, and is grateful for all the support they’ve received and for the 200 people working in a year who gather food every Saturday and attend food donation events. Together, they have grown over 34,000 pounds of organically grown food, and there are still more people to get involved. The American Community Gardening Association highlights some of the most important purposes of a community garden to be community development, stimulating social interaction, beautifying neighborhoods, producing healthy food, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise and education. “It does so many important things,” David agreed. “It creates a sense of community, adds green to our environment which is very important and it helps to get people more involved in the growing system.” His advice to anyone interested in having a community garden or even their own garden is to go through with it.

David’s last piece of advice to other communities considering a garden: “Devon and I started with no knowledge and I think we’re pretty successful in the way we’ve done it. It only took a few conversations. It’s important for communities to plant fresh food for those who can’t afford it.”

Molly Alexander, a junior in the LIFE School at Horace Greeley High School, is an intern for Inside Chappaqua and Inside Armonk Magazines.