The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Philanthropic

Paying it Forward! Discovering the Area’s Not for Profits

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The Chappaqua Community is widely known for its philanthropic sensibilities. Giving back is second nature to many. Fortunately, there are many not for profits in the area worthy of our time, resources and attention. Here is a sampling:

Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (BGCNW)

BGCNW continues to inspire and enable all young people–especially those who need us most–to realize their full potential as productive responsible and caring citizens. While celebrating its 80 birthday serving Westchester, more than 750 kids attend daily amazing programming to learn, explore, grow, exercise, play, eat, swim, improve communication and leadership skills, volunteer, advocate and be great. Highlights: the award winning Marlins Swim Team has won BGCA National Championships for 20 consecutive years. BGCNW kids are aggressively recruited from the top Colleges; more than 54,000 have learned to be water safe; the BGCA New York State Youth of the Year is BGCNW’s very own Marie Kazibwe. Open 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Mon-Fri, with weekend hours. bgcnw.com

Break The Hold (BTH)

The BTH organization is committed to “Break the Hold” on mental illness and provide education about suicide prevention. BTH provides school and community-based advocacy programs that promote emotional wellness, resilience and suicide prevention. The program focuses on educating communities throughout Westchester to be better informed about suicide, raising awareness of the warning signs of those most vulnerable to suicide and empowering young people to have the courage to speak up. bthbreakthehold.org

Chappaqua Garden Club

The Chappaqua Garden Club is a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of local gardens. The Club is devoted to the beautification of public spaces, educating the children and adults in the community, and practicing organic and sustainable gardening techniques. The club’s community outreach includes hands-on gardening and planting projects. Volunteers provide weekly flower arrangements for the Chappaqua Library and visit elderly residents and the Victoria Home in Ossining for garden therapy. chappaquagardenclub.com

Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF)

The mission of the Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF) is to establish sustainability as an integral part of every student’s K-12 learning experience. Through professional development programs and consultation services for educators, CELF encourages the connection between curriculum, campus and community in order to grow a generation of engaged students who will work for a healthier, more stable, and resilient planet. celfeducation.org

Dawn’s Ray of Hope, Inc.

Established in May 2011 by the friends and family of Dawn Re, a longtime Chappaqua resident who lost her brave battle with cancer in February 2011, to continue Dawn’s legacy of raising money to aid in the fight against cancer. Various events, including an annual all night “Dusk to Dawn” softball tournament and community barbecue, raise funds donated to support cancer patients and the organizations that provide assistance to them. dawnsrayofhope.org

Evan’s Team

Created by Chappaqua residents that use fun, creative and community based activities to tackle serious issues. Examples of these efforts include a 5K obstacle course on Westchester Medical Center’s campus, Golf, Tennis & Dodgeball event and a raffle for a convertible. Money raised has funded an advocacy group to combat distracted driving and to help families of trauma victims. One example is they created a Family & Friends Center for Westchester Medical Center ICU (Aug 15th ribbon cutting). evansteamny.com

Feeding Westchester

Feeding Westchester’s mission is to end hunger in Westchester County. As the heart of a network of more than 300 partners, we source and distribute food, and other resources, to towns across Westchester helping to ensure that none of our neighbors are hungry. We feed Westchester. Together we can solve hunger. Volunteer, take action, and donate. feedingwestchester.org

Friends of Greeley Theatre

Founded in 2008, as a means to support Greeley Theatre. Allows for purchasing of equipment and other necessities to produce three annual productions: the Fall Musical, the Winter Comedy, and the Spring Drama. FGT relies on generous contributions to subsidize enhancements and expand opportunities in drama, music, and other theatre-related arts. fgtheatre.com

Friends of Karen

Provides emotional, financial and advocacy support, at no cost, to families in the New York Tri-State region who are caring for a child battling cancer or another life-threatening illness. Friends of Karen carefully matches each family with one of its skillful social workers who serves as their personal advocate. Friends of Karen has touched the lives of nearly 16,000 children. friendsofkaren.org

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC)

The Center brings the lessons learned from the Holocaust to thousands of teachers, and through them hundreds of thousands of students. The High School and Middle School Human Rights Institutes create Upstanders, people who actively oppose behaviors like bullying, bigotry, and hatred. The Holocaust Survivors Speakers Bureau provide students with firsthand accounts of life during the Holocaust. Additional programming includes the Distinguished Lecture Series, Professional Development and Holocaust remembrance workshops. hhrecny.org

The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research (Tina’s Wish)

Founded in 2008, Tina’s Wish honors the memory of Tina Brozman, who passed away in 2007 after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. The organization is dedicated to funding groundbreaking scientific research for the early detection and prevention of this deadly disease. “Know Early. Know Hope. This is our mission.” tinaswish.org

The Junior League of Northern Westchester (JLNW)

The Junior League of Northern Westchester (JLNW) is an organization of women trained for effective leadership in community activities and dedicated to the belief that volunteer service is an essential part of responsible citizenship. JLNW has been serving the Northern Westchester community since 1954 and has championed several causes throughout the years. JLNW’s signature event, Holiday Sharing Drive, has helped provide gifts and essentials for Northern Westchester families in need since 1981. For more information on JLNW’s Community Impact and Membership, please visit jlnw.org.

Making Headway Foundation

When a child is diagnosed with a brain or spinal cord tumor, the whole family requires a special kind of care and support. Making Headway Foundation was created in response to this compelling need and for the past 23 years they have been supporting these families in countless ways. During this time, Making Headway Foundation has helped thousands of families through unimaginably difficult times, providing a wide range of holistic programs, services, and investments in medical research. Making Headway Foundation provides Care, Comfort, & a Cure to families of children diagnosed with brain or spinal cord tumors. makingheadway.org

The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry

This nearly all-volunteer-run pantry located in the heart of Mount Kisco offers weekly food distributions to residents of 20 northern Westchester towns, providing enough nutritious groceries for more than four days’ worth of complete meals. Home delivery is available for residents with a documented physical or mental disability. A variety of complimentary educational and nutritional offerings, health screenings, and other support programming is also available. The Pantry is open Tuesdays (5-7 p.m.) and Wednesdays (9:30-11 a.m.). Volunteers and donations are welcome. mountkiscofoodpantry.org

Neighbors Link

The Neighbors Link mission is to strengthen the whole community through the healthy integration of immigrants. Its mission is achieved by filling a service gap for new immigrant families, offering education and empowerment programs, involving longer-term residents in volunteer opportunities and creating substantive partnerships with other local organizations. Neighbors Link strategies are to educate, empower and employ families include a Worker Center, English as a Second Language (ESL) education, legal services and advocacy, workforce development, parent education, early childhood programs and academic support for school-age children of immigrants. Neighbors Link is headquartered in Mount Kisco and operates throughout Westchester County. neighborslink.org.

New Castle United for Youth (NCUFY)

New Castle United for Youth is a community coalition which receives funding through a federal Drug Free Communities grant. NCUFY brings together all sectors of the New Castle community to promote positive and healthy choices by our youth including through youth and adult education about alcohol and other drugs. Working with our sector members, including the police, ambulance corps, schools, faith-based and other community organizations, NCUFY helps to sponsor positive events and activities which encourage and empower youth to make drug free choices. NCUFY also offers resources for parents seeking information on and how to talk with their children about topics such as vaping, safe celebrations, alcohol or marijuana use and impaired driving. newcastleunitedforyouth.org

New Castle is on the Pollinator Pathway!

The New Castle Pollinator Pathways Coalition is a collaboration of New Castle landowners, local organizations, and Town boards and committees and other volunteers who are committed to the stewardship of privately-held and publicly-held land to establish pesticide-free corridors that provides native plant habitat and nutrition for pollinators. Look for the signs in your neighborhood and around town: Want to learn more? Go to pollinator-pathway.org or contact NewCastlePollinatorPathways@gmail.com

The Renaissance Youth Center (RYC)

The RYC in the South Bronx makes a difference in the lives of over 4,000 students every week, transforming and guiding them through the obstacles of growing up in the inner-city, so they too can look to the future with hope and pride. RYC tutors, mentors, offers music, reading, science, dance, and sports programs, and most of all teaches participating kids that their dreams for a successful and healthy future are within reach. renaissanceyouth.org

SPCA of Westchester

Founded in 1883 in Briarcliff Manor, the SPCA of Westchester is a “no-kill” shelter that supports more than 4,000 animals a year through its many programs. It’s the only animal welfare organization in the county with a low-cost veterinary clinic and is responsible for all animal cruelty cases in Westchester County through its Humane Law Enforcement Unit. The SPCA is not affiliated with the ASPCA. spca914.org

TaubStrong

The #TAUBSTRONG mission is to honor the memory of Casey Taub in helping to finding a cure for pediatric brain cancer. #TAUBSTRONG has partnered with The Matthew Larson Foundation which assists families impacted by pediatric brain tumors in providing non-medical financial assistance during these most difficult days. Additionally, the Foundation has a medical research grant program for supporting studies on the treatment and cure of pediatric brain tumors. Please visit ironmatt.org and ironmatt.org/taub-strong-tee-off for information regarding its annual benefit and additional fundraisers in the memory of Casey Taub.

Team Amy

The Amy Marie Crabtree Foundation was founded to honor the memory of Amy’s life and her natural philosophy which she lived each and every day with energy and purity, and which can be held as an inspirational example for all men and women as a guide through a life of integrity, strength, and compassion. Provides support and financial assistance to community initiatives that will benefit the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the unfortunate in order to create a better life for us all. teamamyfoundation.org

 

Northern Westchester Hospital to Honor Joel Seligman and Seema Boesky At 2019 Gala

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Joel Seligman – photo credit: Todd Shapera

Mt. Kisco, New York— Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) will honor outgoing President and CEO Joel Seligman and philanthropist Seema Boesky at the hospital’s annual gala on Saturday, November 2, 2019 in a spectacular tent on the Hospital’s campus. The event is co-chaired by Brenda and Victor Khabie, MD.

The announcement was made by Keeva Young-Wright, President of the NWH Foundation and Vice President of External Affairs at NWH.

“We are delighted to honor Joel Seligman, who is retiring from his position as President and CEO of Northern Westchester Hospital after nearly two decades of extraordinary service and leadership, and Seema Boesky for her many years of generosity and support of Northern Westchester Hospital,” she said. “Joel has worked tirelessly to ensure Northern Westchester Hospital is a leading provider of innovative, evidenced-based patient-centered care. Seema has supported Joel’s vision and NWH’s mission, and through her philanthropic generosity, she has helped NWH bring advanced surgical and emergency care to our region.”

Mr. Seligman passes the torch after guiding Northern Westchester Hospital through some of its most transformative years. Since joining the hospital in 2001, he has been a powerful and effective advocate for clinical excellence, improved quality, strong financial stewardship, patient engagement and expanded community outreach.

Mr. Seligman announced his retirement plans earlier this year and will remain through the end of the year to work closely with Derek Anderson, the hospital’s new executive director, through the transition.

Under Mr. Seligman’s leadership, NWH has become a top destination for robotic surgery, orthopedics, cancer and breast care, as well as surgical weight loss, physical therapy and rehabilitation. In 2007, NWH became one of the first Planetree-designated hospitals in the US for exceptional patient-centered care. After the hospital was re-designated with distinction by Planetree and received Magnet designation — the gold standard for nursing care — from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Northern Westchester became the only hospital in the country to achieve both accolades. Planetree honored Mr. Seligman with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

When NWH became a member of Northwell Health in 2014, Mr. Seligman managed the hospital’s successful integration process for its clinical and support programs. He has also played an active role in health policy, serving as a state delegate of the American Hospital Association’s regional policy board, chair of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association and treasurer of the Healthcare Association of New York State’s (HANYS) Board of Governors. He is currently a member of the HANYS Executive Committee.

Mr. Seligman is a resident of Pound Ridge.

Seema Boesky – photo credit: Jim D’Angelo

Seema Boesky, community member, philanthropist and long-time supporter of NWH and several local organizations, is co-honoree along with Mr. Seligman. By the age of 13, Seema and her sister were co-owners of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the crown jewel of her father’s vast real estate holdings. By her early 20s, she was on the hotel’s board, and eventually took control of all her family’s properties. In 1987, she sold the Beverly Hills Hotel for a record-breaking price, and in the 1990s, she liquidated the family’s Northview Corporation and remaining businesses in order to pursue her philanthropic interests.

Since then, she has dedicated herself to philanthropy, immersing herself in understanding the needs of others and the role she can play in addressing unmet needs. She was a founding member of the Eagle School, the school for international Studies at Princeton, the Family Center in Somerville, MA, and a founder of the American Russian Youth Orchestra. In addition, she honored her mother’s memory by establishing the Gertrude Silberstein Pain Clinic at Ford Hospital in Detroit. She also serves as president of the Silberstein Boesky Family Foundation focusing on enhancing the lives of underprivileged children. Her Charitable Trust supports a variety of interests, including saving lives, curing depression, and preserving art.

In addition to providing financial support for charitable institutions, Ms. Boesky gives her time. Locally, she served as a board member and honoree at the Caramoor Music Center; the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester, where she completed two capital campaigns totaling $16 million; the Westchester Land Trust; Northern Westchester Hospital; and the Waterkeeper Alliance. She also served on the Board of the Women’s Forum, an international organization that mentors women worldwide.

In 1988, she received a Peabody Award as the producer of Claude Lanzmann’s iconic Holocaust documentary Shoah. She was interviewed by Barbara Walters in 1991, and in 2005 published Seema Says, Selected Columns from the Westchester Wag, the monthly column she authored for eight years.

Ms. Boesky was born and raised in Detroit, and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Michigan State University. In 1978, she relocated her family from New York City to Westchester where she still resides and continues her philanthropic endeavors, develops high-end residential real estate and spends time with family and friends.

The NWH Gala begins with cocktails at 6:30 p.m., a program and dinner at 8 p.m., and dancing at 9:30 p.m. The theme is Art as Inspiration and Art as Transformation. It is expected to draw record attendance of over 800 guests. To learn more or purchase tickets, visit www.nwhconnect.org/2019Gala.

About Northern Westchester Hospital

Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH), a member of Northwell Health, provides quality, patient-centered care that is close to home through a unique combination of medical expertise, leading-edge technology, and a commitment to humanity. Over 650 highly-skilled physicians, state-of-the-art technology and professional staff of caregivers are all in place to ensure that you and your family receive treatment in a caring, respectful and nurturing environment. NWH has established extensive internal quality measurements that surpass the standards defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) National Hospital Quality Measures. Our high-quality standards help to ensure that the treatment you receive at NWH is among the best in the nation. For more information, please visit www.nwhc.net and connect with us on Facebook.

About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, about 750 outpatient facilities and more than 13,600 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 70,000 employees – 16,000-plus nurses and 4,000 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

 

News courtesy of Northern Westchester Hospital, Northwell Health.