The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

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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

 

The Gift of Time in Chappaqua

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By Heather Skolnick

As the holidays are rapidly approaching, the thing that keeps me up at night (after the child who had a nightmare, the kitchen I didn’t clean, the work I opted not to do, the dog who didn’t get walked and the husband I neglected, that is) is finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list. I create a spreadsheet on Google docs so I can access it wherever I might be, and start brainstorming. I add and edit as the holidays approach. Come mid-November, I ask for ideas for those for whom I have voids, try to think creatively and leverage suggestions from friends and peers. All to try to find the “perfect” gift! But what if holiday gifts were really about something more than the kind of present you can stick in a gift bag?

Heather Brill and Nicole Meyer share friendship and fun at a previous Paint Nite event.
Heather Brill and Nicole Meyer share friendship and fun at a previous Paint Nite event.

The Gift of Time is a gift we should all consider giving and asking for in return. For starters, we all know how important Date Night is. But how often do we really do it? Speaking for myself, I have the best intentions–it just rarely happens. Fatigue, lack of planning and babysitter availability are all variables that inevitably lead to date night getting cancelled. Investing in our own relationships is the best way to ensure they flourish and grow and don’t get mired down by the challenges of everyday life. Chappaqua Licensed Marriageand Family Therapist Katherine Cates said, “Couples get caught up in being parents and forget the value of being a couple. Date night establishes the connection between each other as husband and wife and as lovers again.” New Castle husband and wife Steve and Susan Sorrel agree, and have made it part of their routine. Susan said, “In the hustle of the everyday juggling of work schedules and our child, our relationship becomes very transactional. The quality time alone together allows for us to regularly revisit the rare chemistry that attracted us to each other in the beginning.”

And what about the kids? Certainly kids will still ask for the latest iPad, toy or clothing item. And this is not to say that children shouldn’t get presents because the joy of watching a child open up the gift they’ve been asking for is priceless. But perhaps it’s a balance. Because in two years, the iPad will be out of date (or shattered…), the toy forgotten and the trendy clothing will be long outgrown. Quality one-on-one time we invest in our children will be remembered forever. What if instead of gifting a new arts and crafts set, I took my daughter to the Crayola factory? She would be in heaven. And having one-on-one time with me, without the distraction of her two younger brothers, would be something extra special for her. Pleasantville based Licensed Clinical Social Worker Jill Touitou says, “One-on-one time with your kids is the best gift you can give them. Spending quality time together, without distractions, encourages the development of a special and trusting relationship and is a gift that cannot be equaled by tangible presents.” Even the internet agrees. My Facebook feed is filled with posts about “gifting” memories for your children. There’s even a Pinterest site dedicated to it!

Susan and Steve Sorrel enjoying some semi formal quality time with each other.
Susan and Steve Sorrel enjoying some semi formal quality time with each other.

The time concept gift extends beyond family to our friends too. My good friend and Thornwood resident Nicole Meyer decided this year on something different for the holidays. Instead of traditional gifts wrapped up with a bow, she is treating her close friends to a Paint Nite event. We will get to spend time together and catch up, while creating a painting masterpiece of sorts. The painting activity is actually incidental; it’s all about the time together with friends. As Nicole explained, “Instead of the same old holiday gift, I would rather spend time with people I love and that love me… an occasion to have some fun, be creative and share a laugh!”

Just as important, if not the most important, is alone time. Ask the average Chappaqua adult what they want most and the answer will likely be something like time for a manicure or time to watch football. In both cases, it’s not really about the manicure or the football game, but just time for oneself. For me, that’s my dog walking time. I get my alone time and my pup gets a little love too. For our time crunched, overscheduled generation, it’s vital that we remember to give ourselves a gift, too!

Heather Skolnick, her husband and three kids have been New Castle residents for eight years. Heather works for a major retailer, helping them design and implement their Omnichannel Strategy. When she isn’t doing that, she is spending quality time with her family.