Volunteering

A Sweep in Time — What You Need To Know about Riverkeeper’s Volunteer Event

November 12, 2021 by Vicki de Vries

Congratulations to Riverkeeper.org on its 10th Anniversary of Sweep, the annual event bringing community volunteers together to clean up parks and shorelines along the Hudson River!

Jen Benson, who has served as Sweep Coordinator for six years, planned the milestone event with help from assistant Corey Watanabe. The exciting news is that in spite of Covid-19, Sweep was a great success: “We had an explosion of interest–2,607 people at 147 sites. That’s a record for us!”

Most astonishing of all, volunteers collected 2,056 bags of trash, 2.7 tons of recycling, and two tons of tires, as well as other large debris including such things as couches, toilets, metal pipes, plywood, barrels, ropes, and foam blocks.

How did Sweep 2021 deal with the ubiquitous pandemic guidelines? The biggest challenge was “site capacity,” referring to how many volunteers could be placed at a site. This year, some sites needed to have fewer volunteers. All of the sites fully complied with social distancing and mask requirements.

Sweep Means More Than Meets the Eye

Jen, who moved to a new position at Riverkeeper, reflected on her six years of coordinating Sweep: “Riverkeeper Sweep has become a prime example of our approach to work together across a vast region to help restore the Hudson.”

Monica Dietrich, Senior Membership Manager, who stepped in to support the volunteer effort until a new Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator was hired, said that Riverkeeper Sweep is “way more than a single day of service for the Hudson River. It represents a collaborative effort between the Riverkeeper team and local partners,” people who care about their communities and want to help in some way.

As of September 19, Katie Leung has assumed the role of Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator. In addition to handling Sweep, she “will be overseeing Riverkeeper’s year-round volunteer opportunities–from habitat restoration projects to administrative support.” Monica is especially pleased that Katie will be key in re-envisioning and launching the Ambassador program “for dedicated volunteers who can represent Riverkeeper at community events.”

Katie Leung said, “I hope to carry on the great and inspiring work that my colleagues laid down already…. The groundwork is there for me… and I aim to continue the effort of getting volunteers who are willing to help in Sweep and other service opportunities onboard.”

Participating in Sweep does not require membership in Riverkeeper. But joining Riverkeeper is easy. In fact, a donation as small as a dollar snags you a membership in this worthwhile organization. That membership, Monica said, “helps to make it possible for us to protect and restore the Hudson River as well as to safeguard drinking water sources.”

Plans for 2022

If you and your family, neighbors and friends are interested in participating in Sweep 2022, jot the tentative date of Saturday, May 7, on your calendars!

Katie and Monica encourage readers to check out www.riverkeeper.org/sweep and “sign up to be on our mailing list.” Interested in leading a site or recommending a site that you think could use a community clean-up? Don’t hesitate to email Katie at kleung@riverkeeper.org.

Given the outstanding success of Sweep events and their positive impact on our environment, why not become part of this coming year’s 11th Annual Sweep?

How Volunteering Enhances ‘Patient Centered Care’

October 22, 2017 by Inside Press

**David Miller, M.D.** **PHOTO BY CHAD KRAUS**

By Grace Bennett

The volunteer effort at Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) “dovetails perfectly with our focus which is patient-centered care. We don’t just say that here, we practice it,” says David Miller, M.D., chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at NWH. He stresses the key role volunteers serve at NWH and the vital impact they have every single day on patient care. “In the area of surgical services alone, we have a full time ‘navigator’ who arrives to help in the process of ambulatory care; there are many volunteers who show patients where to go and who, by the way, also help staff at different locations.”

It’s not too surprising then that Dr. Miller generously extends his own hand at the hospital wearing three vital volunteer hats. For over four years, he has been an active member of the Northern Westchester Hospital Foundation. He is also a member of the board of trustees and of the hospital’s medical board.

Playing a leadership role in critical, volunteer fundraising efforts for the hospital comes naturally for Dr. Miller.An Armonk resident for the last 30 years, Dr. Miller has two children, 31 and 28, both born at NWH. “Both my grandchildren were born here too. My wife had surgery here. Assuring great patient care here for everyone is personal for me and for many of us.” Other doctors who sit on the foundation board include plastic surgeon David Palaia, M.D., and obstetrician/gynecologist, Anita Grover, M.D., neurosurgeon Omar Syed, MD, and pediatrician Margaret Collins, MD.

The foundation’s success, he maintains, would not be possible without an extensive volunteer effort. “Our entire objective is to develop and maintain a strong relationship with our surrounding communities. Foundation Board members need to remain informed, and our volunteers act as Ambassadors to the community.” He called a recent presentation by Twigs volunteers to the board of trustees “tremendous” and “eye opening.” “They perfectly illustrated what volunteering really means to this hospital. The fundraising they do is phenomenal through their gift shop which has been in existence for almost 75 years.”

The foundation board plans a combination of educational programs and fundraising through hospital or community-based events, such as a walk benefiting cancer patients, golf outings, concerts with local bands, to the all-important annual gala. “It is our largest vehicle,” he explained, and this year, hopes are high to surpass the $1.4 million raised last year. This year, the ‘Imagine What’s Next’ gala date is November 18th. To attend or make a donation to the hospital, please visit www.nwhconnect.org/2017Gala.

Ultimately, said Dr. Miller, the foundation and all the hospital volunteers “send a very strong message to patients that our hospital is a community that takes a huge interest in the welfare of our patients and their families.”

Grace Bennett is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Inside Press, Inc.

Chappaqua Teens Receive Neighbors Link Volunteer Awards

May 2, 2016 by Inside Press

JAKE KLEIN RECEIVES YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD

The nonprofit group Neighbors Link Northern Westchester recently recognized two Chappaqua teens for their exemplary volunteer service.

Jake Klein was honored with the Agnes Hassell Youth Leadership Award. The son of Norma and Bruce Klein, Jake has volunteered for four years with Neighbors Link, which gives its youth leadership recognition each year in April, National Volunteer Month.

Jake Klein working as a volunteer for Neighbors Link

“Jake was the youngest person ever to be selected as an EXEC for our Tuesday night ESL tutoring program,” said Amy Werner, Volunteer Coordinator. “EXEC stands for Executive Leader,” Jake developed and implemented a science program for the children in Learning Links, our after-school program. He shows great compassion for our clients and commitment to our mission of integration.”

“I really enjoy working with the kids in Learning Links,” said Jake. “Volunteering at Neighbors Link has helped me develop my leadership abilities, as well as cultural competence. These skills will stand me in good stead when it’s time to apply to college.”

ABBY NIMETZ RECEIVES STUDENT VOLUNTEER AWARD

Chappaqua resident Abby Nimetz was honored with the Neighbors Link Student Volunteer Award. The daughter of Irma and Warren Nimetz, Abby has volunteered for four years with Neighbors Link. Abby is an EXEC in the Learning Links Club at Horace Greely High School. “EXEC stands forExecutive Leader,” commented Amy Werner, Volunteer Coordinator. “Abby is dedicated, reliable, and consistent. Starting in May she will be working for us as a senior intern and we are excited to have her in this enhanced role.”

“I really believe in the mission of Neighbors Link so I do what I can to spread the word about them throughout the community,” said Abby. “The importance of the mission is the reason I have continued to volunteer here for so many years.”

Headquartered in Mt. Kisco, Neighbors Link Northern Westchester has as its mission to strengthen the whole community through the healthy integration of immigrants. It runs essential programs for area immigrants, including ESL (English as a Second Language), adult education, workforce development and legal support services.

For more information, visit http://www.neighborslink.org/

Paula Barbag: A Whirlwind of Energy and Tireless Dedication

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Pamela Brown

Paula Barbag is a whirlwind of energy and tireless dedication to reaching her full potential while helping others. “I believe you’ll achieve the most success, personally and professionally, if you follow your passion, remain true to yourself, and be all that you can be,” said Paula, a Chappaqua resident who uses that motto to help nonprofit organizations discover their strengths and establish their vision. As Founder and President of Consulting For A Cause, Paula works collaboratively with nonprofits to encourage them to embrace growth and also to obtain their goals.

“I have a passion for the mission of nonprofits and the intrinsic reward and benefits of working with dedicated, hardworking employees,” she said. Paula has recently taken on a new role as Director of Major Gifts at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, which is now part of the Montefiore Health System. She will be cultivating and soliciting major and planned gifts from individuals. When her schedule allows, Paula will assume a new role with Consulting For A Cause. In addition to teaching, she will continue to providing consulting services on a limited basis, and collaborate with her network of accomplished fundraising and organizational development professionals, to deliver quality services.

After 10 years in the corporate world, Paula enjoyed a thriving 23-year career at Richmond Community Services, where she served in various roles, including Human Resources Director, Special Projects Director, which focused on organizational development, and Director of Marketing & Development. After that time, she knew the time was right to pursue a new challenge. “It was a long, difficult decision,” said Paula who went back to school to pursue her master’s in fundraising management, volunteered at local organizations, and researched the growing needs of the nonprofit industry, finding that the unmet need of nonprofits was a business approach to fund development.

(L-R): Brian Skanes, Boys and Girls Club of America; Naomi Koller Fishman, Westchester Jewish Community Services and Pace University; Robert Nadel, The Nadel Consulting Group; Paula Barbag; Gregory Muth, Columbia University; Marian Gyzlo, Think to Lead; and Robert Cooper, R.L. Cooper and Associates.

In 2008, Paula became a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), and in 2012, founded Consulting For A Cause, a results-oriented, boutique firm specializing in fundraising and organizational development for start-ups to fully-accomplished nonprofits and businesses. Its services include: fundraising counsel, major gift and capital campaigns, business development; strategic planning and analysis; education and training; board development and executive search. Some of the clients she has worked with include the Garrison Institute, Food Bank for Westchester, Rye Arts Center, Community Center of Northern Westchester, Stop Stigma Now, Latino U College Access, and the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra. Recently, Paula has begun working with a for-profit, providing outplacement counseling services.

Knowledgeable and experienced, Paula and her staff take pride in their professionalism and outstanding business practices. “Consulting For A Cause is guided by high ethical standards, integrity, and commitment to excellence. I can be trusted to deliver what’s promised,” said Paula who earned a Masters of Fundraising Management degree from Columbia University, an MBA in Personnel and Industrial Relations degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Professional Certificate in Philanthropy and Fundraising from New York University.

In 2013, the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce recognized the firm’s contributions to the industry with the New Business of the Year award, and in March of 2015, Paula received the Peter J. Gallagher Award for Leadership and Service from the Association of Development Officers (ADO). “Paula is a sincere, giving, and compassionate person, exemplifying outstanding community spirit and service. She has a passion for the nonprofit industry, their causes and their missions, and decades of experience and knowledge of the nonprofit and fundraising industry, plus she’s provided long-time personal community service to many nonprofits,” said Lydia Howie, former director of ADO. Paula is a former president of ADO and served as a member of its board of directors.

“I devoted 15 years of time and effort as a board member to a professional association that helped me grow professionally and eased my transition from human resources to fundraising,” she said. Paula is also a member of the Business Council of Westchester, Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Grant Writers Association of the Hudson Valley.

Paula has been married to her husband, David, for 30 years. They have three children: Erica, 20; Alexis, 23; and Scott, 25. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, entertaining, traveling, taking walks with her husband and dog in local parks, exercising, and pampering herself and her daughters. “Keeping priorities in order are essential. I must take care of my mind, body and soul first, because if I don’t take care of myself I can’t be a good wife, mother, business woman, sister, or friend,” she said.

Since becoming a CFRE, Paula has obtained a wealth of information as she’s taken on demanding projects for a wide spectrum of clients. The firm’s most exciting project has been CHOICE of New Rochelle. “Consulting For A Cause raised over 25,000 for the agency’s art program through partnering with Charles Fazzino, world-renowned artist that has its headquarters in New Rochelle. Charles championed the art program and held annual art fundraisers,” Paula explained. She’s found immense satisfaction seeing the positive results of working collaboratively with nonprofits to advance their mission. “I’m most proud of making it through three years of growth, personally and professionally, and having the courage to pause in 2015 to scale down my business to obtain a clearer vision of what success will look like for me and Consulting For A Cause.

To add to her already-busy schedule, currently, Paula is a teaching assistant at Columbia University and serves on the board of directors of a women’s empowerment organization, POWHERNY, an exclusive statewide network committed to securing economic equality for all New York women, and is a member of the Nonprofit Leadership Summit committee. Her summer will focus on her new job at Burke, writing her own strategic growth plan and developing educational programs for nonprofits (or businesses) to develop their own plans while guided by her goal of striving to lead a full, meaningful, and balanced life.

Paula will be presenting at the Nonprofit Leadership Summit sponsored by United Way of Westchester and Putnam, on Monday, May 2nd, on the topic of Benefit Corporations.

For more information on Consulting for a Cause, visit consultingforacause.com

Giving Back to Her Community Is a Way of Life for Armonk’s Susan Geffen

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By By Stacey Pfeffer

When it comes to giving back to their community, there are certain people in Armonk who go above and beyond. They choose to spend their time volunteering for the betterment of the community and are passionate about making a difference for the town. Susan Geffen, a longtime Armonk resident, is exactly this type of person and will be the recipient of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award later this month at the Whippoorwill Club. She will be honored at a special event there on May 23rd featuring lunch and a golf outing as well as cocktails and a dinner reception.

“Susan has enriched the community through her long-standing volunteer commitment to the arts, town beautification, etc. Because of her, the town has become a much better place. She envelopes everything good about the Town of North Castle and Armonk; she lives it and loves it,” said Neal Schwartz, President of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has extensive knowledge of who has been active in Armonk organizations throughout the years and also gains input from town residents on potential nominees.

Geffen, originally from Mount Vernon, grew up in a civic-minded family. Her father, a lawyer, was always doing pro bono work for people and her mother was also actively involved in the community. Geffen’s four children and even her nine grandchildren are following in her footsteps, with all of them deeply involved in their communities. “All of them are very civic-minded. That is part of my legacy and that is thrilling,” Geffen explains.

As a full-time interior designer raising a family here, Geffen did not have a lot of time for community involvement when she first moved to this “sleepy hamlet” in 1972, though she was involved in volunteer efforts through her children’s schools. “When you move into Armonk and are raising kids here you are pulling out of the community. You are taking and then there’s a moment when you have to give back to the community,” says Geffen. For Geffen, her turning point came after living abroad for three-and-a-half years in Japan in the 1980s with her now-deceased first husband, an attorney for IBM. Upon their return to Armonk, they decided that it was time to give back and both dove into helping the community on various projects.

“We all have choices in our lives and I found that by giving back I was getting so much more out of it. I’ve made incredible friends on the boards that I sit on and learned about different organizations and different subjects such as landmark preservation,” Geffen notes. Marian Hamilton, a longtime resident involved in community activities with Geffen on the Friends of the North Castle Public Library and the Armonk Outdoor Art Show, explains that “Susan epitomizes all that is special and meaningful in community-mindedness. Her volunteer contributions of her 40-plus years of living in Armonk have been widespread, from how our town looks (thanks to being on the Architectural Review Board), to our library (being President and board member of the Friends of the North Castle Public Library), President of the Whippoorwill Association, member of the Historical Society and the Armonk Outdoor Art Show. She even gets dressed in colonial garb twice a year to teach fourth graders how to make butter. She is the cream of the crop!” Hamilton will be one of the speakers at the Chamber of Commerce event.

Geffen is deeply committed to promoting the arts in Armonk. During the 1990s, Geffen became involved with the North Castle Library when she was designing a theater and a children’s room for it. After working on the project for two years, the President of the North Castle Friends of the Library asked her to join the board of the organization. The North Castle Friends of the Library organizes the Armonk Outdoor Art Show, an annual event held in the fall. Net proceeds from the event, now in its 55th year, benefit the library. Geffen’s keen eye for design has been very useful for the Art Show as she sits on the jury with twelve other members reviewing all of the show’s entries. “Here’s this little town that puts on this phenomenal show. It is now ranked as one of the top 50 art shows in the country by various arts organizations. It’s just a terrific accomplishment,” comments Geffen.

The Friends of the Library also funds the Armonk Players, a community theater group. Geffen, a lifelong theater lover, first became involved with theater production while living in Japan. Barbara Simonetti, another Armonk resident who was also living in Tokyo at the time, asked Geffen to stage-manage a show for the Tokyo Players, a theater group. Although Geffen had no theater background, she loved the experience and wound up doing two more productions for the group while living abroad. When she returned to Armonk, she was excited that the library was building a theater and helped put on the theater’s first production, Love Letters, a two person reading by A.R. Gurney.

“The town embraced that production and we thought, ‘How can we [The Friends of the Library] take this to the next level?’ And we formed the Armonk Players,” Geffen reminisces. “Turns out there are a lot of talented people in the community and we [the Armonk Players] are now coming up to our 35th or 36th production.”

Geffen is also pleased that she was instrumental in getting the Friends of the Library to become the “angel” for the Armonk Players. “Part of the Friends of the Library’s mission is to bring culture to our community, so that the Armonk Players never have to worry about fundraising, which so many other local theater groups spend a great deal of time on.” Noting that Armonk also has two additional theater groups, Geffen remarks that “you can go to the theater three times a season here and never even leave town.” When she does leave town, Geffen doesn’t venture far. She can often be seen at ArtsWestchester events or attending a show as a board member at the Copland House in Cortland Manor.

With Geffen’s background in interior design, she also sits on the town’s architectural review board. When Armonk Square opened, she worked with the developers to maintain a certain aesthetic and the board has ensured that all local businesses adhere to signage guidelines that help preserve the town’s beauty.

Despite her busy schedule serving on various town boards and organizations, Geffen still prefers to not be in the spotlight and instead work quietly and “remain under the radar.” She feels honored, though, to accept the award and several of her children will be in attendance on May 23rd at the Whippoorwill Club event.

When speaking with Geffen, it’s obvious that she loves this town and cares deeply about it. Because some of her children now live in other parts of the country, she often travels to visit them. “People always ask me, ‘What’s my favorite trip?’ I always say, ‘Home from the airport.’ There’s nothing better than getting off Exit 2 on 684 and driving past the reservoir. It’s just beautiful here. I want the future of Armonk to be a place where we preserve our amazing open space, maintain a good balance of our community organizations and ensure that our kids can get a good education.” With volunteers like Geffen, Armonk’s future is certainly in good hands.

To attend the Armonk Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year event which is open to the public, please visit: armonkchamberofcommerce.org.