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Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Westchester

In Armonk, Re-thinking College Admissions Success

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Bruni’s book will be part of the first community
book read event on October 17th

Armonk–and surrounding communities–is filled with residents who live there often because of the high quality of the school system. Parents and community members believe that Byram HIlls High School students are well-prepared in general for a competitive college application process. And they are right.

Last year, 68 percent of the Byram Hills graduating class was accepted into the top 11 percent of colleges in the country, according to the district website. These are schools identified by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges as Tier 1, which is also called ‘most competitive,’ and Tier 2, referred to as ‘highly competitive.’ Yale, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Tulane are examples of schools recently ranked Tier 1, while schools that earned the Tier 2 designation recently include SUNY Stony Brook, the United States Coast Guard Academy and Baylor.

Partnering with Challenge Success

Yet, Byram Hills High School Principal Christopher Walsh does not think a student’s future is solely determined by his or her college acceptances–and he is not alone. That’s why the district entered into a partnership with Challenge Success, a nonprofit that partners with schools to “create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for their kids.” Challenge Success seeks to help communities “embrace a broad definition of success,” and also help students engage with learning more. The program was generously funded by the Byram Hills Education Foundation (BHEF) and the Debra Leipman Yale Memorial Fund. The Debra Leipman Yale Memorial Fund is a fund within the BHEF that honors the life and memory  of Debra Leipman Yale, and supports initiatives that are consistent with her values. 

“Byram Hills is part of this little cluster of schools in the Westchester area that all partnered with us last year,” Jon Kleinman of Challenge Success said. “When schools do this in concert with their peers, it’s easier to make changes.” Kleinman said that Challenge Success works with schools to “identify where they want to make progress and help connect them to research, tools and ideas.”

Walsh, who attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), said the district is proud of its success in placing students in many competitive colleges, but he also thinks that there are many ways to become successful and start a fulfilling life without attending a top-tier school. For Walsh, attending USMMA “really came down to a financial choice,” he said, adding that “The more I looked into USMMA the more I realized I’d have great opportunities there. After I graduated I was commissioned as an officer in the Navy, I received a B.S. in marine transportation.” It was while traveling around the world that Walsh began seeing and thinking about the educational opportunities in different places, which eventually led him to graduate school at Harvard, he said.

Different Pathways to Success

“We’re trying to look at the overall student experience,” Walsh said. “We want to make sure we have everyone involved in the conversation about moving away from this idea about a single path to success” and “the idea that you need to have everything nailed down by December of senior year.”

Another way to go is to take a gap year after college, Walsh pointed out. “Some students have decided to take gap years and they report feeling much more prepared and not caught in the current of stress and anxiety,” Walsh said. Others decide to attend schools that may not be the most competitive institutions that have accepted them – an example, Walsh said, is a soccer player who was being recruited by Yale but chose to attend Ithaca. “I just heard from her,” Walsh said in early July. “She has an on-air internship with Fox Sports and she’ll be covering the World Cup.”

Part of choosing the right college is looking beyond name recognition, Walsh said, and to that end, college counselors at Byram Hills are expected to “know the students and know the best choices for them. There’s really an expectation that the college counselors should have an idea where the students should apply.”

Community Book Read Event on October 17

Students, parents and others who wish to be part of this conversation can participate in the first Byram Hills Community Book Read. The book is Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be, by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni. Bruni describes many high-achievers who flourished at less competitive colleges–and in many cases attribute their success to those institutions.

“It’s a book that’s really accessible to the community and it’s a great jumping-off point,” Walsh said. The book is recommended for students as an independent reading selection on the Byram Hills High School summer reading list this summer, and Walsh said, “We have had a number of students who have chosen to read it.”

On Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m., members of the steering committee that worked with Challenge Success will lead a discussion in the Byram Hills High School library. All community members are welcome to attend the free event.

Impact100 Westchester: Strong Women Transforming Our County Via Collective Giving

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Impact100 Executive Board (L-R): Laura Rotter, Roberta Shapiro, Susan Bloom, Samantha Schwam, Laura Stone, Dawn Hoesterey, and Blakely Brodbeck

It’s amazing what women can do when they come together. Skilled, talented and intelligent women across Westchester County have been joining forces since 2014 to make a difference in our community by collective giving. Through Impact100 Westchester, these women have pooled their resources and awarded over 1.5 million dollars in grant money to local non-profits.

What is Impact100?

The concept is simple yet brilliant. The goal is to harness the energy and resources of a large group of women to achieve a transformational effect on an organization. The first Impact100 was founded in 2001 by Wendy Steele, a Cincinnati woman who recruited one hundred women to donate one thousand dollars each to help fund a dental clinic for the homeless.

“The theory is that a thousand dollars is a lot of money for some people and not so much for other people, but it is enough money that regardless of which end of the spectrum you’re in, you have skin in the game to feel like you’re tied to the money that you’re giving,” explains Armonk resident and Impact100 Westchester co-president Samantha Schwam. Since its inception, 53 chapters of Impact100 have formed around the world and over $55 million has been awarded by Impact100 groups globally.

The Westchester chapter was founded in 2012 by Edgemont resident, Sharon Salomy Douglas. After many kitchen table meetings amongst friends in Edgemont, Scarsdale, Armonk, and beyond, the first grant cycle started in 2014 with 132 members. Impact100 Westchester has since grown to 352 members and just completed its sixth grant cycle and awarded $352,000 in grants this year. Grant money is collected exclusively from membership dues of $1100 per member—$1,000 per year for the grant fund plus $100 to cover administrative costs such as accounting fees, tech support and the annual meeting.

Longtime Armonk resident and outgoing Impact100 Westchester co-president Susan Bloom was one of the original Westchester members. “My next door neighbor in Armonk had an information session at her house and as soon as I heard the idea, I thought it was a brilliant concept. The collective aspect is what really appealed to me. Here is a way that you can give money and feel like you are making a difference. You really feel like you are part of something big when you give that big check at the annual meeting,” she says.

A grant review committee at work

The Mission Behind Impact100

The mission of Impact100 Westchester is to engage women in philanthropy and to fund transformational grants for Westchester non-profits. “We do that in three ways,” says Schwam, “first, by connecting like-minded women in Westchester; second, by educating women on the non-profit community and the needs in Westchester; and lastly, by hopefully transforming Westchester by granting the transformational private grants.”

The educational component has been an important focus for the current executive board. “We felt that we want all our members, not just those who are part of grant review, to understand the process. We put together a rubric to help guide members in their decision-making process,” says Bloom. “We also run educational events for our members to help educate them on specific issues in the non-profit world.”

The Process

Every grant cycle, Impact recruits and registers members. Once membership closes, the size of the grant fund is determined and announced to the public. Depending on the number of members, the transformational project grants are anywhere between $80,000 to $100,000. Applications from non-profits across Westchester are then accepted for review. Members can participate on committees, review grant applications, perform financial due diligence, attend site visits or simply vote at the annual meeting.  Non-profits that do not move on to become finalists are provided with feedback from Impact’s advisory council on how they can improve their project. Grant finalists present their projects and the entire membership votes at the annual meeting.

Chappaqua resident Rachel Rader who just completed her third year at Impact says that the flexibility was one of the things that really appealed to her. “I liked the fact that I could write a check and be as involved or uninvolved as I want and then throw myself into it as time allows.” Rader has co-chaired a Chappaqua-based grant review committee for the last two years and plans to continue in the coming year.

WJCS (L-R): Lisa Scott, Program Director of Center Lane, Sean Michael, Program Participant at Center Lane, Paula Santa-Donato, Director of Youth Services at WJCS and Shannon Van Loon, Assistant Executive Director at WJCS
Gilda’s Club (L-R): Dr. Laura Moore, Children, Teens and Families Manager, Rachel Weisglass, Member of the Youth Committee and Jen Scully, Director of Program Administration
Make The Road (L-R): Lisette Rodríguez, Client of MRNY,
Theo Oshiro, Deputy Director,
Arlenis Morel, Chief of Staff and
Jessica Young, Westchester Supervising Attorney

This Year’s Grant Recipients

The 2019 grant cycle culminated in an exciting evening at the annual meeting at Brae Burn Country Club on May 21, 2019. Six finalists made it to the final round and all gave compelling presentations. Ultimately, three $100,000 transformational project grants were awarded to Gilda’s Club Westchester, Make The Road New York, and The Center Lane Pride Program at Westchester Jewish Community Services.

Gilda’s Club will use the grant money to build a teen center and to implement teen programming. Make the Road New York, located at “La Casa Azul” in White Plains will use the grant money to renovate their space to create a family center with a childcare area and private meeting space to allow them to expand their legal services and social work. The Center Lane Pride Program will use its funds to deliver “LGBTQ 101” cultural competency training to school staff, medical practitioners and parents. Center Lane also intends to create a “Youth Pride Curriculum” that can be shared at schools throughout Westchester and beyond.

The remaining three finalists did not leave empty-handed. Each was awarded a $12,333 core mission grant to help fund their ongoing operations. A $15,000 focus area grant was also awarded to an arts organization as Impact has observed over the years that arts organizations rarely make it to the final round.

Past Recipients

One of Impact’s many success stories, Pace Women’s Justice Center, after receiving a $100,000 transformational project grant from Impact in 2016 to fund a walk-in clinic to better serve victims of abuse, was able to attract additional funding from Pace University, multiplying their grant ten-fold. Beyond the new walk-in clinic, this allowed for new office space and additional staff and lawyers. They can now serve over 500 clients each year.

Another transformational $100,000 grant recipient in 2016, Latino U, a college preparatory service for first generation Latino students, was awarded money to pilot a program to help their students successfully transition into college life. Based on the success of this pilot program, they were able to secure additional funding from New York State to continue the program for beyond Impact’s initial grant period.

“It’s so interesting how interconnected the Westchester non-profit world is,” observes Rader. “I joined Latino U as a tutor and later found out that it had been a recipient of an Impact grant. It’s cool to be on the inside of an organization that benefited from Impact.”

Unforeseen Benefits for Impact100 Members

Impact has been rewarding for its members in so many unexpected ways.

“My work with Impact has been really inspiring for me,” says Schwam. “I love sitting in a grant review meeting and hearing people’s perspectives. Everyone is coming to grant review from different personal experiences, whether having dealt with medical issues, cancer, domestic violence… Everyone is also coming from different educational backgrounds and skill sets. A finance person might be looking at the financial statements while a lawyer will approach it from a different perspective. The beauty of sitting in grant review and hearing those conversations has been a great process. I might walk in to a meeting thinking one applicant is my favorite but then I end up being swayed after listening to what someone else says and think to myself, ‘wow, I never thought about it that way.’ We try to foster a judgment-free zone where everyone feels comfortable to express their opinion.”

“For me,” says Bloom, “it has been an incredible growth experience–I joined and a couple of years later I was president,” she laughs. “Ultimately, the women that I’ve met have really blown me away. I would not have met them if not for this organization. Impact is a great way to network and for women to get outside their small bubble and get involved in something meaningful.”

“So many of us, working or not working,” says Rader, “are involved in things relating to our children’s education, our own communities, etc. It feels eye-opening to be involved in something where you’re helping people who are having a completely different experience of living in Westchester than you.”

Impact100 is always looking for new members. For more information, check out their website at impact100westchester.org

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival Returns Bigger and Even Better: New and Exciting Guests, Panels & Activities On Tap

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A new story for your bookshelf. A photograph with your favorite author. A signed copy of a book you love. On October 5th, the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (“CCBF”) returns to Robert E. Bell Middle School, offering area children and their parents the opportunity to meet the writers behind the most popular children’s stories and find or foster a love for reading. With a record 145 authors scheduled to attend and a wide selection of special events and activities, the 7th annual Festival is primed to build on prior years’ great success, expected to attract over 8,000 visitors.

Voted the Best Annual Festival by Westchester Magazine, the CCBF is proud to host a variety of esteemed authors in October, including big names in children’s literature such as Kate Messner, Dan Gutman, David Kirk, Padma Venkatraman, and Tiffany Jackson. A number of these authors will participate in themed panels throughout the day, offering visitors a chance to hear the voices behind their favorite stories and learn about the writing process at large. Kicking off the author panel will be a keynote address from New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka, whose more than 30 published books include the Platypus Police Squad middle school series as well as his popular graphic novel collection titled Lunch Lady.

Exciting New Panel Presentations

While visitors will have ample opportunity to meet writers and purchase books at the individual author tables, new panels will offer a deeper look into the values and objectives behind the creation of children’s literature, exploring a variety of themes and topics intended to engage both young readers and their parents. Author participants on the “Keeping it Real” panel will discuss their experiences with nonfiction writing, while those on “All the Feels” will examine how their books help children make sense of their feelings and emotions. “Girls in the World” contributors will explore how their books depict the empowerment and growth of young girls throughout the complex issues faced during their developmental years.

Additionally, this year’s panel series will welcome Project LIT Community, described by founder Jarred Amato as a “national, grassroots literacy movement” through which dedicated authors empower young people “as readers, writers, and leaders” by sharing books that “make them feel seen, heard, affirmed, and valued”. Project LIT unites educators and students through books that teach youth about current events and culture, helping them become leaders who can make their voices heard.

Growing Every Year

The Chappaqua’s Children’s Book Festival has become one of Westchester County’s signature and largest events, garnering national attention and growing immensely in size and scope to accommodate larger numbers of both visitors and authors. Outreach efforts extend to schools and libraries in Westchester, Connecticut and New York City, welcoming families from well beyond the Chappaqua community and making this year’s festival likely the largest yet.

To ensure the safety of the growing number of visitors, CCBF organizers have arranged for the town to close off lower Greeley Avenue during the event, creating an easier path for families arriving by train or parking in the train station lot. The closed road, as well as the Bell soccer field, will allow more space for sponsors and food trucks, accommodating the anticipated attendees as well as abundant activities and refreshments.

Also appearing at the Festival will be KidLit TV, a website that connects parents and educators with authors, illustrators, and their work. The station will be broadcasting from the Festival with live interviews from the many visiting authors taking part in the event. Author readings, always an integral part of the CCBF, will now take place in the gazebo on the Recreation Field, and various activities involving art and music will add to the festivities. With a dedication to the principles of community and literacy, a portion of book sale proceeds will go to local literacy programs, encouraging area schools to invest in their reading programs and ensuring that the values of CCBF reach far beyond the Festival itself.

As a community-based event, CCBF is proud to engage both local organizations and families for this highly anticipated day that connects writers and readers in a shared love of literature.

Financial Asset Management of Chappaqua (FAM), one of the festival’s sponsors will be supporting a variety of lead-up events throughout the month of September, including window decorations of local businesses, an art show by author and illustrator Mara Van Fleet and a Storywalk created by the Chappaqua Public Library.

So clear your calendar for October 5th to attend the 7th Annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. ccbfestival.org for more information or to sign up as a volunteer at the event or become a sponsor.

White Plains Hospital Expands Stroke Treatment Services

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(L-R): Boris Chulpayev, M.D, Holly Hensley, M.D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emerges as County’s First New York State Designated Regional Stroke Center

Stroke is the #1 cause of disability and the #5 cause of death in the U.S. Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. has a stroke and nearly 800,000 suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. With stroke, medical experts agree – “Time is brain.”

So, to meet the increasing demand for immediate, life-saving care in Westchester, White Plains Hospital is expanding its already robust stroke treatment program to now include two highly specialized physicians.

Boris Chulpayev, M.D., is leading the expansion of clinical services for patients at The Ruth & Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center at White Plains Hospital, Westchester County’s first New York State-designated Regional Stroke Center. Both he and his partner, Holly Hensley, M.D.—are neurohospitalists skilled at managing the care of inpatients who have suffered from or who are at risk for a stroke, or who have other neurologic disorders.

“Our patients now have an even higher degree of specialized care to protect them from the damaging effects of stroke,” said Michael Palumbo, M.D., Chief medical Officer and Executive Vice President at White Plains Hospital. “As we expand our Hospital’s advanced neurology capabilities, Dr. Chulpayev and Dr. Hensley will stay at the forefront of the latest evidence-based practices to ensure that our patients receive the highest quality of stroke care.” For the past 13 years, White Plains Hospital has been recognized with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for success in ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

In 2018, White Plains Hospital also made the Association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between a patient’s arrival at the Hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.If administered within the first three hours after the start of stroke symptoms, tPA has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of stroke and the chance of permanent disability.

For additional info, visit wphospital.org

(914) Cares Opens New Headquarters

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Dedicated volunteers and Westchester County elected officials gathered together for a grand opening ceremony on September 20th to celebrate the new brick and mortar location of non-profit (914) Cares and hail its adoption of Kids’ Kloset. County Executive George Latimer cut the ribbon, marking the official opening of the new site at 901 North Broadway in North White Plains.

(914) Cares, formerly Chappaqua Cares, supports local non-profits that focus on basic human needs, including food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education. The organization was founded in 2014 by Chappaqua residents CEO Jessica Reinmann and Vice Chairman Dawn Greenberg. The two founders believed that there were many people interested in helping others and there were a myriad of charities in need but the missing piece was someone to put them together. They began working with four local organizations and have expanded to partnering with over thirty non-profit groups. (914) Cares places volunteers, coordinates donation drives, and helps local non-profits with fundraising.

(L- R): Stephanie Roth, Jessica Reinmann and Dawn Greenberg
(L-R): Dawn Greenberg, North Castle Town Supervisor Michael Schiliro, Deputy Supervior Stephen D’Angelo and Jessica Reinmann
(L- R): Dawn Greenberg, County Executive George Latimer and Jessica Reinmann

“Twenty-five percent of Westchester residents live at or below the poverty line,” says Reinmann. “There are families that cannot feed their children and although they get breakfast and lunch in school through government subsidy, these kids don’t get dinner or anything on the weekends and during school breaks.”

Through their Empty Bowls project, they have raised over $300,000 to fight hunger in Westchester County. At an Empty Bowls event, volunteers create hand-painted bowls. Guests are invited to a simple meal of soup and bread. In exchange for a monetary donation, guests keep the bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world.

“It’s hard to wrap your arms around the fact that so many local children may not have dinner tonight. It could be the opposing soccer team of your kid.  I think when people get it, they are generous,” says Mary Rosewater, (914) Cares board member and Kids’ Kloset volunteer.

PHOTO COURTESY OF 914(CARES)

The Kids’ Kloset program, founded by Executive Director Stephanie Roth, provides underprivileged local children with donated clothing and related items.  Since its inception in 2011, Kids’ Kloset has provided over 16,000 bags of clothing, footwear, diapers and more to local children. Volunteers sort donated clothing and pack “bags of love” with appropriate items that are not ripped or stained. They fill orders received from referring partners on the front line that can identify children in need, such as social workers, teachers, or houses of worship. Bags contain about a week’s worth of clothing and are packed based on the child’s size and when possible, color and style preferences.

“We pride ourselves as being somewhat of a first responder to these schools and organizations,” says Volunteer Coordinator Sandee Levinson.

“The mission is not just: here’s a bag of clothing because you’re in need, but rather: here’s a bag of clothing that’s going to make you feel good and give you a greater sense of self- esteem,” explains Roth.

“While we have specific operating hours, there’s not one single one of us who if we got an emergency call that a child is now homeless and needs clothes for school due to a catastrophic fire, who would not jump out of bed to make that happen,” says Rosewater.

“We have so many underserved kids here,“ says Westchester Chairman of the Board of Legislators Benjamin Boykin. “This is a wonderful organization.  If you have clothes that your kids have outgrown and you no longer need, bring it in,” he urges.

The adoption of Kids’ Kloset was the impetus to open the current space. Kids’ Kloset had lost its previous location in White Plains. Friends of the organization worked together to locate a new space that was centrally located. White Plains Attorney Seth Mandelbaum, a land use and zoning specialist, provided pro bono services to shepherd them through the approval process in the Town of North Castle.

North Castle Town Supervisor Mike Schirilo and Deputy Supervisor Stephen D’Angelo were both instrumental in the town approval and glad to have been involved. “It’s an incredible organization and it speaks volumes about the people who are behind this and gives you continued faith in society. With all that noise around us, there are still great people like this doing great things and it reaffirms the goodness in our culture,” says Schirilo.

“This coming together represents what makes Westchester great, not the government of Westchester, but the people of Westchester… who are willing to give their time with no compensation or glory,” says Latimer.

The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, which is supported by thirteen different congregations, is one of (914) Cares’ partners. “The values that we all hold so deeply from every religious organization, regardless of the brand name, are truly living out their faith in this and it’s extraordinary,” says Mount Kisco Mayor Gina Picinich.

“Often Westchester can be characterized as a place that doesn’t need help but the reality is that there are folks struggling here just like everywhere else and we want them to be part of the fabric of our communities and so we have to make sure we have services available for them,” says State Assemblyman David Buchwald.

“For someone who wants to help but doesn’t know how, (914) Cares is one-stop shopping,” says board member Haley Ferraro.

For more information on how you can get involved, go to www.914cares.org