Holiday Sharing Drive
This has been a mainstay philanthropic effort in our community for 28 years. We organize community members to provide gift and food items to needy families in our community during the holiday season. This project addresses poverty, hunger and disparity at holiday time. The project promotes voluntarism by facilitating a volunteer opportunity for the community, provides hands-on training opportunities for committee members in project development and coordination with our community partners, and improves the lives of those most in need in our community. This project makes a huge impact on improving the holiday for over 1,200 (approximate) people in our community and from a public relations stand point, is one of the major ways that we as the JLNW make the community aware of our volunteer efforts.
Done-In-A-Day Projects
Each year, a number of done in a day projects are performed in areas of member interest, often at the site of one of our community partners. This year we are taking a “Back to Basics” approach with these projects.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity offers us the most tangible opportunity to make an impact in local housing needs for lower income families. HFH seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. To date, they have built over 350,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter. In the United Sates alone, 95 million people have housing problems -- that’s one third of the nation.
Westchester has been charged with building a number of low-income units. HFH has been historically very active in lower Westchester but they are now also focusing on needs “up-county”. They currently have a project in Somers that they are working on which the JLNW will be on site on February 5, 2010 with approximately 30 volunteers throughout the day. HFH hopes to have additional sites in later 2010. In addition, we hope to spearhead an annual Bike to Build fundraiser in collaboration with the other Leagues in Westchester in the early May 2010 which would contribute significantly to future homes throughout the county.
Backpack Buddies
The Backpack Buddies program is designed to meet the needs of hungry children attending the after school program at The Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester (BGC) at times, such as weekends, when other resources are not available. Backpacks and/or plastic bags are filled with food that children take home. The food is child-friendly, nonperishable, easily consumed and vitamin fortified. During March, April and May of 2010 we will make 6 distributions. The program will be kicked-off with a Kids-in-the-Kitchen event at the Boys and Girls Club and will focus on using the food in the backpacks as well as other age appropriate healthy eating topics for the children in the program at BCG. Backpacks are distributed to children on the Friday before a weekend and included in the backpacks are recipe(s) for a dish(s) using the food provided in the backpack. The JLNW will purchase the food, and monitor inventory for the backpacks from The Food Bank for Westchester. This will raise community awareness of what the Junior League does throughout the community as well as the growing problem of hunger within our community.
Interfaith Food Pantry
The MKIFP is a volunteer, charitable alliance of 11 area churches and synagogues dedicated to fighting hunger in the greater Mount Kisco area. Free food (such as fresh eggs, fruits and vegetables, meats and other food staples) is distributed to area residents twice weekly (Wednesday afternoons from 5-7 and Thursday mornings from 9-11). The MKIFP is located in the United Methodist Church of Mt. Kisco, 300 East Main Street, Mount Kisco.
The JLNW first committed to the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry (MKIFP) in 2009, by providing volunteers for six shifts, from November 2009 through May 2010. This partnership represents the first time the MKIFP has worked with a community service organization (non-religiously affiliated) outside its interfaith coalition.
Done in a Meeting projects
Memory Boxes will be given to women, during their hospital stay, who have suffered a late term pregnancy or infant loss. The boxes honor their child by providing an affirmation of the child’s life for the family and may include mementos such as a photograph, footprint, and forget-me-not seeds for planting in a garden. We will bring prepared memory boxes to be finished and assembled. We are working with the Junior League of Pelham as well as all of the other Leagues in the collaborative effort to complete 150 boxes Westchester wide for 6 hospitals throughout the area.
We will also create blankets for Project Linus, an organization which supplies blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need. When a child is removed from a dangerous situation and has no other belongings, one of these blankets is provided so that he has something to call his own. The blankets offer a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children at a time when they need it the most. We are working with the Junior League of Bronxville in another collaborative effort across all Westchester Leagues.
Independent Neighborhood Network (INN)
INN increases meaningful intergenerational interaction at the neighborhood level by creating a network designed for neighbors to get to know and appreciate each other, understand each other’s needs, talents and resources, and ultimately, match needs and resources. Having developed the website and launched the first neighborhood network in spring 2009 in Captain Merrits Hill in Mount Kisco. We are adding a new 150-home neighborhood in Yorktown Heights in the spring of 2010.
JLNW Mary Hughes Sakraida Award for Community Service
For the ninth year, in honor of Mary Hughes Sakraida, JLNW President 2000 – 2001, the JLNW will award area high school seniors who have demonstrated exemplary community involvement and service in Northern Westchester. This award promotes and honors the value of voluntarism as well as the individuals who work to improve our community. The award recipients are our next generation of volunteers.
Click here to download the Press Release
Click here to download the Cover Letter
Click here to download the Application
1/27/10
