St. Christopher”™s to honor six
Six honorees will receive awards at the annual Superhero Gala hosted by St. Christopher”™s Inc. on April 30 at Abigail Kirsch Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown. They include Michael Aisner of the Torch Foundation; Jessica Manfro and Christine Wexler of Mind Ur Body & Soul; John Dimling, St. Christopher”™s board member and former chairman and CEO of Nielsen Media Research; and John and Diane Durante of Durante Rentals.
Since its inception in 1881, St. Christopher”™s has helped teens with emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities by providing a residential program encompassing therapeutic, social and family services coordinated with special education schooling.
Dimling will receive the Humanitarian Award. He has had a distinguished career in media research, retiring from Nielsen Media Research as chairman and CEO.
Aisner will receive the Philanthropist Award for his continued support for St. Christopher”™s. As a member of the board of governors, Aisner was recently tasked with sourcing more corporate-based charities and to help raise awareness for the foundation.
John and Diane Durante will be honored with the Corporate Citizen Award for their efforts to further the mission of St. Christopher”™s.
Wexler and Manfro will receive the Volunteer Award. Wexler is an advocate in the areas of youth development, family support and community outreach. She has partnered with Manfro for their youth program whose mission is to introduce fitness into girls”™ lives, to help them make better choices, feel better about themselves and create a healthy attitude inside and out.
The Staff Appreciation Award will also be presented to Stanley Thompson, a St. Christopher”™s alumni and current youth care worker.
The co-chairpersons of the gala are Geoff Thompson and Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson, partners, Thompson & Bender; Eunice and Horace Turnbull of St. Christopher”™s; and Linda and Larry Weiss of Atlantic, Tomorrow”™s Office.
Admission is $250 per person and sponsorship packages are available. For ticket or sponsorship information, call 914-693-3030, ext. 2313, or email kjohnson@sc1881.org.
Walsh named advocate of the year
Marion M. Walsh, special education attorney at Littman Krooks LLP in White Plains, has been named Advocate of the Year by Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS). She will be honored at the “Swing for Independence” Golf Outing to benefit the POINT Program and The Compass Project, which will be held June 15 at the Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison.
“I am honored to receive this distinction and proud to be associated with Westchester Jewish Community Services, which provides incredible community supports for individuals with disabilities. I applaud the work of the POINT Program and the Compass Project in providing much-needed transition services for young adults with disabilities,” said Walsh.
An accomplished special education and general education advocacy attorney, Walsh has worked in education law for more than15 years and is an advocate for children in many capacities. She is also a certified impartial hearing officer; a frequent presenter to community and professional groups on the topics of special education, emotional disabilities, student bullying and harassment as well as the impact of the Common Core on students in New York state. She co-chairperson of the newly formed Lower Hudson Special Education Task Force of New York State and is certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid USA.
YMCA launches campaign
The YMCA of Central and Northern Westchester has launched its annual campaign, with a goal of raising $350,000. The money will support scholarships and subsidies for at-need children, seniors, young adults and families who use the facilities and need the childcare, camp, senior services, young adult/teen programs and residence throughout the year.
“Throughout Westchester countless people know ”˜The Y.”™ But there”™s so much more to our Y than one might think,” said YMCA-CNW CEO and President Cynthia Rubino. “The Y is more than a gym. It is a cause. As a charity, we”™re dedicated to nurturing the potential of every child and teen, improving the nation”™s health and well-being and giving back and providing support to our neighbors.”
To learn more about how you can support the Y”™s cause, contact Anne Ring, director of fund development and communications at aring@ymca-cnw.org or 914-949-8030, ext 221.
Whole Foods supports Greenburgh Nature Center
Whole Foods Market Westchester continues its partnership with the Greenburgh Nature Center Sustainability Garden for the sixth year. The garden is at the nature center at 99 Dromore Road in Scarsdale. A 33-acre woodland preserve has trails, a pond, gardens, a playground, outdoor animal exhibits and a birds of prey aviary.
Whole Foods Market Westchester contributed funds for plants, compost, soil and other materials and with the assistance of its volunteers, the nature center has continued to expand its vegetable and herb garden each year. The garden provides visitors, school groups and camp groups with a close-up view of the organic growing process. Whole Food employees often volunteer during the summer months at the nature center and work with its staff members in the garden. The nature center has placed a plaque in the garden highlighting the grocer”™s support.
People”™s United promotes McCoy to region manager
Bridgeport-based People”™s United Bank has promoted Joseph McCoy to senior vice president, region manager, middle market commercial lending, Westchester/Hudson Valley.
A team leader prior to his promotion, McCoy will continue to focus on lending to midsize corporations with revenues ranging from $10 million up to $500 million in New Jersey, the Hudson Valley and the five boroughs.
“The promotion recognizes Joe”™s demonstrated high performance and substantial contribution to People”™s United,” said Jack Bundschuh, executive vice president, commercial banking and Connecticut and New York market manager, People”™s United Bank.
McCoy earned a bachelor”™s degree from Muhlenberg College and an MBA in finance from Rutgers University, and began his career in banking in 2000 with Valley National Bank in Wayne, N.J. He and his family reside in Pleasantville. A triathlete who has competed in the Toughman, ½ Iron Man and Westchester Tri events, he is an active volunteer for two youth mentoring organizations in Yonkers: Partners in Education and Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
Farm project yields new highs
Poughkeepsie Farm Project, a community-based nonprofit agriculture cooperative, hit new highs for its harvest and donations, last year Executive Director Lee Anne Albritton announced.
The farm yielded a harvest of 122,358 pounds in 2014 ”” a jump of more than 24 percent over 2013 totals, Albritton said. Of the total, more than 27,000 pounds of food worth an estimated $75,000 were donated to community groups and low-income families and individuals throughout the mid-Hudson Valley, up 42 percent over 2013.
“This could not have happened without the vision for the farm that started 16 years ago and the team of employees and volunteers who have kept it growing ever since,” Albritton said. She said the farm had responded to an increase in requests from low-income families last year.
“There”™s also been increasing awareness in the community of where our food comes from and the health benefits that are gained by eating fresh, local produce,” Albritton added. She praised Farm Manager Leon Vehaba for leading the team of employees and interns who oversaw the farm and its programs.
Vehaba said favorable weather conditions during the 2014 growing season had helped to boost the yield, but he also gave credit to those who worked in the field and helped to run its programs.
The Poughkeepsie Farm Project operates a member-supported farm on 10 acres of land owned by Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie. In addition to providing organically grown food for its members, PFP makes about 25 percent of its annual harvest available to low-income families and operates educational programs on nutrition and other agriculture-related topics for at-risk teens and other youth throughout the region. PFP had 70 shareholders in its first season. That number has grown to nearly 500.
For more information, call 845-240-3734 or visit farmproject.org.
Westchester Women”™s Agenda to honor unsung heroes
The Westchester Women”™s Agenda (WWA) will hold its 2015 Celebrating Women”™s Achievement Award Breakfast on April 21, honoring three women as unsung heroes who have made outstanding contributions on behalf of women in Westchester County.
The three inaugural recipients of this award are Ronda Billig, Sheila Klatzky and Patricia Ryan.
Billig, a former labor lawyer, is an active volunteer at Pace Women”™s Justice Center, regularly working the Legal Helpline for the past five years to assist victims of domestic violence and elder abuse, as well as accompanying clients to court and assisting with its annual fundraising dinner. For the past seven years, she has worked as a volunteer for St Barnabas Church, helping to organize and run their annual clothing sale.
Klatzky, current secretary for the WWA, created and edits the WWA quarterly newsletter and helped organize and facilitate the Women”™s Cafes. She coordinated and did fundraising and publicity for the first and second Westchester Women”™s summits, both of which succeeded in engaging members of the community on issues of concern to women. She engages in publicity efforts on behalf of the WWA, contributes to its social media efforts and keeps WWA members on track and engaged in matters affecting the coalition and its operations.
As a board member and board chairperson of the Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Action Fund (PPHPAF) Ryan has played a vital role in helping to elect pro-women candidates and legislation. She canvasses the community about important issues affecting women, does phone banking for pro-women candidates, writes letters to the editor, hands out Get Out the Vote flyers at train stations, speaks at public hearings and lobbies in Albany and in Washington, D.C.
The awards event will be held at the Eileen Fisher Learning Lab on 50 Buckhout St. in Irvington, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and is open to the public. Co-sponsors for the event include Eileen Fisher, the Eileen Fisher Community Foundation, Elias Foundation, Hope”™s Door, Planned Parenthood, Pace Women”™s Justice Center and the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester.
Tickets at $20 and $10 for students are available at WWA Award Breakfast. Scholarships are available for those in need. Contact westwomensagenda@gmail.com for more information.
Westhab vice chair appointed
Robert Petrocelli Jr. has been appointed to serve as first vice chairman of the board of directors for Westhab Inc., a Yonkers-based not-for-profit provider of affordable housing and social services for homeless and low-income families. Petrocelli joined the organization”™s board in 2009.
He is the managing director of Petrocelli Financial Services, an insurance brokerage firm affiliated with New York Life Insurance Co.
As first vice chairman, Petrocelli will play a critical leadership role in Westhab”™s fund-raising efforts. “Bob brings endless energy to our Board and a deep commitment to Westhab”™s mission. He is an amazing ambassador for Westhab and we know that he will continue to champion our cause in his new role,” Westhab Board Chairman Jesse Krasnow said.
A native of Westchester, Petrocelli attended Iona Preparatory School of New Rochelle and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in business. He and his wife Anne live in Rye. They have one son, who recently became a member of Westhab”™s Business Advisory Committee.
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