The Rockland Community Foundation (RCF) put the spotlight on three of the county’s residents who have diligently served the community. They include Steven Breen, vice president, CFO, M&T Bank, who was recognized for his dedication to serving the community at large and received RCF’s Community Champion of the Year award. Breen has been active across the Hudson Valley for more than two decades and sits on several nonprofit boards. M&T Bank encourages its employees to give back to the community by giving a stipend to each one that donated 40 hours of time to a local nonprofit. Breen encouraged RCF members and guests to “find a local nonprofit you believe in and give your time or financial support to it.”
Also honored at the event was The Fund for East Ramapo Public School Students (Fund of the Year) and the law firm of Latham & Watkins (Fundholder of the Year). The firm joined with the New York Civil Liberties Union in 2015 on behalf of the Spring Valley NAACP against East Ramapo School District (ERSD). Following a six-week federal trial in 2020, the US District Court ordered the ERSD to pay $5.4 million and create a ward-based system for voters, the decision was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021. Established in 2022, the Fund for East Ramapo Public School Students has awarded grants totaling $250,000 to aid children in the district.
