WPF receives $90K grant for camp

From left: Marissa Madonia, development director of the WPF; Shaqueya Collymore-Bey, counselor at Camp Morty; Elyssa Martinez, program and recruitment coordinator, WPF; and Christine La Porta, deputy executive director of the WPF. Photo by Jodi Buren/Tripp Street Studio.

The Westchester Parks Foundation (WPF) recently received a $90,000 grant from Impact100 Westchester that will fund the construction of a second covered pavilion at Camp Morty in North Salem. The space will be lighted for evening activities in addition to providing shelter for conducting activities during inclement weather.

Camp Morty is for children ages 8 to 15 who come from homeless shelters, group homes and the foster care system. WPF works with the Westchester Department of Social Services and the Westchester County Parks Department to bring up to 500 youngsters to Camp Morty each year, free of charge. This is done during six one-week sessions.

Joanne Fernandez, chairperson of WPF, said, “The new protected shelter will enable Camp Morty to address issues unique to this population, such as the need to separate children by gender and age, while still providing high-quality programming.” Receipt of the grant was announced on June 12.
Impact100 Westchester is a women”™s collective-giving organization whose mission is to engage women in philanthropy and to collectively fund high-impact, transformational grants to charitable initiatives in Westchester.