Be a host family for two weeks this summer and make a great friend for life!

Photo by Barbara Julius
May 6, 2011
by Diane Albert

This summer, like every summer for the last 43 years, 22 bright, college-bound New York City high school students will leave the hot, noisy city and come to bucolic Chappaqua for July, where they will live with host families during the week as they attend classes. They return to their own families in the City on the weekend.

These students who come to Chappaqua as part of the Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program (CSSP) take stimulating courses, swimming and tennis lessons as well as visit local spots of cultural and recreational interest. This year in particular we are looking for new hosts, as many of our traditional host families are not available this summer due to work commitments and vacation plans. Those of us who have welcomed these students into our homes in years past consider participating in the Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program (CSSP) to be one of the best parts of living in New Castle. We hope more of our neighbors will join in. It is a small commitment with a big payoff! 

Students never forget the warmth and kindness of their host families

Eugene Akahoho, a CSSP alum writes:

“I participated in the CSSP program from summer 1997 to 2000. The experience is still very fresh in my mind after all these years. I had the pleasure of staying with the Dammanns, the Samuelsons and the Singers.

In addition to the warm and welcoming Chappaqua/Mount Kisco atmosphere that was introduced to me by my host families, I also had the pleasure of doing several activities with them that were new to a newly immigrated African boy. Some of my memories include dinner around the table with the family, boating on the Hudson River, bike riding and blackberry picking (to name a few).  Not to mention the exceptional educational experience I received.

Now that I have a family of my own, I have incorporated several of the experiences that I had with my Chappaqua families into my own family. Lastly, I am still in contact with my host families and we’ve spent time together over the years.  I beseech new families to be a part of this program as it will be an unforgettable encounter.” Eugene Akahoho

Ashrafur Raman, a CSSP alum writes:

“The Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program is an incredible program designed to inspire young students to achieve their fullest potential. CSSP accomplishes this in the simplest way possible - by bringing together students with incredible host families from the Chappaqua community. I spent three summers in the program and I have received a lifetime’s worth of guidance, advice and love from all my host families. The families are exceptional people who are more than happy to share their lives and experiences with us. Moreover, these host families serve as precious role models that exposed me to the successes of hard work and determination. I can only hope that their lives are enriched by us as our lives are enriched by theirs.”

Ashrafur Raman, CSSP 2002, CCNY 2007 Engineering

Chappaqua families love hosting

Here is what Crissie Shropshire, a Chappaqua mom of three elementary school students said about her family’s experience hosting CSSP students. “My family has hosted students from CSSP for the past 5 summers.  Each of the 3 students we have had in our home couldn’t have been nicer, or more polite and respectful.  We have formed long-term friendships with them.  I am so glad that I have been a CSSP host family and encourage others to open their homes to these kids to discover the joys the program brings to all involved.”

Lisa Levinson, a Chappaqua mom and former co-chair of the PTA R21K committee, writes: “For many years, our summers have included a CSSP student. I hope we have enriched their lives as much as they have enriched our lives. When we first heard about the program we couldn’t figure out how we would include another person’s schedule into an already full calendar, but we made room and never regretted it for a minute. Some of our students have been outgoing, others shy, they have all been great people in the making and it was a pleasure to have had any part in that process.”

For more information about what is involved in hosting a CSSP student, please contact Diane Albert, chair of CCSP at 238-3966 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or Amy Echelman at 238-6542 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); or Nancy Silver at 238-8452 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Diane Albert is the chair of the Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program.j