Giving Opportunities, Close-up and Personal

December 9, 2011

Editor’s Note: New Castle’s residents are inventive and generous.  This time of year, consider either contributing dollars to these many home-grown organizations that enrich our lives (or make life possible)—or give them the gift of you, by joining them.  Or do both!  Here’s a list now, at year’s end, with which to start up something beautiful.  Feel free to add to our list in “Comments.”

Arts and Culture

Did you know that Chappaqua has had an orchestra since 1959? Now under the baton of Michael Shapiro, the orchestra plays diverse and challenging programs and has grown into a sophisticated ensemble of professional level artists who perform throughout the year at the Chappaqua Library, the Horace Greeley Auditorium and the town’s gazebo.

The Chappaqua Orchestra
Marjorie Perlin, Executive Director                                    
P.O. Box 461
Chappaqua, NY 10514
phone: (212) 417-9191
email:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Friends of the Chappaqua Library is a separate non-profit set up to “...to encourage, receive and administer gifts for… special items or projects not covered in the library’s operating budget… and to support the library in developing its services and facilities”. Among other events, the Friends put on the gargantuan used book sale every year in June.

Friends of the Chappaqua Library
Shobha Vanchiswar, President
P.O. Box 445
Chappaqua, NY 10514                        
phone: (914)-238-4779, x2
email:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The New Castle Historical Society - located at the Horace Greeley House in the center of town - was chartered to discover, preserve and communicate knowledge of the history of the Town of New Castle.

New Castle Historical Society
Betsy Towl, Executive Director
Horace Greeley House
100 King Street
Chappaqua, NY 10514
Phone: (914) 238-4666
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The New Castle Media Center provides training and access to state-of-the-art telecommunications technology so that residents of all ages, organizations and businesses in New Castle can create and view content that matters to our community. 

New Castle Media Center
Carrie Krams, Executive Director
400 King Street, Suite 2
Chappaqua, New York
Tel: (914) 861 - 2717
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

School Organizations

There’s a non-profit daycare center right in town. Offering full day care for children from 18 months right up to the day before kindergarten starts, Oak Lane is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Oak Lane Child Care Center
Ronnie Weinberger, Executive Director
49 Memorial Drive
Chappaqua, NY 10514
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

If you have school age kids, you probably know about Chappaqua Children’s Workshop (CCW). For the past 29 years, they’ve provided before and after school care for elementary school children in the Chappaqua School District, as well as an after school program for middle schoolers.

Chappaqua Children’s Workshop
Joanne Saporta, Director
P.O. Box 918
Chappaqua, NY 10514
phone: (914) 238-3295
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Wonder how the schools can afford to have things like whiteboards in classrooms? It’s thanks to the Chappaqua School Foundation. They fund projects in all our the Chappaqua schools— projects that enhance the education of our students but that can’t be supported within the District budget

Chappaqua School Foundation
Michael Kaufman, President
P.O. Box 202
Chappaqua, NY 10514
phone: (914) 238-1905
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

During the summer, the Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program (CSSP) invites 16 to 20 promising New York City high school students to join our community. The CSSP’s primary objective is to broaden those students’ horizons and widen their vision of the world while letting them see that there can be a bright, happy future ahead.

Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program
Diane Albert, President
P.O. Box 456
Chappaqua, NY 10514                                    
phone: (914) 238-3966
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Last but not least, the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund (HGSF) offers grants to Greeley graduates to help bridge the gap between the actual costs of college and all other financial resources available (i.e. loans, scholarships, work-study, student savings and parent contributions).

Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund
David Perlmutter , President
P.O. Box 242
Chappaqua, NY 10514    
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) 

Service and Self-Help

A-HOME rehabilitates, builds and manages affordable rental housing in northern Westchester County, NY for older adults, disabled individuals and single parent families who, because of age, disability, or family status, cannot afford market rates.  In addition, A-HOME promotes independent living with the help of a network of 26 local civic and religious organizations. A-HOME has two properties in Chappaqua.

A-HOME
Apropos Housing and Management Opportunities Enterprises, Inc.
Joan Arnold, Executive Director
141 Tompkins Avenue, 3rd Floor
Pleasantville, NY 10570
phone: (914) 741-0740
email:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Food Bank for Westchester is the backbone of the county’s emergency food distribution network. They solicit, acquire, warehouse and distribute food to 227 hunger-relief programs throughout the county including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and residential programs - and help to feed some or all of the estimated 200,000 Westchester children, seniors and families who are hungry or at risk of hunger. They’ve been based Millwood and will soon move to greater space in Elmsford.

Food Bank for Westchester
Christina Rohatynskyj,  Executive Director
358 Saw Mill River Rd
Millwood, NY 10546
phone: (914) 923-1100
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Hope’s Door, formerly The Northern Westchester Shelter, is a private non-profit organization, which provided a safe haven and caring services to survivors of domestic violence. Its programs are free, confidential and offered in English and Spanish and its mission is to to end domestic violence and to empower victims to achieve safety, independence and healing from the trauma of abuse.

Hope’s Door - a shelter for domestic violence
Carla Horton, Executive Director
PO Box 203
Pleasantville, NY 10570  
24-Hour Hotline: (888) 438-8700
administrative office: (914) 747-0828
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Body Wise Connection’s founder, Joy Puleo, created the organization after listening to a dear friend talk about how her body had “abandoned” her after a cancer diagnosis. The Body Wise Connection program promotes healing through movement for people dealing with long-term illness or a challenging diagnosis.

Body Wise Connection
Joy Puleo, Founder & Educational Director
221 North Greeley Ave
Chappaqua, NY 10514
phone: (914) 471-6468
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The SPCA of Westchester makes its home in nearby Briarcliff Manor. It is the only humane society in Westchester County empowered to enforce laws relating to animal cruelty, and it offers pet adoptions, and a spay/neuter clinic.

SPCA of Westchester, Inc.
Shannon Laukhuf, Executive Director
590 North State Road
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510                                
phone: (914) 941-2896
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

OTHER

How many times have you driven by the sign for the Wagon Road Camp on Rt. 120? Run by the Children’s Aid Society, Wagon Road provides a broad range of programs, including a summer day camp for children ages 6-13, overnight respite for developmentally delayed children ages 7-17, adventure team building for middle and high school students, Project Adventure workshops for professionals and overnight visits for school groups.

Children’s Aid Society / Wagon Road Camp
Vince Canziani
431 Quaker Road
Chappaqua, NY 10514        
phone: (914) 238-4761
email:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Children’s Environment Literacy Foundation promotes awareness of the importance of sustainability education and helps schools and school districts make sustainability an ongoing part of education.

Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation
Katie Ginsberg, Executive Director
P.O. Box 412
Chappaqua, NY 10514                                    
phone: (914) 238-4743
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Saw Mill River Audubon is both a local organization with members from twenty communities in Westchester – and a chapter of the National Audubon Society.

Saw Mill River Audubon owns eight separate sanctuaries protecting over 300 acres of critical wildlife habitat in Westchester County – including 4 in New Castle. The sanctuaries are beautiful natural ecosystems nestled right in our own community. Field trips and natural history programs at the sanctuaries allow visitors to learn about habitat conservation and the environment.

Saw Mill River Audubon Society
Anne Swaim, Executive Director
275 Millwood Road
Chappaqua, NY 10514                
Web site:  www.sawmillriveraudubon.org
phone: (914) 666-6503
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Health and Life Safety

The Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps is not only all volunteer, but it’s also wholly supported by private donations and insurance reimbursements - it gets no state or local funding. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of money to keep two fully stocked ambulances and an EMT car on the road, as well as to keep the volunteers fully trained.

Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps
Cheryl Borelli, chair
P.O. Box 453
Chappaqua, NY 10514                        
For All Emergencies: Dial 911 or New Castle Police at (914) 238-4422.     
Office Phone: (914) 238-3191
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

We have two volunteer fire departments in town - Chappaqua and Millwood. Both operate 24/7 and are completely staffed by volunteers - people who you see on the train each day, you coach sports teams with, go to your place of worship, work in local establishments, eat in the same restaurants and who you socialize with.

Chappaqua Fire Department
Charlie Bergstrom, Chief of Department
P.O. Box 454
Chappaqua, NY 10514
For All Emergencies: Dial 911 or New Castle Police at (914) 238-4422.     
Non-emergency phone: (914) 238-4205
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)     

Millwood Fire Company
Michael Horan, Chief
P.O. Box 94
Millwood, NY 10546
For All Emergencies: Dial 911 or New Castle Police at (914) 238-4422.     
Non-Emergency phone: (914) 941-2222
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Located just down the road in Mount Kisco is the Northern Westchester Hospital. You may well have been there, delivering a baby or having your gall bladder out. It’s a non-profit hospital, and depends on the generosity of the community to make significant capital and programmatic improvements - like the brand new emergency room.

Northern Westchester Hospital
Hatsy Brown Vallar – President, NWH Foundation and Senior Vice President, External Affairs
400 East Main Street
Mt. Kisco, NY 10549    
phone:  (914) 666-1200
email:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)