The Center’s 20th Anniversary Party: a Blast

Photos: Paige Poe

We were gratified, moved and humbled by the turnout at the Center’s 20^th Anniversary Celebration, on a beautiful April 28^th.  And not just by the numbers who came, but also by the range of attendees of all ages: longtime residents and founders of the Center; collaborators in the renovation of the house that created the Center of today; clients celebrating the sustenance and opportunity the Center helps to provide; volunteers who give comfort to families in need every day; families sustaining the Center with the fruits of their food drives; and families new to our community and to the Center, drawn by curiosity about what we are and what makes us tick. 

Many deserve our thanks:

·        All of you who volunteered and worked so hard to make our special day happen;

·        Alexia Jurschak, for effectively summoning not only the memory of Ralph Van Sicklin, but the recollection of who we were and who we are;

·        The Van Sicklin family, for infusing the event with Van’s inimitable spirit;

·        Bedford Town Supervisor Lee Roberts, for her eloquence and conviction in her address to Saturday’s assemblage;

·        Peter Harckham and the County Board of Legislators, for their proclamation that added resonance to our day and to our history;

·        Peter Linz, who, along with his puppets, brought joy and exuberance to our community’s young and young at heart;

·        Viktoria Fisch, of Ebba of Katonah, for her wizardry in concocting special fragrances for the occasion, “the Scent of Giving,” as her unique way of giving that we can wear every day; and

·        All of you who came by with the intention of fostering the love of sharing in your households.

As we think about it, everybody we met on Saturday likely shares that intention.

We always try to keep the Center’s role in perspective.  Nothing would please us more than to greet the day when no one is in need in Northern Westchester, and when the Community Center can close its doors.  We’ve spent the last two decades working toward that goal.  Let’s keep working.  Together.

                                                                    —Sherry Wolf

Join us for our 20th anniversary celebration this Saturday, April 28

Looks like the weather is cooperating for our 20th anniversary celebration tomorrow.  We’re thanking the community for all your support during these two decades of neighbors helping neighbors.  You’re invited; lots of events for the whole family.  Details: http://communitycenternw.org/april28.html

At tomorrow’s event, we’ll also be featuring a special 20th Anniversary tie-in with one of our local supporters:  The Scent of Giving, created by Ebba of Katonah. Ebba owner and creator Viktoria Fisch (above) personally mixed a signature scent for the Center’s 20th. She will be on hand at the Celebration to sell the new perfume, available in oil and spray. And on Saturday only, 80% of the proceeds for each sale will go to the Community Center. 

Earth Day 2012: the Community Center pitches in at Zero Waste Day

Top, L-R: Volunteers Olivia Dumont, Mariel Katz, Kendall O’Brien

Bottom:  Mariel Katz weighing donated clothing

As part of its Earth Day observance, the Community Center took part in a Zero Waste day recycling event in Armonk, under the auspices of the Town of North Castle.  Thanks to a crew of Armonk volunteers, including a contingent from Center community partner Congregation B’nai Yisrael, the Center collected over 2,800 pounds of donated clothes for local families in need.  

So why, you may ask, is volunteer Mariel Katz standing with that bag atop that scale?  To weigh the clothes using simple mathematics: total weight, less volunteer’s weight, equals weight of bag of clothes.  Thanks to all these hard-working (and resourceful) volunteers for making a difference for their community on Earth Day 2012.

On National Volunteer Week

L-R: volunteers Ali Giglio, Jillian Delfik and Brianna Breese

Scarcely a day goes by here at the Community Center without our reflecting on how terrific our volunteers are.  The truth is, without the hundreds of volunteers who work at the Center throughout the year, and the 50,000 hours of volunteer work they put in last year alone, we simply could not do what we do for the 1,800 families in need that come to our door for the essentials of living.

Yet that volume of hard work alone is not what makes them so wonderful; it’s the heart, cheer and positive spirit our volunteers so readily provide that makes our work a daily pleasure.  So during this National Volunteer Week, special thanks to our team of Center volunteers, for the difference you all make in our community. 

Sharing the Love of Reading with our Neighbors

The Center recently got a delightful and welcome delivery: Nate Greenspan, above, and his dad, Russell, brought boxes of books from nearby Katonah Elementary School for K-to-5 readers.  It seems that KES, as it’s locally known, had just staged its annual Parents as Reading Partners (PARP) month, fostering the love of reading among families at home.  Enid Linden, Katonah Elementary’s reading teacher, who has nurtured the love of reading for nearly a generation of Katonah’s kids, tells us more: 

“While PARP month focuses on reading at home, we ask each student to bring in one new paperback suitable for children grades K-5.  In this way we ask the children to share the gift of reading with others.  We have chosen to donate these books to the Community Center because it is part of Katonah and most of them are aware of its presence.  For those students who aren’t, this is an opportunity for them to learn about it.”

Our thanks to the good people at Katonah Elementary School, for putting to work their belief that love of reading should be among the essentials of living the Center shares.  

Changing into our warm-weather clothes

Winter over? Thinking about those summer clothes in your closet? So are we: here at the Community Center, starting April 3, we’ll be accepting donations of warm-weather clothing. Donate Tuesdays through Fridays 10-4, Saturdays 10-1. But please: no more winter clothing!  Ready for summer?