Scarsdale Rotary Club Food and Wine Fundraiser on March 12
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Rotary Club of Scarsdale, NY will host its 6th annual fine Food and Wine Fundraiser event on Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 6pm - 8pm at The Scarsdale Woman's Club located on 37 Drake Rd. The evening will feature dozens of raffle items and a live auction that includes a professional team of chefs to prepare a fine dinner in your home for up to eight guests and a large screen 4K Ultra HD TV system.
Local Scarsdale Rotary members and sponsors will host an evening filled with fine food and wine from local restaurants, including Chat, Moscato's, Lange's Deli, Bistro 808, Meritage, Savona and several others. Tickets for the evening are on sale now at at the Scarsdale Rotary website www.ScarsdaleRotary.org, for $80 each.
Sponsorships are available the $400 or $1000 level (each level includes tickets and other perks). Early bird event sponsors include: The Scarsdale Agency, WMC HOLDINGS, Value Electronics, Houlihan Lawrence, Webster Bank, the Berk Family and Pepe Mercedes.
What will contributions support?
Almost all of the costs of the event were donated to the Rotary, so that sales and sponsorships will go almost entirely to the Rotary Club's charitable work. New this year, the Scarsdale Rotary Club has named 5 local charities as primary beneficiaries of the event --each will receive approximately 12% of the money raised:
Greenburgh Nature Center
A local 22-acre nature preserve with trails, a pond and gardens. The property is a significant wildlife habitat refuge, both for indigenous species and for the hundreds of species of migratory birds that is used in as a resting place on their spring and fall travels. The property includes two wetland sites and a wildflower meadow, which is used as a nesting area for Eastern box turtles.
Lakota Children's Enrichment, Inc.
A for-purpose corporation with headquarters in Scarsdale NY and founded by Scarsdale resident Maggie Dunne. LCE empowers Lakota youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation in SD and amplifies their voices by providing mentorship and opportunities in the arts, education, sports, leadership and community service. Pine Ridge Reservation is located in three of the USA's poorest counties.
Scarsdale & Edgemont Family Counseling Services
A local community organization that strengthens family and community life by providing individual, family and group therapy. SFCS also provides outreach to youth, services to elders, and public programs relating to family life issues. A staple in the community since 1920.
The Scarsdale Foundation
The Foundation supports institutions and individuals that encourage educational and human development as well as mutual understanding and recognizes those in the community who through volunteer service continue to set an example of civic responsibility toward the betterment of the community.
Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps
For over 40 years SVAC has answered the call of residents, workers, and communities in the town of Scarsdale by providing emergency ambulance services to the community. SVAC is staffed by a combination of paid paramedics and volunteer emergency medical technicians, and other appropriately trained volunteers.
The remaining proceeds will fund contributions to Polio Plus, Well Water in Haiti, and the Scarsdale Rotary Club's annual grants disbursed through its grant application process. Recent grant recipients include:
Acceleration Project of Scarsdale, Advance Kids X-Press Enrichment Program, Andrus Children's Center, Afya Foundation, Children's Village, Eagle Scouts of Scarsdale, Girl's Inc. of Westchester, Heartsong Child Therapy Programs, Let's Get Ready, Make-A-Wish of Hudson Valley, My Sister's Place, Midnight Run by the Hitchcock Church, New Seed International, Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Program and West Point Junior Alpine Ski Team.
Mark your calendar for March 12 for an evening of fun, while supporting local charities and beyond.
Pepe Auto Group to Sponsor Two Charitable Events
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Pepe Auto Group has signed on as the Official Luxury Auto Group for the Westchester Knicks in their inaugural season at the Westchester County Center. In addition, the Pepe Infiniti Dealership in White Plains will be the setting for the Junior League of Central Westchester's BIG NIGHT OUT: Big Night, Big Causes, Big Impact on Friday, March 27, 2015. Pepe Auto Group represents all five dealerships: Mercedes Benz of White Plains, Mercedes Benz of New Rochelle, Porsche of Larchmont, Pepe Infiniti, and Pepe Cadillac.
As a sponsor for the Westchester Knicks event, Pepe Auto Group chose My Sisters' Place, a White Plains based organization that provides education, awareness, and legal services to those suffering from, or at risk of domestic violence to benefit from exposure and outreach at the event.
Pepe Auto Group has supported hundreds of local organizations through various philanthropic efforts over the years. My Sisters' Place, though, has developed an excellent partnership specifically with Mercedes Benz of White Plains.
"We're proud to be a sponsor of the Westchester Knicks, and even prouder to be able to bring in an organization close to our hearts, that has such a great impact in the sports community and our greater community at large," says Gary Turco, General Manager of Mercedes Benz of White Plains. "We love working with My Sisters' Place, and we do what we can to always support them."
Nearly 2,500 are expected to attend their dedicated game on Friday, February 6. The Knicks will play in a purple uniform branded with the My Sisters' Place logo. In a special pre-game ceremony, the Knicks will present Karen Cheeks-Lomax, Executive Director of My Sisters' Place, and Gary with a commemorative team jersey. During half time, the Knicks will show a recorded interview with Mr. Turco and Ms. Cheeks-Lomax.
There will also be a silent auction featuring three signed Knicks jerseys and an informational table about programs and services from My Sisters' Place. Proceeds from both the game and silent auction will go to My Sisters' Place.
My Sisters' Place will be selling raffle tickets for a two year lease on a Mercedes-Benz CLA250, donated by Mercedes Benz of White Plains. Raffles will be sold through July, and the winner will be announced at the Annual Savor & Support Event, hosted by Mercedes Benz of White Plains. For more information on raffle sales, please call 914.683.1333 ext. 142. To purchase tickets, please visit ticketmaster.com.
Junior League Big Night Out
The Junior League of Central Westchester (JLCW) will host BIG NIGHT OUT: Big Night, Big Causes, Big Impact, on Friday, March 27, 2015 at Pepe Infiniti in White Plains. The evening festivities will include a cocktail reception, dinner, silent auction and musical entertainment. As one of the JLCW's primary fundraisers, BIG NIGHT OUT will provide essential financial support for the JLCW's educational and charitable projects. Over the past 67 years, the JLCW has been committed to promoting volunteerism; developing the potential of women; and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
Big Night Out will celebrate the launch and success of the JLCW Westchester County Diaper Bank, an effort in conjunction with the Westchester County Government to end the silent epidemic of diaper deprivation. "Diapers are a basic need for children – as essential as food and shelter," said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. "I want to thank the Junior League of Central Westchester for this tremendous partnership. Along with the county's Department of Social Services (DSS), together we are working to keep babies clean, safe and healthy."
Big Night Out will honor The Acceleration Project (TAP) and its co-founders, Lisa Tretler (a JLCW sustainer member) and Jane Veron for sharing in its commitment to tapping the potential of women. Their impact in the local community is evident through their recent "Buy Local Campaign" in conjunction with the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce. "TAP and the JLCW care greatly about tapping the potential of women and directing their talents for the betterment of the community," said TAP co-founders Tretler and Veron. "We are thrilled to be honored by an organization so closely aligned with our mission and values."
Big Night Out is open to the public and will be attended by JLCW members and other prominent members of the community. The evening will include cocktails, dinner and a silent auction, including exciting one-of-a-kind items like vacation getaways, tickets to sporting events and Broadway shows. All proceeds from the event will support the JLCW's initiatives and the Westchester County Diaper Bank.
"We are so thrilled to celebrate the success of the JLCW Westchester County Diaper Bank at Big Night Out," said Nikki Hahn, President of the Junior League of Central Westchester. "We also couldn't be happier to be honoring TAP and its co-founders Lisa Tretler and Jane Veron, both of whom share in the JLCW's commitment to helping improve the local community as well as developing the potential of women. Funds raised at Big Night Out will help further many of these important causes."
For more information on Big Night Out, becoming a sponsor, advertising in the journal, or donating to the silent auction, please contact the JLCW office at (914) 723-6130, email jlcw@verizon.net or click here:
Scarsdale Data Wrangler Helps Yonkers Students Get College-Ready
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Scarsdale resident Bud Kroll was profiled on the front page of the Journal News on January 6th for education research he recently published for the local non-profit Yonkers Partners in Education (YPIE). Kroll is a retired investment manager who has been focused on inner city public education issues since 2009. A member of YPIE's board, he has been a volunteer teaching assistant in math classrooms in Yonkers, and serves as the organization's pro bono 'data wrangler', collecting and analyzing internal and external data to better evaluate the needs and program results of the group's work. "Yonkers is literally Scarsdale's next door neighbor, yet the challenges that many Yonkers students face are almost incomprehensible to most Scarsdale families," said Kroll.
YPIE's Program Director, Ellen Cutler-Levy, is an Edgemont resident. "YPIE College Centers in six Yonkers high schools logged over 29,000 student visits in 2013-14 with 95% of Yonkers seniors using the centers in their schools. 135 YPIE Scholars are mentored weekly by 65 volunteer coaches, several from Scarsdale over their four years in high school. And that is just part of the work we are doing," said Cutler-Levy.
Kroll's recent paper, College and Career Readiness in the New York State Public Schools, came out of work he was doing for YPIE to evaluate and quantify the need for the organization to expand its focus to include student college and career readiness, in addition to the work YPIE was already doing in college awareness and access.
"The relationship between educational outcomes and poverty has been well documented for years, but this new framework allowed us to quantitatively derive a "handicap" for this highly correlated variable that enabled us to identify how well districts and individual schools were doing net of poverty. No longer can districts 'blame' their results on poverty, we can now clearly see those districts and individual schools who are doing better, and worse, than 'expected' given student poverty levels. This allows us to focus resources and attention on districts and schools that are underperforming net of poverty, and learn best practices from net outperforming schools."
YPIE is using Kroll's findings to shape its program offerings. Several Scarsdale and Edgemont residents volunteer at YPIE's College and Career Centers and its YPIE Scholars mentoring program. YPIE is expanding its programs and is looking for more volunteers. Information about opportunities to get involved or help financially are on the YPIE website.
Scarsdale Troop 2 Life Scouts Complete Environmental Training
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Scarsdale Life Scout Aidan Connolly, along with adult leader Mark Schivley, both from the Immaculate Heart of Mary-sponsored Troop 2 of Scarsdale, were among 25 scouts and scout leaders who attended the Leave No Trace/Tread Lightly trainer course last month at the Agatha A. Durland Scout Reservation in Putnam Valley.
The 16-hour experiential learning course presented the seven principles of Leave No Trace, a program designed by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, which is a non-profit organization that provides a framework for outdoor recreation decision making.
The purpose of the training was to teach the ethical decision making skills required to promote conservation while involved in non-motorized outdoor recreation. The principles of Leave No Trace are dedicated to protecting the great outdoors, and teaching participants about the innovative and practical methods of maintaining the outdoors for further generations.
Discussing the event, Scoutmaster Ed Gruber explained that, "The Leave No Trace/Tread Lightly training initiative incorporates much of what the Boys Scouts of America believes in, which is to instill values in young people and prepare them to make moral and ethical choices throughout their lives."
Aidan, 14, a Yonkers resident, and Schivley, from Eastchester, spent two days immersed in the Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly workshops so that they were equipped to train others in their troop. Both participants made presentations based on their personal views of how to camp and hike in ways that were respectful to the outdoors, and were awarded the Black Oval Leave No Trace trainer patch as well as the Tread Lightly pin.
Greenacres Students, the JLCW and the Brownies Bring Cheer for the Holidays
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Greenacres Students Visit the Hebrew Home: Ninety Greenacres students visited the Hebrew Home at Riverdale on December 15. This has been an annual tradition since the 1999-2000 school year. During their visit, the students learned about 1916 trivia (the year Greenacres opened) from Hebrew Home President and CEO (and Greenacres alum) Daniel Reingold. He quizzed students about the cost of a loaf of bread in 1916 (9 cents!), who won the World Series that year (Chicago White Sox) and other interesting information. From there, the kids got to work, interviewing residents about where they are from, where they grew up, and what life was like for them as children. Some of the Hebrew Home residents interviewed are centenarians, who reminisced about life before television and cars!
JLCW Hosts Benefit for Greenburgh Children
The Junior League of Central Westchester (JLCW) hosted a pizza dinner and cupcake decorating on Friday, December 12, to honor the Greenburgh Housing Authority's After-School Program's kids and volunteers and to present much needed supplies and support to this successful and growing program.
The Greenburgh Housing Authority (GHA) runs an after-school program for approximate 30 children ages 5-17. The GHA believes in a "holistic approach to promote educational achievement of the young people" in the area. The after school program, which is headed strictly by volunteers, provides attendees with homework help, reading and school projects. The program also provides an after school snack, a play area which includes arts and crafts and organizes extra-curricular courses, day trips, pizza and movie nights and more.The JLCW held a donations drive for approximately two months to collect much needed items to help the volunteers of GHA to create a more fulfilling and enriching learning environment for the children.
They would like to thank its members, the community and the Greenburgh Stop and Shop and Barnes and Noble for their generous contributions for which the children, their families and the volunteers are extremely grateful.
Brownies Learn the Power of Giving
Brownie Troop 1944 of Edgewood has committed to serving others. This week they collected new toys for kids and gifts for their moms. The troop of twelve wrapped them, for many a first venture at this task, and delivered them to the Carver Center Pantry in Port Chester. The girls are becoming aware of the less fortunate and the joyful feeling of sharing. As they work on their "CARE badge" they have also made sandwiches for the men's homeless shelter in White Plains, collected pasta for the food pantry, and most recently made cards of good cheer for the "Meals on Wheels" program.
This is a special group of girls. Leaders are Jane Martin and Pam Heldman, and assistant Stefanie Oliva.