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05-20-09
Entrée to Hope to Raise
Funds for Westchester's Neediest
Non-profits and area restaurants partner to increase
awareness
The Food
Bank for Westchester, Grace Church Community Center and the
Literacy Volunteers of Westchester recently kicked-off their
partnership to help raise funds and awareness for the
County's neediest citizens as well as provide food, shelter
and education. The kick-off for Entrée to Hope took place at
Sam's of Gedney Way, and the program will run through the
end of June.
Entrée
to Hope will enable Westchester diners to donate $1 from
each entrée they eat at participating restaurants throughout
the county in the following municipalities: Armonk, Bedford,
Briarcliff Manor, Chappaqua, Katonah, Larchmont, Mamaroneck,
Mount Kisco, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, North Salem,
Ossining, Peekskill, Pelham, Pleasantville, Port Chester,
Rye, Rye Brook, Scarsdale, Tarrytown, Valhalla, White Plains
and Yonkers. For a complete list of participating
restaurants, visit www.entreetohope.org.
Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano spoke at the
conference, along with Christina Rohatynskyj, Executive
Director, Food Bank for Westchester; Patricia Rajala,
Executive Director, Literacy Volunteers of Westchester; and
Paul Anderson-Winchell, Executive Director, Grace Church
Community Center.
"Hunger
is a very serious problem in Westchester County,"
Rohatynskyj said. "Nearly 200,000 people in our county are
either hungry or at risk of becoming hungry. Children
account for 36 percent of that figure. We all must do our
part to take care of each other."
Peter
Herrero, Jr., President of the New York Hospitality Group
which owns Sam's of Gedney Way, echoed the need for
community members to help each other, especially during an
economic crisis. "There are many families with unemployed or
underemployed members. It is up to us to support those in
our own communities while also supporting local businesses,"
he said.
Each of the partner agencies has a mission to provide basic
services to the most vulnerable residents of the county to
foster self-sufficiency and specializes in providing one or
more of the cornerstones of the Entrée to Hope promotion.
Their combined vision is to share resources to reach a
common goal of serving the needy by providing food, shelter
and education:
-
The Food
Bank for Westchester is the backbone of Westchester's
emergency food distribution network, providing over 95%
of all the food distributed by 190 grass roots programs
such as food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and
residential programs, helping to feed hungry Westchester
children and their families.
-
Grace Church
Community Center is a non-sectarian, social services
agency that annually assists more than 3,000 of
Westchester County's neediest men, women and children
through its nine programs. Services include three
shelters, a soup kitchen, eviction prevention services
and an after-school mentoring program for homeless and
disadvantaged children.
-
Literacy
Volunteers of Westchester County, Inc. is a
not-for-profit organization dedicated to "reaching the
hardest to reach and teaching the hardest to teach:"
American-born adults with poor literacy skills due to
lack of opportunity or undiagnosed learning differences;
and non-English speaking adults who may have low
literacy in their home languages, either for economic
reasons or because their own language lacks written
form.
The Food Bank for Westchester is located at 358 Saw Mill
River Road, Millwood, NY 10546. For additional information,
contact the Food Bank at 914-923-1100 or info@foodbankforwestchester.org
or visit
www.foodbankforwestchester.org.
About the Food Bank for Westchester: The Food Bank for
Westchester solicits and administers donations from both the
public and private sector, distributing food through
approximately 200 hunger relief member agencies. Its core
activity is the collection and distribution of donated,
government and purchased food. The Food Bank delivers 5 to 8
tons of food per day and member agencies pick up thousands
more pounds of food from the warehouse daily, totally
approximately 5 million pounds of food annually.
About Grace Church Community Center: Grace Church Community
Center is a non-sectarian, community-based 501(c) (3)
organization whose mission is to assist Westchester County's
neediest and most at-risk residents, especially those who
are under-served by other resources. It is one of the
largest social services agencies in Westchester County and
has been providing shelter and support for individuals and
families for over 27 years.
About Literacy Volunteers of Westchester: Formed in 1983,
Literacy Volunteers of Westchester County, Inc. is a
not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing
student-centered English literacy services to adults in
Westchester County and acting as a community resource for
the advancement of literacy countywide.
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