The Giving Circle of Lower Westchester awarded a record $68,000 to 20 nonprofit organizations that serve the hungry and food insecure in lower Westchester County. Award winners—generally food pantries and soup kitchens—were selected based on their exceptional work in providing food and services to diverse communities in need. Each organization will receive grants of $1,000 to $6,000 through credits for food purchases from the Food Bank for Westchester, FB4W.
In addition, the Giving Circle provided $10,000 in funding to two preschools—New Rochelle Day Nursery and the Yonkers-based Queens Daughters Daycare under the FB4W’s Green Thumb program. Each of the two preschools will receive a monthly distribution of “Green Thumb Bags” containing six to eight varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables. The program advances a key priority of improving the nutritional value of food made available to those at risk of hunger in Westchester County. This is the second year the Giving Circle is providing such funding.
The $78,000 total funding by the Giving Circle in 2016 represents a 10 percent increase over its 2015 grants of $71,000.
The FB4W estimates that 200,000 residents in the county are at risk of hunger or facing food insecurity. More than 33 percent are children and more than 22 percent are seniors. The Food Bank for Westchester provides 95 percent of all emergency food distributed in the county. For more information about Food Bank for Westchester, visit fb4w.org.
“Access to healthy food is a basic right for all people. That is why it is really important that we all work together to help those who are hungry in our communities,” said Ellen Lynch, president and CEO of the Food Bank for Westchester. “We are pleased to partner with The Giving Circle of Lower Westchester to help local agencies provide food services for those who are in need.”
“Thanks to our generous members, the Giving Circle continues to expand its ability to fulfill our mission: helping food pantries, soup kitchens and other frontline hunger relief organizations in lower Westchester. It’s been gratifying to watch the Giving Circle rise to address this serious challenge in our local community,” said Eric Nodiff, Giving Circle founder and president.
Explaining the Giving Circle, Nodiff said, “Members pool their contributions for the purpose of donating to a common philanthropic cause—hunger relief—based on the concept that larger, combined donations go further than several smaller individual checks. Our grants of even $1,000 can make a meaningful difference to the grant recipients. Our membership is open to anyone with a desire to help in providing this vital service to our community.”
The Giving Circle is a volunteer, grassroots, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization made up of more than 50 members who contribute a minimum of $250 toward grant recipient funding. One hundred percent of the dollars raised goes directly to hunger relief. For more information on the Giving Circle of Lower Westchester, email Nodiff at givingcirclelw@gmail.com. (Submitted)
