Volunteer Week Begins
It’s not too late to sign up to participate in a service activity to commemorate the anniversary of September 11 – and a special call to action is directed at Westchester families.
Presented by Westchester County and The Volunteer Center of United Way, 9/11: Serve & Remember includes more than 25 service events and activities, organized by area nonprofit organizations, from Sept. 3-11.
“There are volunteer opportunities across the county that are suitable for children and adults of all ages,” said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “This is also an excellent opportunity for students to get community service credit while honoring the victims and families affected by the tragic events of 9/11 and paying tribute to our first responders and other heroes.”
Detailed family-friendly information, as well as information about all the community service events of the nine days, is available at http://www.volunteer-center.org/service2013families. Early registration is encouraged.
Among the events that are family-friendly and/or suited for teenage community service are:
- Sort, repurpose and pack medical and humanitarian equipment and supplies at the Afya Foundation in Yonkers, Sept. 8 and 10, minimum age 12, or ages 7 and up with an adult.
- Pass out fliers in your community for Support Connection, Inc., a nonprofit that helps people with breast and ovarian cancer, Sept. 7, minimum age 18, or ages 10 and up with an adult.
- Sort clothing for children in need at Family Services of Westchester’s The Sharing Shelf in Port Chester, Sept. 7 and 11, minimum age: 15 or 14 with an adult; or at Pass It On Kid’s Kloset/Westchester Jewish Community Services in White Plains, Sept. 8, ages 12 and up with an adult.
- Livestock, pie table, contest table, and fair breakdown assistance at the Yorktown Grange Fair, Sept. 7 and 8, minimum age 18, or ages 13 and up with an adult.
The culmination of 9/11: Serve & Remember is a day of activities suitable for the entire family at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla, on Sept. 11, the site of Westchester’s 9/11 memorial, “The Rising.” There, visitors can donate nonperishable food as well as new and gently used soccer and baseball equipment that will be used by U.S. troops abroad; and children and adults can create sight word and math flashcards that will be donated to local schools and after-school programs. Donation booths and volunteer activities will take place from noon to 6:45 p.m. Westchester County’s formal memorial ceremony will take place at The Rising beginning at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
Alisa H. Kesten, executive director of The Volunteer Center, said: “As an agency devoted to increasing volunteerism in Westchester and our surrounding communities, we see this as a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages and interests to join together in service to build a permanent and positive legacy that rekindles the spirit of unity that followed the tragic events of Sept. 11. The Volunteer Center will help connect individuals to activities that match their interests.”
Participating nonprofits include: Afya Foundation in Yonkers, Arc of Westchester in Mount Kisco, Clay Art Center in Port Chester, Common Ground in Montrose, Dominican College in Blauvelt, Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities in Dobbs Ferry, Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park in Yorktown Heights, Greenburgh Nature Center, HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle, Hudson Valley Blood Services (blood drive, Westchester County Center in White Plains), RSVP of Westchester’s Job Readiness Project, Let’s Play It Forward, Inc. (collection spots at locations across Westchester), Meals-on-Wheels of White Plains, Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New Rochelle Public Library, Pass It On Kid’s Kloset/Westchester Jewish Community Services in White Plains, Pace University in Pleasantville, Putnam Community Action Program/WestCOP, Inc. in Brewster, Richmond Community Services in Yonkers, Rye Nature Center, Family Services of Westchester’s The Sharing Shelf in Port Chester, SUNY New Paltz, Support Connection, Inc. in Yorktown Heights, the White Plains YMCA, the White Plains YWCA, and Yorktown Grange #862.
The Volunteer Center’s annual community-wide call to action for the 9/11 Week of Service and Remembrance is made possible thanks to the generosity of Westchester County, United Way of Westchester and Putnam, and Corporate Champions: IBM, New York Life, PepsiCo, Con Edison, Bunge, Journal News Media Group, Mack-Cali, Robison Oil Company, Scent 2 Market, M&T Bank, Regeneron, The Rollins Agency, The Dannon Company, Chubb, Erie Insurance Company, O’Connor Davies LLP, Reader’s Digest and RPW Group.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
