In 2020, the Kendal on Hudson Philanthropy Committee gave grants totaling $35,000 to four local organizations serving the wider community. The grants were: $10,000 to the Community Food Pantry of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow; two $5,000 grants to the Rotary Foundation; $10,000 to the Open Door Foundation; and $5,000 to the Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns.
The Community Food Pantry increased the number of people helped per month from about 850 to more than 3,000 because of the increased needs due to the COVID pandemic. The Kendal grant was used to purchase food to meet this drastically elevated need.
The Rotary Club of the Tarrytowns has been feeding the hungry during the Coronavirus emergency. Early on, the need rose from 400 to 600 meals per day. In a short time, Rotary served over 2,100 meals and provided another $6,000 in supermarket gift certificates to be distributed by the LIFE Center and the Community Opportunity Center. Meals are purchased at a discount from local restaurants, thus helping the restaurants to stay in business. Kendal’s second $5,000 grant enabled the Rotary Club to continue its food distribution program through the fall and winter.
The Open Door Family Medical Centers in Sleepy Hollow and at its five other locations in Westchester and Putnam counties, provide comprehensive care for patients. Right now a primary focus is containing community spread of the COVD-19 virus. Its Patient Tracing and Support Program is designed for virus containment while seeking to meet immediate physical and behavioral health needs. Kendal’s grant is helping Open Door respond effectively to its clients during this challenging time.
While the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow school district has successfully transitioned to online instruction and provided both Chromebooks and Google Classroom to most of its students, technology needs continue to impact online learning during the COVID crisis. Families living in small spaces with multiple children attending online classes require headsets to hear their teachers and participate in class. Also, some households with multiple students in the district still do not have a Chromebook for each child. Poor Wi-Fi connections strained by multiple users in a household prevent students from participating fully in online learning. All of these issues, which disproportionally impact lower-income and immigrant families, cause students to fall behind in their studies. Kendal’s grant is being used to address barriers to participation in online learning faced by students due to a lack of accessible, essential technology.
The Kendal on Hudson Board’s Philanthropy Committee is one of three entities at Kendal making philanthropic contributions to the community in 2020, thanks to the generous contributions of residents, staff, and board members. The Kendal Residents Association’s Local Charities Committee and the Kendal Administration’s Social Accountability Fund are the two other groups. The contributions of those entities will be reported in future articles.