The Residents Association Council through its Local Charities Committee (LCC) has been helping local organizations since its inception in 2005 when Kendal opened. They do this by allocating a portion of funds raised through the Council’s Annual Appeal to worthy tax-exempt organizations serving the residents of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.
In 2020, the Residents Council allocated $20,000 to be divided among the chosen charities. Since the deadline for proposals occurred before the coronavirus hit, the projects often did not reflect the new, more immediate emergency needs of the community. The LCC considered which charities would probably need more money for the COVID-19 situation. With this in mind and with the advice of the Residents Council, they notified recipients that, for this year only, the 2020 grant would not be restricted to the original purpose but might be used for more immediate needs. All organizations thanked them for this flexibility.
The 18 organizations, the amounts, and the original projects selected for 2020 are as follows:
$2,000 Community Food Pantry -- to provide nutritious food to residents most in need
$500 Family YMCA -- to incorporate a weekly dance class for children enrolled in the Early Learning Center
$1,200 Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns -- to support a Social Media Director position to provide state-of-the-art technology and enrichment programs in science, art, math, and language arts to all students in the school district
$1,500 Gullotta House -- to help sponsor its fund-raising Auction
$250 Historical Society of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow -- for its 35mm film digitization project with the George Eastman Museum
$1,000 Kids Club of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow -- to support a number of programs designed to assist underserved children in the community
$750 ITAV10591 (It Takes a Village) -- to help maintain seniors’ independence by covering transportation expenses to doctors’ appointments, shopping, etc.
$750 Neighborhood House—for its roof replacement fund
$1,000 Open Door Family Medical Center -- for their “Baby Box Program” (bassinets filled with essential items for new babies)
$1,000 Rockefeller State Park Preserve -- to continue the historic Rockwood Hall tree-planting project
$1750 RSHM Life Center -- for a special end-of-year theater trip for children in the Friday Night Fever program
$1,900 Sleepy Hollow Ambulance Corps -- community outreach through public education of what citizens should do before an ambulance arrives
$1,150 Sleepy Hollow Police Benevolent Society -- for the third annual Sports Day with the PBA
$600 Sleepy Hollow Recreation Department – for the summer camp scholarship program
$1,400 Sleepy Hollow Volunteer Fire Department-- for training and wellness of volunteer firefighters
$750 TASH (Farmer’s Market) – for its Community Arts and Culture Program
$1,500 Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns/AFHT (Asociacion de Familias Hispanas de los Tarrytowns) -- to continue field trips for English-limited families to neighborhood cultural and educational facilities
$1,000 Warner Library -- for a 12-week semester of Spanish for those needing Spanish for careers and communication with English-limited local citizens
The Local Charities Committee of the Residents Council consists of Chair Harriet Barnett and 2020 committee members Marilyn Bottjer, Sally Kellock, Susan Lichten, Nancy Schacht, and Ruth Singleton. It is one of three entities at Kendal on Hudson making philanthropic contributions to the local community. The other two are the KoH Board’s Philanthropy Committee and the Administration’s Social Accountability Fund.