Volunteers Embody the Holiday Spirit at Homeless Shelter Christmas Party
Grace Church Community Center's annual holiday party helps to make
the season special for Westchester's homeless.
Rye Patch, December 24, 2010
By Jaclyn Bruntfield

For most of us the holiday season conjures feelings of warmth and comfort, but amidst the glow of Christmas trees in homes, some in Westchester face below freezing temperatures and nowhere to sleep.

But when it seems like there's nowhere to turn for the county's homeless, that's where Grace Church Community Center (GCCC) comes in. Last year the non-profit provided 28,000 warm nights of sleep and more than 100,000 meals to the hungry.

GCCC operates two shelters, the Open Arms Men's Shelter and the Samaritan House Women's Shelter as well as a program called Project Trust, which serves the chronically homeless.

On Thursday, a massive effort by GCCC's staff and a cohort of volunteers helped to make the holidays a little brighter for those living at the shelters with an annual party that's been running for more than two decades.

Director of Open Arms John Rubin, said this week the party helps residents—many of whom suffer from addiction and mental illness—feel a sense of belonging that goes far in helping them to get on their feet.

"A part of the healing process is when people feel a part of something," said Rubin. "The party has an energy and spirit that goes a long way to people feeling less alone and destructive in their lives. It creates a feeling of community."

Susan Weisfeld of Scarsdale is a volunteer for the Open Arms party who, for the last two years, has spearheaded the event's gift giving effort.

After learning from a social worker at Open Arms that there weren't many holiday donations for the men in the shelter, Weisfeld felt she had to do something.

"If someone said to you all they want for Christmas is socks and underwear, you'd do your best to get it for them" she said.

She solicited help from fellow patrons of the Scarsdale Friends Meeting House and after hosting a dinner there with guest speakers who were assisted at Open Arms, support for the effort increased.

Weisfeld also has received help from her neighbors as well. Some donated cosmetics and toiletries and others got together for a gift wrapping gathering last weekend.

For this year's party, Weisfeld gathered gifts for 90 homeless men and women at Open Arms and GCCC's Samaritan House Women's Shelter, as well as gift bags for participants in Project Trust. She included scarves, gloves, underwear, socks and toiletries for men and hats, fuzzy socks, Snuggies, toiletries and gloves for women.

Weisfeld places an emphasis on wrapping the gifts so they look especially beautiful. It's her way of putting a final touch on the effort of showing the people at GCCC's shelters that they're cared about.

"You're not just giving people gifts for Christmas; you're giving your care and your time," she explained. "When you do this you really understand that everyone is connected. Everybody is deserving of being cared about, and this is one way we can show that."

GCCC's Executive Director Paul-Anderson Winchell said that Weisfeld's selfless volunteerism embodies the holiday spirit.

"We have to drag her up front [at the party] to give her any recognition at all. She's one of those people who doesn't do it for the recognition; she would just as soon not get the recognition," he said. "She's really motived by her desire to pass on to other folks some of the good things that have happened to her."

Anderson-Winchell said that GCCC receives an outpouring of volunteer assistance during this time of year.

"The volunteerism this time of year is overwhelming and wonderful. Often we get more volunteers that we run out of things for them to do."

But he noted that the recession has put a strain on the area's homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries.

"During the last two years with the economic downturn, there's no question with the people we serve that we see ourselves as the bottom of the safety net. We're the last place to catch people before they fall down and are receiving no services," he said.

Another effect of the recession has been that the number of people in need of food and shelter in warmer months isn't decreasing.

Anderson-Winchell explained, "the problem is that many of the day jobs—off the books jobs that mean people can make it during the better weather—just aren't there, so they're unable to leave our system."

He emphasized that while volunteering and donating food and gifts during the holidays is important, the need for support is constant for organizations like GCCC that serve Westchester's underprivileged population.

"This need is a 365-days-a-year need. Maybe it increases a little during the winter months, but it's always here."