White Plains Soup Kitchen Receives 25,000 Cans of Food

White Plains, NY The Grace Church Community Center (GCCC) Soup Kitchen received a donation of 25,000 cans of food courtesy of Stepinac High School and their Souper Bowl food drive.

Roxanne Calvello, teacher and science chair at the school organized the drive and challenged the school’s 650 students to collect a total of 50,000 food cans, almost 80 cans per student. Students rose to the challenge and were rewarded with a day off school on the Monday following the Super Bowl.

Donated cans were split between the GCCC Soup Kitchen, the largest soup kitchen in White Plains, and the Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester which operates a soup kitchen and food pantry.

GCCC Scholarship Recipients Meet Donors

White Plains NY-  Grace Church Community Center (GCCC) scholarship recipients had an opportunity to meet some of the key donors that made their scholarships possible at a lunch held in their honor at the Black Bear Saloon on January 13th. 
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Con Ed awards Green Grant to Grace
Lohud.com, January 19, 2012

In its second year of funding, Consolidated Edison has awarded a $7,500 grant to Grace Church Community Center to continue its successful “Kids Going Green” program, which introduces homeless and at-risk youth to “green” topics such as global warming, dependence on fossil fuels, sustainable farming, water quality, endangered species and habitat preservation through a series of field trips.

Seventy-five children from the agency’s After-School Mentoring Program will participate in five field trips which will include a sleepover at the New York Hall of Science and a voyage on the Clearwater sloop, a sailing classroom designed to teach passengers about the impact humans have had on the animals and ecology of the Hudson River.

Anyone wishing to donate to the Scholarship Fund or to find out more about GCCC’s Mentoring Program should contact Chris Schwartz at 914-949-3098, Ext. 135, or CSchwartz@gcccares.org.

Young Professionals Celebrate Mentoring Month
PRLog (Press Release) - Jan 17, 2012

A Scarsdale Christmas Carol: The Lasagna That Turned Into Thermal Underwear
The Scarsdale Friends recently sponsored a dinner to raise money for the homeless.
Scarsdale Patch, January 3, 2012
By Susan Weisfeld

As in previous years, it started with a need -- warm socks and underwear for men and women who depend upon others for their basic necessities.  How Greek salad, lasagna and turkey turned into 116 gift bags filled with warm necessities and lovely toiletries for residents of several homeless shelter programs is a tale reminiscent of stories many of us have heard since childhood, and makes one believe in the magic that is part of the holiday season.
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Holiday Shoe Drive
White Plains Patch, December 22, 2011
Posted by Chris Schwartz

Following four years of tradition, Dr. Bruce Pinker, owner of Progressive Foot Care in White Plains, joined ranks with the Westchester/Putnam Central Labor Body AFLCIO and its affiliates in a “Holiday Shoe Drive” to collect shoes for the homeless.

Footwear in all shapes and sizeswas collected over a two month period and donated to Grace Church Community Center (GCCC) for distribution at the agency’s Open Arms Men’s Shelter, Samaritan House Women’s Shelter and Soup Kitchen.  Over 1,000 pairs of shoes were collected. 

This is the second year that Entergy has provided grant support for the program, which serves 75 at-risk students by providing tutoring, college prep, field trips and sports activities designed to help children remain in school.

Lori Sheldon, Communication Specialist from Entergy presents grant check to Paul Anderson-Winchell GCCC Executive Director.

As winter begins, hundreds of people in the area are in need of coats to protect them from the cold. The Osborn Retirement Community, Rye City Lions Club and Rye Rotary Club are partnering again this year to ensure these people have the most basic of necessities.
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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.
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With thousands of children, families and individuals struggling to make ends meet in Westchester—White Plains' Grace Church Community Center (GCCC) fights poverty all year round, and especially during the holidays.
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Various organizations serve the needy by providing them family-style meals during the holidays. Yet, only a few feed the hungry all year round.

Grace Church Community Center offers hungry Westcheseter residents a place to sit and enjoy a warm free meal—at the Grace Episcopal Church? soup kitchen— five days a week . This vital service is offered to area residents who struggle on a daily basis with a task most don't think twice about: finding a plate of food to fight hunger pains.
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Volunteer Marty Kantor, 88, of Boca Raton, Fl., serves pumpkin pie during Thanksgiving dinner at Grace Church Community Center Soup Kitchen, Nov. 25, 2010 in White Plains. Kantor came out to volunteer for his second year with his family that he is visiting in Armonk. Volunteers prepared and served about 150 dinners and about 400 homebound meals were available to take out.
( Tania Savayan / The Journal News )