Photo courtesy of White Plains Hospital
From grassroots GoFundMe campaigns to volunteering opportunities, initiatives are finding ways to support Westchester residents, essential workers, and businesses.
Feeding Westchester
www.feedingwestchester.org
A member of Feeding America, the Elmsford-based nonprofit works with municipalities and other partners to distribute food — 1.75 million pounds in April alone — to the 1 in 5 Westchesterites who are food insecure.
Food Trucks Feeding Nurses
www.gofundme.com/food-trucks-feeding-nurses
Co-organized by Village Social Restaurant Group’s Joe Bueti, this GoFundMe creates business opportunities for nearly a dozen local food trucks by hiring them to provide meals for healthcare workers at the region’s major hospitals.Â
FundTheFront
www.gofundme.com/fundthefrontppe
Rye mom Molly Howson set up this grassroots campaign to provide PPE to frontline healthcare workers in hospitals and nursing homes in Westchester, NYC, and Greenwich.
New York Blood Center
www.nybloodcenter.org
At the Elmsford location, members of the community can donate blood and convalescent plasma for the treatment of COVID-19. (Note: Convalescent-plasma donors must provide documentation of a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 test and must have been symptom-free for at least 14 days.)
SPCA of Westchester
www.spca914.org/about/covid-19
Still operating during the pandemic, SPCA’s no-kill shelter and other services rely heavily on community funds: Make a one-time donation, enroll to become a monthly sponsor, or purchase items from the 501(c)3’s Amazon
Wish List.
Volunteer New York!
www.volunteernewyork.org/vvc
The frequently updated Virtual Volunteer Center features low-to-no-contact volunteering opportunities, including shopping for seniors, youth-mentorship programs, making face masks, and drives for toiletries, clothing, and other supplies.
WM’s Feeding the Front Line
www.gofundme.com/cfgd9p-feeding-the-front-line
One of many similar campaigns under the same name nationwide, Westchester Magazine’s Feeding the Front Line supports the restaurant and healthcare communities by raising money to purchase food from still-operating restaurants for delivery to healthcare workers.Â
Photos from the Front Lines
Nurses at Blythedale Children’s Hospital dig into one of the pizzas sent by Chappaqua residents Bill and Hillary Clinton, who ordered more than 400 pies for delivery to Westchester hospitals in March.
Officer Michael Louros shows off a bag of takeout from Polpettina, one of several meals the Eastchester Police Department received from the Junior League of Bronxville on March 27.
A longtime Feeding Westchester volunteer celebrates her birthday with a decorated face mask while at the organization’s operations center in Elmsford on April 20.
Yonkers Public Library director Jesse Montero (left) and Yonkers City Council representative Hector Santiago donate the library’s last 3D printer to St. Joseph’s Medical Center, to print personal protective equipment (PPE), on April 10.
A nurse stops to look at messages of gratitude and inspiration on White Plains Hospital’s Community Love Wall on April 10.
The Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is one of many New York State landmarks lit in blue, as a sign of support for healthcare professionals and essential workers, on April 9.
Officers from the Yonkers Police Department and other members of the community practice social distancing while lining the funeral procession route for Detective William Sullivan, a 25-year member of the force, who passed away from COVID-19 on April 11.
