Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation Presents Checks to 16 Charities and Non-Profit Groups

Mary Prenon | January 6, 2017

From left, Kristine DiFrancesco, HGAR staff; Bonnie Koff, HG Realtor Foundation Trustee; Ellen Lynch, CEO The Food Bank for Westchester and Drew Kessler, HG Realtor Foundation Trustee.
From left, Drew Kessler, HG Realtor Foundation Trustee, Cathleen Stack, HGAR Director of Marketing, Eileen Barrett, Hudson Gateway MLS Secretary; Kristin Dionne, Green Chimneys Director of Development, and Joe Whalen, Green Chimneys Executive Director. Based in Brewster, Green Chimneys is recognized as a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and educational activities for children with special needs.
From left, Drew Kessler, HG Realtor Foundation Trustee, Cathleen Stack, HGAR Director of Marketing, Eileen Barrett, Hudson Gateway MLS Secretary; Kristin Dionne, Green Chimneys Director of Development, and Joe Whalen, Green Chimneys Executive Director. Based in Brewster, Green Chimneys is recognized as a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and educational activities for children with special needs.

WHITE PLAINS—The Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation, the charitable arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, recently presented more than $38,000 in checks to 16 charitable and non-profit organizations throughout the Hudson Valley.

“As Realtors, we are so pleased to be able to give back to the local communities where we make our living,” said Linda Crispinelli, president of the Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation Board of Trustees. “Our goal is to continue to strengthen the foundations of these communities and offer support to those living there who may be in need.”

Checks were presented to the following groups:

Association for the Visually Impaired, Spring Valley

Children’s Village, Dobbs Ferry

Community Capital of New York, Hawthorne

Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, Carmel

Friends of Karen, North Salem

Furniture Sharehouse, White Plains

Green Chimneys, Brewster

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, Inc., Newburgh

Hi-Tor Animal Shelter, Pomona

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, White Plains

People-to-People, Nanuet

SPCA of Westchester, Briarcliff Manor

Support Connection, Inc., Yorktown Heights

The Food Bank for Westchester, Elmsford

Volunteer New York, Tarrytown

White Plains Business Improvement District, White Plains

Among the most recent awardees included The Food Bank for Westchester, which has led the fight against hunger in Westchester County for more than 25 years and serves more than 200,000 Westchester residents annually. The organization received a $5,000 donation from the HG Realtor Foundation.

“We value the wonderful partnership we have with the Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation. I think our area is lucky to have Realtors who are truly concerned about the quality of life experienced by everyone in the communities where they work and live,” said Ellen Lynch, president and CEO, of The Food Bank for Westchester.

From left, Richard Haggerty, HGAR CEO; Ann Garti, HGAR COO; Kim Jacobs, executive director, Community Capital New York; Ron Garafalo and Cindy Schweizer, HGAR Board members present check to Community Capital outside of a property slated for rehab in the City of Newburgh.
From left, Richard Haggerty, HGAR CEO; Ann Garti, HGAR COO; Kim Jacobs, executive director, Community Capital New York; Ron Garafalo and Cindy Schweizer, HGAR Board members present check to Community Capital outside of a property slated for rehab in the City of Newburgh.

Another award recipient was Community Capital New York, a not-for-profit community development loan fund that serves eight counties in the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, CT, which received a $5,000 donation.   “Community Capital is very grateful to the Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation for this grant which will allow us to continue our work in the City of Newburgh,” said Kim Jacobs, executive director of Community Capital. “We have been working to overcome the challenge of lead and asbestos contamination in homes in the city.”

From left, Harding Mason, HG Realtor Foundation Trustee; Barbara Cevoni, director of services and communication, Support Connection; Katherine Quinn, executive director, Support Connection; and Lin Crispinelli, president, HG Realtor Foundation. Based in Yorktown Heights, the organization provides emotional, social and educational support to women, their families and friends affected by breast and ovarian cancer.
From left, Harding Mason, HG Realtor Foundation Trustee; Barbara Cevoni, director of services and communication, Support Connection; Katherine Quinn, executive director, Support Connection; and Lin Crispinelli, president, HG Realtor Foundation. Based in Yorktown Heights, the organization provides emotional, social and educational support to women, their families and friends affected by breast and ovarian cancer.

Established in 2004 and re-launched in 2013, the foundation has donated thousands of dollars to charities and non-profits throughout the Hudson Valley.  As concerned members of the communities they work in, the Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation participates in qualified community-based charities that serve the housing, hunger, health, happiness, and humane needs of citizens everywhere.

To apply for funding from the Hudson Gateway Realtor Foundation, please visit our website at:

www.hgrealtorfoundation.com.

 

Mary Prenon
HGAR, Director of Communications