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THE ART$WCHALLENGE, A PUBLIC/PRIVATE MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM

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LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

Grant For Domestic Violence Survivors

Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the Westchester County Board of Legislators recently joined with ArtsWestchester to announce that 102 Westchester arts organizations are the recipients of matching funds from the Art$WChallenge grant program.

In what has been a record-breaking year, participating arts organizations raised $786,541 in new private funds from 1,320 donors through the program, which ended Dec. 31. These private funds were matched with $501,571 in Westchester

County support, providing in total $1.28 million in financial support for the arts community at a critical time when arts groups are working to build back arts audiences lost during the pandemic.

County Executive George Latimer said, “Since the inception of the Art$WChallenge in 2007, this powerful public/ private program has raised over $6 million to support Westchester’s arts and cultural sector, matched with more than $3 million in county support. The county’s arts community has weathered a difficult

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few years. In fact, there has never been a more important time to help the arts make a comeback with broad and enthusiastic support than now.”

Grantees included arts organizations in every corner of Westchester.

Janet T. Langsam, CEO of ArtsWestchester said: “…With the cultural sector generating more than $172 million in economic activity pre-pandemic, this vital community investment will help us in our effort to ensure Westchester’s cultural infrastructure for the future.”

Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CHHOP) has been awarded a one-year $50,000 grant from the Westchester Community Foundation for its Rehousing in Supportive Environments (RISE) program in collaboration with My Sisters’ Place and Lifting Up Westchester. This one-year grant will support CHHOP and its RISE program partners to provide comprehensive services to survivors of domestic violence enrolled in transitional housing as they rebuild their lives. This grant was made possible in part by the Westchester Community Foundation, a division of The New York Community Trust.

Cynthia Knox, CHHOP CEO, said, “Domestic violence can affect anyone, so it is essential to have services for survivors and their families who are most vulnerable. This grant will enable us and our partners to help domestic violence survivors and their families move forward from their trauma as they rebuild their lives and start anew.”

The $50,000 grant from the Westchester Community Foundation will allow CHHOP and its partners to provide housing and supportive services to households affected by domestic violence, secure “rapid rehousing” for new households coming into the RISE program, offer ongoing trauma-informed counseling and legal services, connect survivors with appropriate training for work skills and job readiness, and assist them with job searches.

CHHOP works to alleviate hunger and homelessness in Peekskill and the surrounding community by providing temporary housing, long-term housing, advocacy and clinical and support services to veterans, domestic violence survivors and chronically homeless men and women. In addition, CHHOP also provides healthy and nutritious food through Fred’s Pantry, supporting those who are hungry and facing food insecurity.

Raising Awareness About Global Displacement

Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains has launched Burke TheraDogs, a canine therapy program to support patients and staff members partnering with The Good Dog Foundation, a notfor-profit organization that trains and provides therapy dogs for health care, social service and educational facilities in the tri-state area and beyond.

Volunteers and their four-legged friends visit Burke two to three times a week. Echo and Nala, two black Labradors, assist patients in their rehabilitative journey while staff members also find respite in the weekly encounters.

“We are so excited to offer this program to patients and colleagues as we are dealing with challenging situations and living through trying times,” said Burke’s Director of Volunteers Robin Goldberg. “The Patient Experience Department instituted this program to support both our patients and staff. There is nothing better than seeing a friendly and sweet therapy dog lifting up the spirits of a patient or staff member.”

Since its inception in 1998, The Good

Dog Foundation has had a singular mission. Carly Goteiner, The Good Dog Foundation director of community engagement, said, “Using animal assisted intervention, we enhance human healing and learning. The Good Dog Foundation works with exceptional dogs and handlers to achieve this goal. The owners and their dogs are highly trained and certified to work as a team and enrich the lives of each person they meet during each encounter.”

Burke TheraDogs looks to expand in the future with additional dogs and owners. Anyone interested in the program should contact Robin Goldberg at rgoldberg@burke.org

Westchester Jewish Coalition for Immigration (WJCI), a humanitarian organization that provides critical support for forcibly displaced people, was a regional sponsor of the recent fifth annual Refugee Shabbat, powered by WJCI’s partner HIAS.

Refugee Shabbat is an initiative that encourages Jewish congregations, community organizations and individuals across the United States and around the world to dedicate a Shabbat experience to raising awareness about the global displacement crisis, reaffirming support for refugees and asylum seekers and taking action at a time when the right to seek asylum is being severely abridged in the U.S. and around the world.

WJCI is supported by UJA-Federation of New York, a key partner in mobilizing the Westchester community, the Jewish Federation of North America and The Shapiro Foundation.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, WJCI has served as an anchor for Ukrainians moving to this region and has helped operate and motivate volunteers to step up to help. Its vital partners have done the same. UJA-Federation of New York has provided more than $22.1 million in emergency funding worldwide, which includes funding to address the urgent needs of refugees in Ukraine, Europe, Israel and New York. With the support of The Shapiro Foundation, the Jewish Federation of North America launched a $1million Ukrainian Resettlement Grant Initiative to resettle and support Ukrainian refugees seeking safety in the U.S. Open Arms for Refugees has also provided a 25K grant toward WJCI’s Ukrainian resettlement initiative. These funds have enabled WJCI to widen its net considerably to help Ukrainian refugees by creating Welcome Circles throughout the region.

WJCI is an entirely volunteer-run, nonpartisan organization that envisions the United States as a place where refugees, asylum seekers and all other immigrants can live safely and in dignity.

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