Welcome from Thaddeus Gray President, East Side House Settlement Board of Managers

President of the Board of Managers East Side House Settlement

Thaddeus Gray

On behalf of the East Side House Board of Managers, I proudly welcome you to the 67th Winter Show—the first ONLINE edition of this venerable show. We extend our deep appreciation to our partners and exhibitors for their ongoing support and enthusiasm and to you, our visitors.

While we are disappointed not to be able to greet you in person this year, we are excited to extend our reach beyond the walls of the Park Avenue Armory. We look forward to using this platform to further build visibility for The Winter Show—the only art, antiques, and design fair from which all net proceeds go towards philanthropy—and for the Show’s owner and beneficiary, East Side House.

Throughout its 130-year history, East Side House has provided its constituents with the critical tools needed to break out of cycles of poverty and help them establish economic and social opportunities for themselves and their families. With empathy and teamwork as foundational values, East Side House has been committed to its community, serving more than 10,000 residents of every age from the Bronx and northern Manhattan each year.

As president of the Board of Managers, I am most proud of how quickly and decisively East Side House has been able to pivot and grow its reach in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Over the past 10 months, East Side House has created the Harvest to Haven program to purchase surplus crops from farmers and distribute them to families in need. To date, over 960,000 pounds of food has been packaged and distributed to constituents in dire need, feeding over 185,000 people in communities served by East Side House. In addition, at-home learning kits and over 700 internetconnected tablets have been distributed to students and families in an effort to keep students learning remotely and mitigate the “digital divide.” Just as critically, East Side House continues to conduct friendly remote check-ins with students and families and senior citizens to fight against feelings of isolation, and to assess needs as they develop.

Thanks to your generous and loyal support, East Side House has achieved an amazing track record: 96% of early childhood East Side House students exceed New York State learning standards; 95% of high school graduates go on to college or other post-secondary institutions; and 300 East Side House “graduates” are placed in jobs each year. Incredible things can be accomplished when we come together as a community!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank The Winter Show Committee, led by board members Lucinda Ballard and Michael R. Lynch—as well as the hundreds of others involved—for their devotion throughout the past year. I would also like to congratulate our Show’s executive director, Helen Allen, Project Manager, Veronica Wu, and The Winter Show team, whose expertise have made this show come together seamlessly once again.

We trust you will enjoy this year’s show and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your critical support year after year.

Yours sincerely,

Thaddeus Gray President of the Board of Managers East Side House Settlement