Family-to-Family

Share Your Bounty

Home to the once infamous maximum security prison known as Sing Sing, the town of Ossining sits alongside New York’s Hudson River just 17 miles north of Family-to-Family’s headquarters.

With a population of over 38,000, Ossining is an ethnically diverse community where 35% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino; 30% percent are recent immigrants to the U.S. and 41% of households speak a language other than English in the home. Many families also struggle with low literacy levels.

  • 54% of children in Ossining are eligible for and receive free or reduced lunch at school, with enrollment rising.
  • 42% of children live in households that are either low-income or below the federal poverty line
  • Over 15% of all families have an annual income under $35,000, money that doesn’t go far enough in a town where the cost of living is 30% higher than the national average (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

In response to the needs of the community, the Ossining School District has sought to redefine the role of the schools in order to bridge gaps in community services and meet the needs of students and families who are increasingly relying on the schools for support. The district has been innovative in its efforts to raise awareness of poverty in the community, including through the introduction of a “simulated poverty experience” designed to raise awareness of and empathy towards issues of food scarcity and poverty among the student body and parents.

To help combat hunger there, Family-to-Family works with the Ossining School District, which identifies families in need for our family sponsorship program. Ossining sponsored families receive a monthly grocery gift card to the local Stop & Shop supermarket where they can shop for what they most need.

Data Sources:
US Census Bureau, Community Survey 2016-2017
Ossining Educators Participate in Poverty Simulation Experience 
Ossining Community Snapshot 

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Bordering New York City to the south and the Hudson River on the west, Yonkers is often called New York’s “Sixth Borough.” With a population of 185,000, Yonkers is a divided city – the middle class mainly lives on the city’s east side and low income families mainly on the city’s urban, west side.

The highest level of poverty is focused in southwest Yonkers, where Family-to-Family’s partner organization, Westhab, Inc. is located. Westhab is a poverty outreach organization dedicated to alleviating homelessness and providing those in need with affordable housing.

Rent in Yonkers is expensive; median housing costs are well over $1,000 dollars per month, and the city has had a troubled past with affordable housing. For the thousands of families living in poverty, the city’s high cost of living presents a constant struggle.

According to the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey, in Yonkers:

  • 23% of households earn less than $25,000 per year
  • 17% of adults over 25 do not have a high school diploma
  • 25% of children under 18 live below the poverty line

Family-to-Family receives referrals of families in need of help for our Sponsor A Family program from Westhab’s Theresa Colyar, who is also working with F-to-F to expand our Sponsor A Family program across Westchester County. Because of its proximity to F-to-F headquarters in Hastings on Hudson (less than 5 miles away), Westhab is also a regular recipient of gently used clothing donations from Family-to-Family.

In Yonkers, Family-to-Family provides sponsored families with monthly grocery gift cards to a local Stop & Shop store.

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Community Contact
Theresa Colyar
Westhab, Inc.
8 Bashford Street
Yonkers, New York 10701

Learn more about poverty in Yonkers:

The Painful Lessons of the Yonkers Housing Crisis

The Front Lines: Poverty and Homelessness in Southwest Yonkers

One of the five boroughs of New York City, Staten Island is a mix of well kept suburban houses and low income housing complexes. Poverty rates have risen steadily here over the last 20 years: in 1989 the U.S. Census Bureau found 6.5% of residents lived under the poverty level; in 2000, 8.9%, in 2010, 11%.

According to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey, in Staten Island:

  • 17.9% of households have an annual income of less than $25,000
  • 34.9% of single mothers and single women with children live in poverty

Family-to-Family’s contact and partner on Staten Island is the Christian Pentecostal Church (CPC) and its pastor, John Rocco Carlo. The church operates a food pantry in addition to offering shelter, housing resources and counseling to those in need.

When Super storm Sandy hit the Northeast in October 2012, Staten Island suffered incredible devastation. Homes and businesses were destroyed, leaving thousands displaced – including many of the CPC’s parishioners. Two days after the storm Pastor Carlo started a massive grass roots relief effort.

Along with 3 other area churches, the CPC organized a makeshift disaster relief depot of sorts – enabling community organizers across Staten Island to pick up and distribute basic necessities (food, blankets, warm clothing, etc.) to those displaced by Sandy. These early efforts quickly grew into a major resource hub for Staten Island residents who were only beginning to realize just how arduous the process of recovery would be.

According to the Pastor, the most common issue is the challenging question of how to rebuild. The cost of flood insurance has skyrocketed in the post-Sandy months, making the dream of rebuilding businesses and restoring jobs seem unattainable. Many in this community were left both homeless and jobless in Sandy’s wake and must make difficult decisions about how best to move forward.

This is a community of resilient and hardworking people – many of whom were struggling even before their homes and workplaces were damaged or destroyed. Family-to-Family’s efforts to support Staten Island residents include both one-to-one family hunger relief sponsorships and one-to-one hurricane adoptions.

In Staten Island, Family-to-Family partners with The Food Bank of New York to provide groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Partner:
Rev. John Rocco Carlo
Christian Pentecostal Church
900 Richmond Rd.
Staten Island, N.Y. 10304

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

The town where Family-to-Family started, and the home of Family-to-Family founder Pam Koner is a small village of 8,000 people located alongside the Hudson River in New York.

While much of Hastings is a well-to-do bedroom suburb of Manhattan, there are pockets of poverty here, and the economic downturn and job losses have drastically affected families that were previously managing to just scrape by. 

When Pam Koner learned from community leaders that these families needed help, she reached out to other F-to-F Hastings families, who quickly pitched in to shop for and pack monthly food boxes. 

Unlike in the other communities served by F-to-F, in Hastings the names of both the donors and the families in need are kept anonymous, since it’s a small town and people are likely to know each other. Each family in need is identified only by an alphabet letter. 

So, for example, a food box labeled for “Family G” is delivered to the town recreation center each month, where the recipient family can pick it up in privacy. And although we keep it anonymous, families are still finding a way to communicate… by sending notes back and forth with no names.

In Hastings-on-Hudson, Family-to-Family partners with local residents of the community to provide groceries for our sponsored families. Volunteer shoppers provide groceries and gift cards each month.

Community Contact: 
Donny Waterous
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Located next door to the town where Family-to-Family started, Dobbs Ferry is a small village of 11,000 people located alongside the Hudson River in New York.

While much of Dobbs Ferry is a well-to-do bedroom suburb of Manhattan, there are pockets of poverty here, and the economic downturn and job losses have drastically affected families that were previously managing to just scrape by.

When Pam Koner learned from community leaders that these families needed help, she reached out to other local families, who quickly pitched in to shop for and pack monthly food boxes.

Unlike in the other communities served by F-to-F, in Dobbs Ferry the names of both the donors and the families in need are kept anonymous, since it’s a small town and people are likely to know each other. Each family in need is identified only by an alphabet letter.

So, for example, a food box labeled for “Family G” is delivered to the town recreation center each month, where the recipient family can pick it up in privacy. And although we keep it anonymous, families are still finding a way to communicate… by sending notes back and forth with no names.

In Dobbs Ferry, local residents of the community provide groceries for our sponsored families. These “volunteer shoppers” provide groceries and gift cards each month, which are distributed through our partner outreach organization, SPRING.

 

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Formerly known as East Las Vegas, the town of Whitney is just a 20 minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip.  Not long ago, the area boasted a robust economy thanks to abundant jobs in Las Vegas, but during the recent economic downturn the tourism industry was hit hard and those jobs dried up.  Especially for the 18.4% of adults without high school diplomas, making a living has never been harder.  Since the early 2000’s, Whitney has seen its poverty rate climb by nearly 50%, while its population has more than doubled.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, in Whitney:

  • 19.6% of households have an annual income of less than $25,000
  • 21% of families with children live below the poverty line
  • 18.4% of people over 25 never finished high school
  • 81.2% of people over 25 don’t have a college degree

Family-to-Family’s community partner here is the Whitney Elementary School, where school officials witness the poverty their students face every day.  An administrator tells us, “Most families have limited or no income at all. They live in government housing and 80% of the children are receiving free lunches. At our school, we try to provide clothes, shoes, and food to help the kids feel good about themselves, so they can learn.”

In Whitney, Family-to-Family partners with Albertson’s grocery store to provide groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Contact:
Sherrie Gahn
5005 Keenan Avenue
LasVegas, NV 89122-7461

Click here to watch a CBS News piece about how families at Whitney Elementary School are struggling to overcome poverty.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2008-2012

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!