78 holiday gifts were delivered in December to elderly residents at the Andrus on Hudson nursing home (down the street from our Hastings on Hudson, NY office) and to other struggling Hastings seniors thanks to some generous Rivertowns families! We received gift wish-lists for seniors at the nursing home who have either no family, or no local family, along with wish-lists for struggling seniors in our town, and reached out to our community for help with gifts! In no time our office was filled with presents and cards for each of them.

We made it! Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to provide turkeys and other Thanksgiving foods, or grocery gift cards for Thanksgiving foods, to all 919 families in our program this year.

A huge thank you to the girl scouts in Troop 2606 in Irvington, N.Y. for helping make the holidays happen for a family in need! These 4th graders made bracelets and baskets to sell at their local “Turkey Trot” running event, with the proceeds going towards the purchase of toys and games on the Christmas wish lists of four siblings (and their mom) in Orlando, Florida. Happy Holidays made truly happy!

Shop for one (or more!) brand-new, never-worn winter hat and matching gloves for a child between the ages of 5 and 18. We’ll give them to our partners in Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, and Mamaroneck for our youngest neighbors in need! Email moreinfo@family-to-family.org for details.

Thanks to our generous local donors, dozens of new backpacks, lunch bags and school supplies poured into our Hastings on Hudson, N.Y. office last month! Before school started, they were distributed to parents struggling to get by in Hastings, Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley to give to their kids. Our goal is to ease the burden of costly back-to-school shopping for our neighbors in need!

Help provide a “pool bag” for one Rivertowns child in need, so she/he can go to day camp in style this summer! Fill one drawstring bag with a brand new beach towel, a refillable water bottle, and sunscreen. Email moreinfo@family-to-family.org for details.

A big thank you to all the kids at Hillside Elementary School in Hastings on Hudson, NY for collecting hundreds of full sized personal care products for local families in need! Students in each grade (kindergarten through 4th grade) brought in an assigned item, and then the kids assembled 50 zip-lock bags — each one filled with a shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, soap and shaving cream. Half the finished bags were donated to the Hastings food pantry, and the other half to the Dobbs Ferry food pantry. It takes a village!