Family-to-Family

Share Your Bounty

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

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: 
JoAnn Reed
Youth Council Director, Village of Hastings-on-Hudson

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Situated next door to the town where Family-to-Family started, Dobbs Ferry is a small New York village of 11,000 people that sits alongside the Hudson River, just north of New York City.

While much of Dobbs Ferry is a well-to-do bedroom suburb of Manhattan, about 600 moms, dads, kids, and seniors here live in profound poverty.

Local residents in the area sign up with us to provide Stop & Shop grocery gift cards for these Dobbs families in need, either by making a monthly donation to Family-to-Family that we use to purchase a grocery card, or by buying it themselves and dropping it at our office. Cards are distributed to the families each month through SPRING Community Partners, our Dobbs Ferry partner organization.

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, to respect everyone’s privacy, since they may know each other. Each family in need is identified only by an alphabet letter. That means, for example, a sponsor will purchase a grocery gift card and put it in an envelope labeled “For Family S.”

And although we keep it anonymous, families are still sometimes finding a way to communicate… by sending a card or note with no names.

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. 2022 Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, in Whitney:

  • A quarter of children under 18 live below the federal poverty line
  • 19.3% of households have annual income of under $25,000
  • 39.9% of residents are unemployed

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, 2022

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Just 20 minutes north of Birmingham, the town of Brookside (population 1,363) is a small pocket of nature and beauty next to the big city. The town sits on six square miles along the bank of Five Mile Creek, hence the name Brookside. A former mining town, it grew up around the Brookside Coal Mine, which opened in 1886. Original settlers were eastern European immigrants who flocked there in order to work in the mines. When the mines closed in the 1920s, Brookside saw economic troubles that have persisted ever since.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2021-2022:

  • 28% of Brookside children lived below the federal poverty line
  • 20.4% of people were uninsured

Family-to-Family’s contact in Brookside is Kara Miller of the Boys and Girls Club of Brookside.  The club provides extensive after-school programs, including homework help and tutoring.  When the school year is over, the club runs summer programs to keep area kids busy, healthy, fit, and happy.

A large number of the children served by the Brookside Boys and Girls Club live in poverty, with an estimated 80% qualifying for free lunch at school.  Many are being raised by single mothers or grandparents, and live in public housing.

In Brookside, we work with the local Publix Super Market to provide monthly groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Liaison:
Kara Miller
Brookside Boys & Girls Club
4199 Municipal Drive
Brookside, AL 35036

Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

First a center for colonists fighting the British in the Revolutionary War, and later a thriving manufacturing hub, the city of Worcester has been an important and symbolic site of America’s heritage for over 200 years. Like many New England cities, Worcester’s economy collapsed after the decline of U.S. manufacturing between 1950 and 1980, and although healthcare and biotechnology companies were brought in to expand the job base, poverty is still widespread.

Data: 2022 U.S. Census Bureau’s American

  • 37.6% of residents are unemployed
  • 31% of households have an income of under $35,000

Family-to-Family’s partner in Worcester is the Green Island Neighborhood Center.  Green Island houses a food pantry and after-school program as well as helps area residents with issues relating to food stamps, housing, employment and health services. Green Islands’ Program Director, Elizabeth Lopez and her staff identify and recommend families in need to our sponsorship program.

Sponsored families are provided with a monthly grocery store gift card to a local store, which is distributed to them at the Green Island Center.

Community Partner:
Elizabeth Lopez
Green Island Neighborhood Center
50 Canton St
Worcester, MA 01610

Data: U.S. Census Bureau Community Survey

Read more about Worcester’s hunger problem below.

1. “Hunger pains: Winter adds challenges to feeding those in need in Central Mass”

2. What Happened to Worcester?

3. Worcester on the Rise – Along with Poverty


Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!