In 2007 Elias Foundation supported the Westchester-based and Westchester-serving community organizations listed below. This year we expanded our granting pool from 14 to 23 organizations; continued to fund existing grantees doing critical work in the county with more robust assistance; and discovered new activists who are in the vanguard of social justice activism.
Anti-Racist Alliance of Westchester County / Fordham University
Bronx, NY $29,200
www.antiracistalliance.com
The Anti-Racist Alliance's implementation of four community forums on "Why are People Poor" and "The Color of Wealth" prepared social workers in Westchester County to effectively address issues of race and racism.
Center Lane / Westchester Jewish Community Services
White Plains, NY $13,000
www.wjcs.com/centerlane
This grant supported the Center Lane program "Project Pride for Yonkers Youth" to advance a more equitable and affirming environment within the community of Yonkers for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) youth.
CLUSTER, Inc.
Yonkers, NY $25,000
www.clusterinc.org
This support provided planning grants for two projects at CLUSTER: Youth Leaders and Advocates program focused on civic engagement for high performing youth, and Police/Youth Dialogue Project developed a curriculum that will promote better understanding between two critical groups in the troubled 4th Precinct of Yonkers.
Community Voices Heard
Project in Yonkers, NY $30,000
www.cvhaction.org
As a follow-up to our 2005 and 2006 research grants, which revealed the need for further community organizing capacity in Yonkers, this program grant established an office for an outreach worker in Yonkers to organize residents of Yonkers' low-income housing projects to advocate for their unmet needs.
Community Planning Council of Yonkers / 55Plus
Yonkers, NY $12,000
55plusyonkers.org
The Community Leadership Training Program of 55Plus created a targeted curriculum and conducted advocacy training for grassroots Senior leaders from Yonkers' Hispanic community.
Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill
Hyde Park, NY $10,000
www.ervk.org/glw
Three low income Westchester youth were able to participate in the Girls' Leadership Workshop - a program that promotes sisterhood and citizenship and prepares young women to become the next generation of human rights leaders.
Grandpower Advocates / Family Service Society of Yonkers
Yonkers, NY $20,000
www.fssy.org
2007 was the third year of support for a project that trains older Yonkers residents who are caring for their dependent grandchildren, yet receive few benefits to which non-relative caregivers are entitled.
Groundwork Yonkers
Yonkers, NY $30,000
www.groundworkyonkers.org
A grant for two interrelated initiatives, the Community Development Program helped community residents gain a voice in Yonkers' re-development plans; and ComNet, a neighborhood environmental justice project allowed Senior/Youth teams to collect data and advocate for the elimination of environmental hazards.
Hispanic Resource Center
Mamaroneck, NY $52,000
www.hrclm.org
HRC hired a full-time organizer from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network to teach organizational and leadership skills to Hispanic residents. An additional grant provided needed improvements to establish a new worker center at an African-American church in Mamaroneck.
Human Development Services of Westchester
Mamaroneck, NY $15,000
www.hdsw.org
The introduction of a Leadership Development and Community Building Pilot Program within a larger housing organization serves Port Chester's Latino community.
Jacob Burns Film Center
Pleasantville, NY $10,000
www.burnsfilmcenter.org
A pilot video journalism program provided incarcerated youth between the ages of 16 and 21 at the Westchester County Correctional Facility the opportunity to document their experiences.
National Committee of Grandparents for Children's Rights
Stony Brook, NY $5,000
www.grandparentsforchildren.org
Twenty scholarships allowed grandparent caregivers from Westchester County to attend the International Summit for Grandparent and Kinship Caregivers in NYC.
Neighbors Link
Mount Kisco, NY $20,000
www.neighborslink.org
A Worker Outreach and Leadership Development Program within this Mount Kisco community center served the needs of recent immigrants through education, empowerment and employment.
Parent leadership Institute / Ossining Union Free School District
Ossining, NY $30,000
www.ossiningufsd.org
The Parent Leadership Institute, an innovative program developed by the public school system, involved minority parents in the life of their children's schools through service leadership and social justice organizing.
Schools, Streets and Beyond / Thomas Slater Center
Mamaroneck, NY $5,000
www.schoolstreetsandbeyond.org
This White Plains-based mentoring and leadership development organization targets at-risk urban youth in secondary schools. The program seeks to cultivate successful scholars and responsible community leaders who value personal and academic growth.
SNAP! / Federated Conservationists of Westchester County
White Plains, NY $10,000
www.fcwc.org
This grant supported the Students for No Air Pollution (SNAP!) program. SNAP! educates students about air quality and provides them with the tools necessary to advocate for clean air in their communities.
WDFH / Hudson Valley Community Radio Inc.
Ossining, NY $15,000
www.wdfh.org
A general operating grant supported the signal expansion and ongoing operation of a lower Hudson River Valley non-commercial community radio station.
WESPAC Foundation
White Plains, NY $32,206
www.wespac.org
A matching grant funded WESPAC's continuing growth and efforts to promote peace and justice activism locally and in the broader community.
Westchester Hispanic Coalition
White Plains, NY $20,000
www.hispaniccoalition.org
This intermediary organization hired a community organizer to develop and implement grassroots advocacy networks and coordinate mobilization of Latino-serving agencies, volunteers and initiatives.
Westchester MLK Jr. Institute for Nonviolence
Mamaroneck, NY $10,000
A first year grant supported a youth project that seeks to expose young people to Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and philosophy, inspiring them to express their own ideas and values of non-violence through the medium of hip hop music.
WESTHAB
Mamaroneck, NY $13,100
www.westhab.org
The vibrant Elm Street Neighborhood Center's youth activism and community engagement project, an after-school teen initiative, trains and organizes youth in a low income Yonkers neighborhood.
Young People for the American Way (YP4)
New York, New York $25,000
www.youngpeoplefor.org
Through YP4's Fellows Program, the Community College Investment project expanded a network of young progressive leaders to work toward positive social change in Westchester County and Fellows' communities.
Youth Rights Media
New Haven, CT $10,000
www.youthrightsmedia.org
This New Haven youth empowerment organization will bring their youth organizing model to leaders and members of local Westchester youth groups. YRM's mission is to raise awareness of youth rights through self-created video documentaries.