Neighbors Helping Neighbors

As the holidays approached this year, Nancy Evans, Executive Assistant to Glenn Close, and her colleague, Allison Palermo, decided that instead of exchanging gifts with each other as they had always done, they would look for a way to bring the joy of giving and receiving to others by donating to a local charity. On hearing of their plan, Glenn immediately suggested that, instead of donating to a charity, their Team find a way to “adopt” a family in the community, giving to them directly, as Nancy remarked, neighbors helping neighbors.

Nancy contacted the Community Center of Northern Westchester, knowing we are a non-profit dedicated to improving the well-being of people in our community by providing them with food, clothing, and educational programs that teach skills leading to self-sufficiency. She shared the Team’s idea, and asked if there was one Center family who could benefit the most from their donation. When Nancy learned how many families were experiencing difficult times, and shared that with Allison and Glenn, they decided to invite others they know to join in so they could assist more than one family.

Nancy, Allison and Glenn began reaching out to friends, family, neighbors, business owners and local celebrities, asking them to donate to create a special holiday for seven families. The neighbors helping neighbors team and friends raised over $3,000. Families shared their wish lists with Nancy and Allison, and fellow Team member Cody Theusen, who branched out to several retail shops, such as Target, Kohl’s and TJ Maxx. When they arrived at TJ Maxx, they met with the manager, who called on four salespeople to help them with their quest, and the spirit of giving quickly took over as the group set out to find items on the lists. Thanks to the efforts of those dedicated workers at TJ Maxx, the wish lists of all the families were completely filled, and there was money left over. With the funds, the Team purchased gift cards for each of the families.

Gift cards turned out to be a good choice. One father stopped by the Center later in the week to drop off a thank you card, and shared his personal story. He was so moved when Nancy, Allison and Glenn brought the gifts to him and others, but he left the gathering feeling a mix of gratitude for his neighbors’ generosity, and concern for his family, as he only had $20 in his pocket to last through the holidays. When he got home and opened the holiday card they had given him, he was surprised and overjoyed to find a gift card he could use to keep their holiday bright.

Thanks to Glenn, Nancy, Allison, Cody and the local businesses, celebrities and neighbors who donated, seven of our families were able to have a holiday that they never thought they would be able to have, full of gifts and the feeling of love and support from the local community. The neighbors helping neighbors team hopes to reach even more families next year.

The Community Center of Northern Westchester is open from 10AM to 4PM, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 12PM to 6PM on Thursdays and 10AM to 1PM on Saturdays.

Neighbors who joined in to brighten our families’ holidays included: Adrienne Gurman, Allison Palmero, Cathy Shaffer, Cody and Keith Theusen, Dr. Gene Goetz ,Glenn Close, Jessica DeAlto, Judy Singer, Karen Pratt and Liz Hirsch, Marc and Judy Chamlin, Mary Dowdle, Nancy Evans, Pennington Grey Landscape Contracting, Robert Kessler, SH Window Cleaning LLC, Tara Becker, The Paint Box of Bedford Hills.