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Updated 29Jun07]
While we are not heavily endowed financially or consider ourselves serious philanthropists, we are affiliated through the following organizations either through our own charitable gifts, or through volunteer efforts over the years. We wish to bring further exposure and light, these groups which we consider at the core of fulfilling our mission: to help make the world a better place, one cause at a time.
American Red Cross
As regular Contributors to the American Red Cross over the years, it is the overall support offered by local and regional ARC shelters and the efforts of our neighbors that really helps communities pull through. While flooding and inclement weather wreak havoc in the immediate region, the ARC helps all, whether you need shelter for a night or food to get through the week. American Red Cross, Westchester Chapter.
Asia Society
Serving both as an intern followed by a stint in Public Relations to a NY Contributor in the Society Circle at Asia Society, I have had the pleasure of working for this institution in New York by founder, John D. Rockefeller, III. As a young teen, I served as an Honorary Page to his lordship John (Jay) D. Rockefeller, IV while in the West Virginia State Senate chamber, circa 1987 alongside Robert C. Byrd the then Majority Leader of the Senate. My initiation into the work force began at this organization under the tutelage of Beate Sirota Gordon, who took me in and has always offered her best mentoring skills to this young, impressionable always-a-student apprentice.
Rare works of Asian pottery, ceramics, silks and art dot the hallways of the administrative offices at the headquarters of TAS. Their recently renovated and expanded in-house galleries alone make it worth a trip, offering extended hours on Fridays, or perhaps join their Society Circle and be in-the-know before events become public. Become an Asia Society Friend today and watch your wealth of information expand globally. It is their mission of bridging global societies through culture, education and the arts that makes this unique organization among my top favorite causes.
Bedford Audubon Society
While the international Audubon Society boasts an incredible membership, the local chapter of the Bedford Audubon Society is an organization I feel under appreciated for their overall success of helping to maintain our local bird count and wildlife watches. I was introduced to this lovely group through our local newspaper the Record Review and give thanks to its former president, John Askildsen who helped bring me on board by offering to endeavor to continue the birdwatch at the Palmer Lewis Sanctuary, just around the corner. By maintaining a reliable bird count at the Palmer Lewis Sanctuary and its surrounding wetlands, we offer our support to TBAS and the necessity of their overall mission. Their quarterly newsletter gives a wonderful update to current projects and field guides.
Bedford Historical Society
Currently members of the Farmers Circle of the Bedford Historical Society, we support their projects throughout the years, including their annual membership/fund drive. Just one visit to the Village Green will take you back in time, so step into the old Historical Hall, Court House and the year 1680 can be relived and simulated well once you enter any of these structures in town.
Bedford Riding Lanes Association/BRLA
For over 7 years our support for the Bedford Riding Lanes Association/BRLA as non-riders continues, until let’s say we actually board horses at Coker Farm. Until then, we remain grateful to the overall work that the BRLA offers. We intend to open the trails behind us after some much needed landscaping. We shall await Richard Gere’s new equine haven, our new neighbor come Spring 2008, its scheduled opening.
Bide-A-Wee holds a special place in my heart given our connection to this New York City no-kill animal shelter. They have a satellite shelter in East Hampton and together, they make for the best last-resort for any unwanted, lost or handicapped pet. It is a haven serving all animal needs. A friend, indeed for life.
With the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and help of fellow Forbes’ billionaire, Warren Buffett together with their bottomless endowments – or so it seems – created a wonderful foundation to help combat hunger, starvation promoting education through their inoculations programs across the globe. It’s all relative: Poor in USA is “abundant and rich” in Sub-Sahara Africa or even Southeast Asia. Hunger in USA is probably skipping a meal for that current diet or fast, whereas “hunger” elsewhere literally means, one goes hungry. The BMG Foundation combats this all-in-one.
British Museum
While London continues to be a 2nd home – we’re not officially expatriates of the U.S. yet – our visits spanning over a decade, keep the British Museum an epitome of an art institution — the British Museum and its collection of relics from around the globe — still remain among our most favorite places on earth to visit and offer support through funding. Apart from the rest, even the Metropolitan Museum, the Louvre and other institutions simply cannot compare to its endowment and size. We support our favorite museum as Friends and hope to see its continued success, reaching many more generations to come. Updated 6Mar08.
Caramoor Center for Music & the Arts, our Lincoln Center of the Northern suburbs — a respite from indoor concerts to outdoor opera and picnics — it is the quintessential entertainment for summer in town. Try their “afternoon teas” during the winter and spring months, when the property is not entertaining hordes of concert-goers.
While Fidelity boasts its name to the Charitable Gift Fund, the actual share of gift giving and allocation of funds is actually left to the donor, YOU. You have the freedom to choose which, when, how often and among a group of foundations you wish to make charitable gifts, more like a “broker” of charity groups. Works for some, not others.
Citymeals-on-Wheels
As an undergrad and former project coordinator for Citymeals-on-Wheels, I’ve tried to continue my efforts of working from the downtown/NYU area soup kitchens, but after living part time in the city and ‘burbs, well, my efforts have been somewhat disappointing. l intend to return, however.
Consumer Reports offers something for everyone. Without this guide bible for “what to buy,” very few consumer groups, aside from this not-for-profit Consumers Union, offer the caliber and genue of information gathered in one place, either online (for subscribers) to the famous consumer magazine. Their famous last-page quibbles are enough to convince would-be donors to support their work, if not, laugh off wonderful flaws in consumer marketing products.
Cornell-Weill Center for Reproductive Medicine and InfertilityPersonally, we believe Sandy Weill and Citigroup are behemoths to start, but to offer increments of $250 million a pop/per hospital (wing) we couldn’t possibly match that, so we offer our simple affiliation to this group from the ground breaking work of its staff in their East side location and Mount Kisco satellite offices. Great work, great miracles every day!
Cross Cultural Solutions Despite some globetrekking of my own, I won’t try to pretend that I am well-versed in world cultures. I however, have both the intention and motivation to gain more insight into the very culture-rich traits of societies near and far from us. This is one of those organizations in the world that WILL and CAN make a world of difference, if their funding and resource list grows and expands with everyone’s help.
Do Something — Quite literally as evidenced through their mix of causes from homelessness, hunger, body image, et al. This is a master of causes under an umbrella which offers something for everyone. Take a look and find one, two as many as you like. It is the one-stop-shopping for charitable causes and groups to suit your any level of support.
Considering my immediate family ties and the exposure to such humanitarian aid in-house, Doctors Without Borders, offers true aid and medical treatment in regions of our world where geopolitical borders simply don’t exist and that is the goal of this group, one of my top, top causes. Aid is aid. Medical help saves lives. Doctors perform and save lives whether gov’t or geography stands in the way.
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
FINCA – Foundation for International Community Assistance
The Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll Garden offers a restful respite from the atypical suburban museum and art gallery. While unique, contemporary artists’ works adorn the gallery of THM, it is the manicured Japanese Stroll Garden complete with a center pond filled with Japanese koi and goldfish of course, that offers a quiet retreat in this corner of Northeastern Westchester. Their annual Asian Arts festival is an attempt to gather visitors, but as members, tis better to participate in more intimate involvements throughout the year, like their Moon or Shakespeare festival.
HART – Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, UK
ICP – International Center of Photography
Institute of Cancer Research, UK
Junior League of Northern Westchester, Bedford, NY Chapter
As Volunteers for their annual Holiday Sharing, we are apt to join this chapter-wide effort to help the neediest families of our immediate area. We are so fond of this particular charity event, we believe if all families “adopt-a-family,” one by one no family will ever experience another winter season empty-handed or worse, left with a doomed feeling that a community and family support group doesn’t exist, when in actuality, it is the Junior League – across most chapters – that offers the last hope for such families. Overall, another group I once joined – temporarily – with little commitment when my volunteer efforts were marginally appreciated when one must commit — during provisional membership — fixed hours and volunteer time, something that I cannot offer at this time.
Kykuit, Rockefeller Family Museum
National Portrait Gallery, London
Nature Conservancy, Eastern New York Chapter
Pierpont Morgan Library & Museum
Riverkeeper
Without family and friends to connect us, we join them in continuing the clean air, clean water efforts lead by Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s Riverkeeper organization and hope its growth continues as it grabs a firmer grip to the larger environmentally friendly groups of our time. River dredging and other efforts to help keep the Hudson River clean is only a small portion of this groups overall mission. Join one of their well-received functions and learn the impact we can make together.
Rubin Museum of Art
Himalyan art and culture mix well as presented here at the RMA located in the heart of Tribeca, but granted its first few floors exhibit are quite valuable to the fate of Himalyan and Central Asia arts, upper floors offer a modern appeal to visitors to suit all tastes. Support for the RMA continues, but with membership light thus far, much more can be contributed to its larger effort of bringing authentic culture to the heart of NY with rare works on view indeed.
United Nations
Familial ties to the United Nations begin with my paternal grand uncle, the former Director for the Economic Development Program in the Far East and commissioned member of the WHO/World Health Organization, based here at the U.N. headquarters in NY. During his tenure, he was sadly struck ill during one of his missions abroad and as a consequence was given the namesake of one of the resident research libraries bestowed upon him posthumously in his honor for his over 30 plus years of work. Our roots to the U.N. are seen today as our mission to educate and empower the poor of third-world countries throughout Asia, continues its fight with specific economic policies and programs benefitting the peoples of SE Asia — another bridge connecting cross-culturally from East-to-West — a mission we too shall all benefit at the continuation of the U.N.’s great affiliations and organizations with long-term effects seen today.
Westchester Land Trust
To live in this region, one must recognize the efforts and local support of WLT as our portion of land becomes more and more scarce. Eventually we shall donate a parcel — an easement of our land up to one acre from our lot — to the anti-development core that the WLT appeals. Without the easements of our neighbors and friends, Bedford and Pound Ridge today remain the densely wooded towns our metropolitan region desires.
Westmoreland Sanctuary
Sited above the I-684 between Bedford and New Castle, one cannot help but notice the quiet yet controlled appreciation and support that the Westmoreland Sanctuary offers visitors and supporters. It is part of a much larger biotic corridor which hastens to belong to the natural landscape and environs surrounding Byram Lake and wetlands. Some benefits throughout the year offer fundraising to help keep its grounds maintained, but like most not-for-profits, funding is usually granted sparingly.
Wolf Conservation Center
Active Contributors of the famous South Salem Wolf Conservation Center, one must visit this wolf sanctuary and education center to truly appreciate the “top-dog” of our local bio-environment, complete with howling sessions, compliments from the wolves themselves.
Last update: 18Mar08