Dear Hastings Community,

Your support of the Hastings Youth Council has been transformative and we want to share the impact your generosity had on our 2023 year.  Thanks to your contributions of time, money, and goods, we’ve been able to provide citizens of Hastings with a safety net by closing the gaps in resources and opportunities for children and families alike.  

Here are some of the achievements your support made possible:

We addressed critical infrastructure weaknesses to ensure that we can continue to meet  needs in our community.  

    • Through the generous support of architects and designers Kenji Greene, Zoe Mallaillos, and Molly Roberts  and California Closets, we improved our physical infrastructure so that the lower level meeting room can efficiently store groceries for the Food Pantry, while allowing the meeting room to be used for its original purpose.  

    • We increased our refrigeration capacity, allowing us to store perishables for the Food Pantry through generous equipment donations by DiRiso and Bloomy Cheese and Provisions.  

    • Through the generous support of Friends of the Youth Council, we replaced our aging and frequently broken Safe Rides vehicle with a state of the art plug-in hybrid minivan so that we can continue to provide the teens of Hastings with safe rides home on weekend nights.    

    • We joined Feeding Westchester to keep our shelves stocked with healthy staples, while keeping our costs down.  

      We deepened our community relationships.

    • The Hastings Farmers Market has been a consistent and compassionate supporter of the Food Pantry through their financial support and fresh food donations.  To support the over 100 families who use the Food Pantry’s services, the Market increased its regular donations of apples and eggs.  It also restarted community donations through a monthly “gleaning basket” and purchases of meat and produce.  

    • To support the Food Pantry, The Hastings Yellow Jackets Booster Club, Hastings Student-Athletes, and the Theater Department collect food and clothing during their events.  

    • We’ve developed a team of community volunteers who manage logistics, unpack flats of groceries, donate gift cards, and raise money to support the Food Pantry and Help-a-Child. 

      We’ve maintained and developed community programs.

    • Kids Involved Doing Service (KIDS) has expanded to over 25 high school students on the executive board.  These student board members initiate and manage projects that serve our community through fundraising and direct service.  

    • Help-a-Child connects families with anonymous donors who provide financial help throughout the year.  

    • Our emergency fund helps families face financial emergencies with less stress and fear.   

We rely on the fundraising of the Friends of the Hastings Youth Council (https://www.friendsofhyc.com) to financially support our programming. We appreciate all of you who routinely donate money to its annual drive and who support the organization’s innovative fundraising, such as Kids Night Out and Rivertown Thrift.  Your help and generous contributions help to level the playing field and we thank all of you mentioned here and all of you who contribute in other ways. Your support is a testament to the community-minded spirit of Hastings-on-Hudson.  

There are many ways to get involved with the Hastings Youth Council.  If you’re interested in volunteering or have an idea about how we can collaborate with an organization you work with, email hohyouthcouncil@gmail.com.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Lori Walsh, Chair

Matthew Wilson, Treasurer

Laura Heisler Mitton, Secretary

Sarah Epps, Food Pantry Coordinator

Lauren Aaronson

Mary Esther Malloy

Marie-Louise Miller