This week, seven local nonprofit organizations announced the launch of the East End Fund for Children. Designed to meet the needs of the community’s most vulnerable during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the Fund for Children will help coordinate the efforts and build the capacity of these vital community partners through joint fundraising and collaborative programming.
The seven nonprofit organizations involved in the fund include the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreational Center, the Children’s Museum of the East End, the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center, i-Tri, Project MOST, The Retreat and the Southampton Youth Association
“These organizations have been a vital resource for thousands of children and families throughout the COVID pandemic,” said Dan Shedrick, who originally suggested the idea. “The East End Fund for Children will amplify the impact of their already great work.”
While charitable giving has begun to wane due to “pandemic fatigue,” the situation for local children remains dire. There continues to be food and housing insecurity, school absenteeism, and anxiety and mental illness among children. The situation is complicated even further by increased domestic violence, child abuse and substance abuse within distressed families.
“After learning that the need here on the East End remains unabated, I felt it was important to get involved with the fund,” Jill Davis said. “By providing essential food, mental health support, counseling, and educational and recreational programming, these organizations are more important than ever.”
The Children’s Museum of the East End is serving as fiduciary for the East End Fund for Children. All gifts are maintained in a dedicated banking account and are dispersed equally to the seven organizations minus credit card processing fees.
To learn more about the East End Fund for Children or to make a donation, visit cmee.org.
In an effort to combat inequity from the earliest days of a newborn’s life, it was announced today that Welcome Baby USA would commit to an ongoing partnership with the Southampton Hospital Foundation to benefit Stony Brook Southampton Hospital’s Kathleen D. Allen Maternity Unit. This partnership expands Welcome Baby’s reach on Long Island’s East End by delivering packages of essential items to at least 120 families over the next year.
Welcome Baby USA is a nonprofit organization providing low-income pregnant women with a package containing all of the essential items her newborn will need in the first month of life. The package includes 220 diapers, one month’s supply of wipes, thermometer, rash creams, baby carrier, grooming kit, clothing, swaddle blankets, pacifiers, and more.
“Our Kathleen D. Allen Maternity Unit is a state of the art, family centered unit which is designed to meet the individual needs of mothers and their families,” said Mirella Cameran-Reilly, the executive director of the Southampton Hospital Foundation. “In the past year, the number of babies born at our hospital increased to nearly 750. We have already presented our first ‘Welcome Baby’ package to a mother and her family; and the appreciation and gratitude was overwhelming.”
“Partnering with an institution like the Southampton Hospital Foundation is an absolute honor for us. We feel very connected to the East End community through previous work with the Children’s Museum of the East End, and this new partnership expands our reach and impact immensely. We are so grateful to be able to call the Southampton Hospital Foundation a partner,” said Sarah Steinhardt, co-founder of Welcome Baby USA.
For more information about the partnership, visit welcomebabyusa.org and southampton.stonybrookmedicine.edu.
The Pomeroy Fund for NYS History, a partnership between the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and Museum Association of New York (MANY), awarded an additional $50,000 to 14 history-related organizations to assist with urgent capital needs projects, including the Westhampton Beach Historical Society.
The Westhampton Beach Historical Society will complete access to the front entrance of its circa 1735 Foster-Meeker House, the oldest remaining structure in the community. Funding will allow the Historical Society to create a walkway and handrail for public accessibility that will make the structure a usable public space.
The historical society is one of 167 museums and historical societies that submitted applications to support projects such as window replacements, new HVAC systems, technology upgrades, roof repairs, and accessibility for people who use wheelchairs.
“This was an overwhelming response from history organizations, which underscores the incredible need that remains across New York State,” said Deryn Pomeroy, director for strategic initiatives at the Pomeroy Foundation. “Capital improvements are essential to help these important organizations reopen and stay open.”
“This round helped us see the vast challenges New York’s museums face in the wake of deferred maintenance, limited municipal investment in cultural properties, and the deep financial setbacks incurred through pandemic related revenue reductions,” said MANY Executive Director Erika Sanger.
27east on Apr 13, 2021