Church Assists Community Nonprofits Through its Thrift Shop Sales

Nonprofit organizations would have trouble performing the work they do without the generosity of so many in their communities.

Last week, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Armonk gave seven esteemed Westchester nonprofits a heartfelt thanks by presenting donations totaling just over $60,000 from proceeds of sales at its 56-year-old thrift shop Treasures.

The varied set of organizations that reaped the rewards were Emergency Shelter Partnership, Hope’s Door, Neighbors Link, ReSET Westchester, the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison and Hudson Valley Honor Flight.

“It’s imperative for us to have you here and recognize you, but it’s also important what you do and how you each touch each other in different ways in the work you do,” Lena Cavanna, head of mission outreach at St. Stepehen’s, said during last Tuesday’s annual reception to present donations to the organizations. “We’re all helping people in our community and for that you should be applauded.”

Each of the organizations fill a different need, although there is some overlap. The week-to-week impact of the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry has been growing since the start of the pandemic, said Trina Fontaine, the pantry’s executive director.

In 2019, 300 households per week arrived at the United Methodist Church on Main Street where the pantry, which was established in 1991, is located.

But a temporary spike in unemployment during the pandemic followed by inflationary pressures, and the need for families to receive assistance to put food on their table has jumped precipitously.

Through the height of the pandemic, 475 households a week visited the pantry, Fontaine said. The weekly average grew to 633 last year, and in the first quarter of this year exploded to 722 families, although that number has started to recede so far in the second quarter, she said.

Last year, 830,000 pounds of food were distributed by the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry. Every donation, whether it’s food or money, helps the pantry feed people.

“We’re a little concerned about the increase, and it’s been challenging because food prices have been going up in addition to the number of people coming through,” Fontaine said.

The goal of ReSET, which helps newly-arrived refugees settle in Westchester, is to have the families who need its services become self-sufficient within a year, said its treasurer, Adam Barnett. Assistance comes usually in the form of housing, but it could be for other needs, such as help with purchasing a car so a parent can get to work or making them aware of other community services.

“Our goal is to help give them a better life, and be on their own to do it,” Barnett said.

Another organization to benefit from last week’s donations, Hudson Link for Higher Education, assists people in six minimum- and maximum-security prisons across the state earn college degrees, including Sing Sing in Ossining.

Sean Pica, the outfit’s executive director, certainly knows the benefit of a second chance. At 16, Pica was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but came out with a college degree, the first in his family to do so.

Since Hudson Link was established, 688 former prisoners have earned their degrees, and with that a second chance in life.

“It’s just an incredible gift to see folks flourish that were never supposed to flourish,” Pica said.

Providing aging veterans the opportunity to see the sites in and around Washington, D.C is the mission of Hudson Valley Honor Flight. Operating out of Westchester County Airport, three or four flights a year are scheduled at no cost to the veteran, despite each flight costing about $140,000, said Mary Edwards, the organization’s veteran coordinator.

On Saturday, 66 more veterans, most of them having fought in Vietnam, will board a plane and enjoy each other’s company. There will also be one World War II veteran on the trip.

“I’ve had 78-year-olds and 83-year-olds and a 95-year-old at the end of the day tell me, after they’ve been to hell and back, this was the best day of my life being honored,” Edwards said. “So we know what we’re doing and the support that we get from St. Stephen’s makes it all worthwhile.”

Rev. Garrett Mettler, the rector at St. Stephen’s, said while Treasures Thrift Shop may be a repository for donated goods that people no longer want, and a place for bargains for shoppers, but it is improving the lives of others, including its volunteers.

“It’s all human connection that’s facilitated by stuff, and that really is a joy, to be able to gather for that reason,” Mettler said.

Treasures Thrift Shop is open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s located in the basement of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church located at 50 Bedford Rd. in Armonk. For more information, visit www.treasuresthriftshop.org.