NewsroomCelebrating The Tarrytown Club — Supporters Gather at Sleepy Hollow Country Club to Show Support for Tarrytown Center.Mount Kisco and Tarrytown, NY (February 22, 2007) — More than 100 Club Board members and staff, local officials, and Club supporters recently gathered at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, NY for a reception to celebrate the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester's Tarrytown Center.
Laureen Barber, Club Board member and Chair, Tarrytown Advisory Board, welcomed guests and thanked the Club's many supporters that have been instrumental in reopening the Tarrytown site. Those receiving special recognition included Drew Fixell, Mayor of Tarrytown; Philip Zegarelli, Mayor of Sleepy Hollow; and Westchester County Executive Andrew J. Spano (Susan Tolchin, Chief Advisor to the County Executive, represented the County in Spano's absence). The program also featured 16-year old Club member Melissa Melendez's personal account of what the Tarrytown Center has meant in her life. Melendez, who was formerly homeless, is a candidate for this year's Youth of the Year, which is the highest honor the Club gives to one of its members. The Club nearly closed last summer due to increasing financial burdens associated with running the facility and its inability to access local funding sources to help defray these operating costs. In June 2006, County Executive Spano secured a $100,000 grant from the Department of Social Services to fund the summer program at the Tarrytown Center. Additional funds have since been secured from local funding sources and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to allow the Tarrytown Center to remain open. "While our plans for Tarrytown are ambitious, the need is great," said Brian Skanes, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester. "With continued community support, we will be able to maintain our quality programs and expand our offerings for the children of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow."
The Tarrytown Center, opened in 2002 at the Community Opportunity Center, serves approximately 600 children from low-income families. An average of 150 children, ages six to 18, attend the Center's after-school program each day. Some Tarrytown Club programs include a summer camp, a state-of-the-art computer lab, homework assistance, crafts, sports, and anti-drug programs. Hot meals are served daily and bags of food are distributed for children to take home to their families on weekends. The Club hopes to make the Tarrytown Center a long-term reality for the community and continues to seek additional funding and resources. The Club is working with the Tarrytown Center parent's group and governmental leaders including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Charles Schumer, and Assemblywoman Sandy Galef to preserve the Center.
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