The harvest is in. The root vegetables stored. The canning done and no Ball jars have popped … yet. Your tools sharpened, oiled, repaired, and put away. It’s a time when you no longer must get up with the sun to stay ahead of chores. Ah, a moment to put your feet up to relax in front of a warm fire. A chance to reflect on your good fortune.
The holidays are the time of year when we struggle to buy just the right gifts for family and friends. If you must buy, then please shop locally. Or as Henry David Thoreau wrote, simplify, simplify. This year simplify by giving thanks, in their names, to worthy causes that make our community better.
Consider:
Friends of Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary
This group is dedicated to preserving and enhancing The Sanctuary where they strive for a harmonious balance between its ecosystems, flora, and fauna. Friends is focused on removing invasive plants and replanting them with native plants to attract a greater quantity and diversity of birds, small mammals, and pollinators. They built new trails providing fresh birding and walking opportunities.
Friends of Rye Town Park
Work to keep Rye Town Park beautiful and green, and advocate to improve the park and beach experience. Over the years, Friends created the lake, relit the park, installed the beach fencing, planted hundreds of trees, shrubs, and thousands of daffodils for all to enjoy.
Friends of Marshlands
The Friends are committed to the protection, preservation, and enhancement of the Conservancy, a 147-acre nature preserve. The marshlands have wildlife habitats, ranging from ponds to creeks to a large meadow area, succession forest, freshwater wetlands, and the only extensive salt marsh in Westchester with over a half mile of shoreline.
Jay Heritage Center
Home to John Jay, an American Founding Father. Jay was the first chief justice of the United States, president of the Continental Congress, and governor of New York. The Center offers a vibrant educational campus, hosting programs about American history, historic preservation, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Jay advocated for the abolition of slavery in New York, signing a law that eventually emancipated slaves.
Friends of Rye Nature Center
The nature center offers programs to people of all ages and abilities. They encourage conservation, provide environmental education, and support our community’s access to nature while welcoming all to their enchanting 47 acres of forest, wetlands, pond, stream, and two miles of trails.
Rye Sustainability Foundation
The Foundation is dedicated to promoting sustainability through strategic partnerships and action. They obtained LEED certification for the city, obtained grants for energy reduction, electrification of DPW grounds equipment, and Playland Parkway invasive plant removal and replanting with over 100 native trees, shrubs, and perennials.
Rye Art Center
The RAC inspires lifelong enthusiasm and participation in the arts through best-in-class artistic offerings and educational programs. They positively affect our local communities by bringing attention to the importance of the arts, creating a destination for diverse voices, and providing meaningful artistic opportunities.
Rye Free Reading Room
The library serves as a dynamic gathering place and center for lifelong learning for Rye residents of all ages and interests. Donate only if they enforce policies requiring you to turn off your cell phone and use your inside voice. Remember, it is a library.
Rye Historical Society
The historical society is devoted to researching, preserving, and celebrating Rye’s unique historic heritage. They actively promote the preservation of historic buildings, monuments, and markers while sharing their extensive collection and knowledge of local history.
5 Steps to Five
This group nurtures young children and prepares them for school. The group provides enrichment for early brain development, especially in underserved communities, to make a lifelong positive difference.
What better gift to your family and friends than to instill a sense of pride, ownership, and commitment to their community. Start youth on the road to a lifetime of being part of something bigger than themselves — it is better to give than receive.
At the holiday dinner table, they will all give thanks to you for giving thanks in their names — as they reach for seconds of everything.
