There’s something inspiring about kids helping kids, and on September 22nd, Rye Neck students did just that, rolling up their sleeves for Children’s Hope Chest.
By Janice Llanes Fabry
There’s something inspiring about kids helping kids, and on September 22nd, Rye Neck students did just that, rolling up their sleeves for Children’s Hope Chest. Setting up a baked goods stand outside of Trotta’s West Street Pharmacy on Halstead Avenue in Harrison, Rye Neck fifth, sixth and seventh graders raised $460 for Port Chester’s Carver Center and the Pleasantville Cottage Schools, a foster care center.
“It’s so nice to see kids and their parents doing something for the community,” said Trotta’s owner Nilesh Patel.
Children’s Hope Chest partners with area agencies to help defray some of the costs they can’t afford on their own. They hold annual food drives, as well as collections for backpacks, coats, pajamas, birthday, and holiday gifts for underprivileged children. For this particular fundraiser, board member Mark Canno enlisted the help of Rye Neck parent Nancy Pereira, who in turn recruited neighborhood parents to bake and their children to spread the word and ask for donations.
Noting that it wasn’t only the Carver and Pleasantville children who benefited from the experience, Pereira said, “This had such an impact on our own kids. They learned so many lessons and saw for themselves that people open their hearts and dig deep into their pockets to help others, no matter what the economy.”