By Donna Ruhanen, The Community Fund
Jun. 10, 2015: Patty Donovan-Duff, director of the Bereavement Center of Westchester, was named the first recipient of The Community Fund Award on May 26, 2015, at the Bronxville Field Club.
The award was given in honor of her 20-year career leading the Bereavement Center and its Tree House programs, which provide Westchester residents of all ages with the opportunity to grieve the loss of a loved one in a supportive and understanding environment.
Donovan-Duff began her career as a nurse in 1971 and soon expanded into the field of hospice and bereavement. When Jansen Memorial Hospice launched the Bereavement Center in 1995 with assistance from the Junior League of Bronxville, Donovan-Duff was recruited as director. She went on to develop the Tree House, a cornerstone of the Bereavement Center that is specifically designed to support children, as well as their surviving parents or guardians, whose parent or sibling has died.
The Bereavement Center of Westchester has been a Community Fund member agency since 1998 and has received grants that directly support and enable the running of the educational seminars for nonprofit directors, which were also incredibly helpful. It allowed many of us to connect and share and support each other as well. On behalf of the thousands of people we have served over the years, thank you, thank you. We are all fortunate to have The Community Fund in our community!
In her speech announcing Donovan-Duff as the first Community Fund award recipient, Melinda Burge, director of The Community Fund, commented, "In her tenure at the Bereavement Center, Patty has provided countless hours of guidance and support, not only to the 1000+ families she has counseled, but also to her staff and board. When I reached out to those she has worked with over the years, the theme that kept coming up the most was Patty's genuine kindness and her ability to make sense of the most difficult time in one's life."
The Community Fund award was developed to recognize excellence in the execution of a member agency's mission. The person or agency receiving the award should exhibit an altruistic passion for achieving the member agency's goals. The person or agency should be dedicated, should exhibit operational astuteness, should be flexible in changing circumstances, and should make a significant contribution to the community, and if a person, also to the agency. The Community Fund feels the most important factor in the success of our nonprofit agencies is the strength of that agency's employees or volunteers. This award is intended to honor that person or agency that meets these lofty standards and to hold that person or agency up as an example for others to follow.
The Community Fund of Bronxville Eastchester Tuckahoe, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation organized to provide funding and support for local agencies serving the health, education, and welfare needs of local residents. For further information about The Community Fund, please visit its website at www.thecommunityfund.org.
Pictured here: Award recipient Patty Donovan-Duff on the right, with Melinda Burge, director of The Community Fund.
Photo courtesy The Community Fund
Bronxville Beautification Council
Organized in 1982 and incorporated in 1993, the Bronxville Beautification Council (BBC) is a not for profit organization administered by a Board of Directors. Its mission is to enhance and maintain the natural and man-made beauty of Bronxville Village, with emphasis on the downtown business district of Bronxville. The BBC uses the dollars raised in its annual spring solicitation letter to residents to fund the mum, tulip and summer flower plantings downtown and at traffic intersections, as well as the summer hanging baskets. Every few years the group spearheads such major endeavors as the renovation of Leonard Morange Square on the west side of the railroad tracks and the beautification of the Lawrence Hospital traffic circle, which included the addition of plants and the building of the fountain that now makes a gracious western portal to our town. The BBC also works with other civic groups to monitor the aesthetics of retail signage, the consistency of sidewalk materials, and litter and graffiti. During Beautify Bronxville Week, the BBC sponsors a poetry reading and works with Scout groups on the annual village clean-up.
Bronxville Beautification Council
PO Box 127
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-779-6123
Bronxville Boy Scouts
The village of Bronxville has a long tradition of scouting. “The troops and packs of Bronxville have maintained the finest scouting organizations and have taught the boys of the Bronxville area to be leaders and outstanding members of the local, national and global communities.”
There are several Boy Scout Troops in Bronxville, including Troops 1, 2, 4, and 5.
Bronxvillle Girls Scouts
The Girls Scouts is “the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world.” In Girl Scouts, “girls discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together. Through the many enriching experiences provided by Girl Scouts, they can grow courageous and strong.”
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
The Bronxville Historical Conservancy was founded in 1998 to further the understanding and appreciation of the history and current life of the village. The Conservancy furthers its mission through the presentation of programs, publications, lectures and special events that foster an awareness of the village's architectural, artistic and cultural heritage, and lends its support for projects designed to strengthen and preserve those legacies. Anyone who is interested in the Bronxville and its history can become a member; varying levels of membership are available.
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
PO Box 989
Bronxville, New York 10708
http://bronxvillehistoricalconservancy.org/
Bronxville School Foundation
The Bronxville School Foundation, founded in 1991, is a non-profit organization independent from the school with the sole purpose of supporting the school. The Foundation raises money each year through donations from school families, community members, and alumni, among others.These contributions fund grants that provide cutting-edge technology, innovative programs and curriculum and other resources that are beyond the scope of public school funding.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0515
https://www.bronxvilleschoolfoundation.org/
Bronxville Women’s Club
The Bronxville Women’s Club offers lectures, exhibits and concerts. It also has a beautiful clubhouse which is available for rental for events.
135 Midland Avenue
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-3252
www.bronxvillewomensclub.org
Bronxville Youth Council
The Bronxville Youth Council provides volunteer and leadership opportunities for high school students in the village of Bronxville.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0500 ext 1789
Counseling Center
Founded in 1971, the mission of the Counseling Center “is to provide a wide range of psychotherapeutic and counseling services to individuals, couples and families by a staff of highly trained, experience and dedicated psychotherapists.
The Counseling Center
180 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-793-3388
www.counselingcenter.org
Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester & Tuckahoe
The mission of the Community Fund is “to support broad social services in Bronxville 10708, Eastchester and Tuckahoe through grants and technical support to local agencies and community projects. All money raised here in our community stays here in our community.”
15 Park Place
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-8808
www.thecommunityfund.org
Friends of the Bronxville Library
The Friends of the Bronxville Library is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to focus attention on the “Library’s services, facilities and needs” as well as sponsor projects and provide materials that are beyond the reach of the Library’s regular budget and perform other services.
Junior League of Bronxville
The Junior League of Bronxville is “an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”
Rotary Club of Bronxville
The mission of the Rotary Club of Bronxville is to “encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and to encourage and foster (1) the development of friendships within the community as an opportunity for service, (2) high ethical standards in business and professions, (3) the application of the ideal of service of each member to his personal and business and community life and (4) the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world fellowship.”
Senior Citizens of Bronxville
Senior Citizens of Bronxville is a not-for-profit organization that provides services and programs to seniors within the 10708 zip code area. “Programs cover a wide range of activities from educational seminars and cultural enrichment, to community services, bridge classes and exercise.”