Honoree Mayor Mary Marvin. Photo courtesy Bronxville Village Hall

By Ellen Edwards, Board Member, The Counseling Center

March 29, 2023: The Counseling Center, a nonprofit group of mental health care professionals based in Bronxville and serving lower Westchester and the Bronx, has the great privilege of honoring Mayor Mary Marvin at its Spring Gala, to be held on May 5^th at the Siwanoy Country Club at 6 p.m.  Cocktails and dinner will be followed by a live auction and paddle raise.

Funds raised at the gala will support The Counseling Center’s important work, in particular its fee subsidy program, which allows the staff to offer critical services, including psychotherapy, marriage counseling, and family and child therapy, to those who are unable to afford full-fee treatment. The Counseling Center provides enormous relief to members of the community who are struggling with difficult life issues and often overwhelming stress. The Center seeks to help clients transform their greatest challenges into opportunities for growth, empowerment, and fulfillment.

This year’s auction items are especially exciting. Tickets to “Late Night” with Seth Meyers, orchestra seats to “& Juliet” with Broadway star Stark Sands, a tennis lesson with Patrick McEnroe, tickets to a new revival of “Camelot,” a five-course chef’s tasting menu with wine for six people at Underhill’s Crossing, and lunch for three with our own Mary Marvin are expected to attract high bids. In addition, anyone—whether you attend the gala or not—may participate in a silent auction of a variety of items provided by local merchants.

The Counseling Center is especially thrilled to honor Mary Marvin. In her eighteen years as mayor, Mary has been a steward and preservationist of the Village of Bronxville. The delight she takes in her role, and her success in fostering community engagement and an effective local government, especially during the pandemic, have endeared her to Bronxville residents. The Counseling Center is grateful for her service.

Mary grew up in Watervliet, NY, a compact town near Albany, where she walked to school and personally knew the local shopkeepers.  She graduated from Wellesley College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  Through her work in the office of Nelsen Rockefeller, when he was both Governor of New York and Vice President under President Gerald Ford, she discovered her calling to serve in government. Once she married and moved to Bronxville, in 1989, she immersed herself in the community, assuming leadership roles on local school boards, on the Village zoning board, and as Village trustee. 

Remarkably, Mary now devotes even more of her time to Destination College, a program that seeks to assist athletes at Mount Vernon High School to attend college.  Currently, she is tutoring and providing emotional support to two high school basketball players, who are frequently surprised by her knowledge of the sport. 

Mary is the proud mother of her daughter Caroline, who is a dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbia University School of General Studies, and her son Brad, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and works as a securities trader at Deutsche Bank in New York City.

Mary has been a long-time supporter of The Counseling Center’s mission to provide mental health care services.  She recalls that in 1976 Rosalynn Carter was the first public figure who fought to destigmatize mental illness and ensure that insurance companies would cover mental health care services.  Mary noted, “If you break a leg, people bring you casseroles, but if you’re in a mental health crisis, people often don’t know about it.  Mental illness is often in the shadows, and it never should be.”  

She emphasized The Counseling Center’s importance in the community and noted that several years ago, Bronxville senior citizens answered on a survey that their number one concern was loneliness.  “We must foster connections,” Mary said. “The Counseling Center is such an important thread in making those connections—I’ve always had a soft spot for it. I look forward to the time when we say without hesitation, ‘I’m having a hard time and I’m off to see my therapist,’ just as we might say, ‘I’ve got cancer and am getting chemo.’”

Mary has made major contributions to our community for more than three decades.  Her indefatigable work on behalf of Bronxville, especially her efforts to support residents, organizations, and merchants, contribute to the wellbeing of all who live here.  She supports The Counseling Center for these same reasons—because it works for the wellbeing of its clients.  A community whose residents enjoy good mental health is a community that thrives.

Thanks to generous benefactors and underwriters of this year’s Spring Gala, all proceeds will go to support The Counseling Center.  Please see the names of donors at the end of this article.

To purchase tickets to the gala, participate in a silent auction, or make a donation, go to counseling.givesmart.com, or call The Counseling Center at 914-793-3388. To see more of our live auction items, visit our page by scanning this QR code with your camera.

Benefactors: Doug and Lisa Cruikshank, Judy M. Foley, Georgia and Donald Gogel, Marilynn and John Hill, Jim Hoch, Anna and Joe Houlihan, Linda Graef Jones, Rosanne and Mark Welshimer.

Underwriters: Mary and Chris Behrens, Jane and Jack Bierwirth, Helen Knapp and Charles Calliostro, Amy and Anthony Civale, Marcella and Richard Dresdale, Laura and Brooks Klimley, Lisa Kundstadter and Nick Stephens, Maria and Chip Schulz, Elinor Urstadt, The Bronxville Rotary

The Counseling Center in Bronxville offers therapy for individuals, couples, and families, both in person and through telehealth (online or by phone). Please feel free to reach out if we can help, by calling Dr. Jennifer Klein, 914 793, 3388. To keep abreast of ongoing information and activities at The Counseling Center, please visit our website at https://counselingcenter.org