Youth Shelter Program Celebrates 40 Years

Join Youth Shelter Program of Westchester (YSOW) as it hosts its first fundraising gala to celebrate 40 years of transforming the lives of youth in Westchester County. The event will be held on Thursday, May 3rd, from 6:00 to 11:00 pm, at Mulino’s at Lake Isle in Eastchester. This year’s theme is Focus, Inspire, Transform, (F.I.T.). Together with its supporters, the YSOW helps at-risk youth focus on the future, inspires them to work hard, and ultimately empowers them to transform their lives. The event will honor the work of Judge Jonathan Lippman, Former Chief Justice; New York State Assemblyperson, J. Gary Pretlow; and New Rochelle, City Councilperson, Jared Rice. Judge Michael Corriero, a former State Supreme Court justice presiding over Manhattan's Youth Part, who is now on CBS Television’s “Hot Bench,” will be the Master of Ceremonies and New Rochelle resident and motivational speaker, Lucinda Cross, who turned her life around after being incarcerated as a teenager, will deliver the keynote address.

In 1977, Elizabeth Baird Saenger, Ann Spaeth, Anthony Cupaiuolo, Helen Specter and Margaret Weinstock founded the YSOW with the mission to divert young men from the adult criminal justice system. Since that time, the YSOW has celebrated several achievements made possible through partnerships, grants, and individual contributions. Over its 40 years, the YSOW has helped hundreds of young men to address their educational and emotional needs and has helped to guide them on the difficult road to a better life. Creating space for young women to be given the same opportunity to be diverted from incarceration is one of many plans the YSOW has for its future.

For more information about the program and their anniversary events or to make a donation visit www.ysow.org.