Leake & Watts' Youth Ready to Wrap Your Gifts at The Westchester

Weekend shoppers at The Westchester Simon Mall in White Plains can join in the holiday spirit while supporting a good cause by asking children from Leake & Watts to wrap their gifts.

These holiday helpers from the nonprofit’s Youth Residential Treatment Center, as well as Leake & Watts volunteers, will be hard at work inside the mall during the first three weekends in December from noon until 5 p.m.

Shoppers will get a few well-deserved moments to breathe after hunting down the perfect presents while the youngsters expertly wrap the gifts in a selection of festive papers. And the suggested donation of $5 per gift – any size gift – will support Leake & Watts’ life-changing programs, which help 8,000 at-risk children, adults, and families meet a range of needs.

At the same time, the teens and young adults wrapping the presents will receive the most valuable gift of all – a sense of responsibility and pride in a task well done. They will help the shoppers as part of Leake & Watts’ community service and work-study programs, which guides them toward becoming productive adults and builds self-respect as well as respect for others.

Pride and Joy

“Our young people gain an immense sense of pride and joy in helping people in the community and raising money for our organization,” says Leake & Watts Executive Director Alan Mucatel. “They are eager to offer shoppers a little break and give their gifts that perfect holiday look. It’s a rewarding experience for both our youth and shoppers.”

Leake & Watts’ success in giving children, adult, and families the ability to rise above challenging circumstance is widely recognized. The award-winning nonprofit operates 43 programs at 27 sites in Westchester and New York City. Its Residential Treatment Center, located on its 30-acre Yonkers campus, provides 24-hour residential care to youth ages 12 to 21 with an enriched, structured program of activities as well as therapeutic and educational support.

Leake & Watts’s work at The Westchester, for which they are partnering with Simon Malls and Banana Republic, is just one way the agency is giving back to the community this season. The youth cooked and served an early Thanksgiving dinner to show their appreciation of Yonkers police officers. Youth also regularly support the Food Bank for Westchester and serve meals at shelters for people who have AIDS or are HIV-positive. Leake & Watts also is in the midst of a giant toy drive, seeking donations from the community of new and unwrapped toys for thousands of children and teens supported by the organization.

“Be sure to stop by and say hello the next three Saturday and Sunday afternoons while you’re doing your holiday shopping at The Westchester,” Mr. Mucatel says. “These kids are terrific, and they are offering a great service. No fuss. No muss. Leave the wrapping to us.”