Westchester Community Foundation Donor Unveils Charitable Donation to the Greenburgh Health Center this Holiday Season

Every December, we get wrapped up in the chaos of the holiday season—the shopping, the planning, the parties. Despite the mayhem, some wonderful members of the community remember to take time out of their schedules to give back. Westchester Community Foundation, one of Westchester County’s largest funder’s not-for-profits, understands the importance of charitable, impactful giving, particularly during the holiday season. This year, a donor asked Westchester Community Foundation how she could deepen her charitable giving. The answer: donate children’s books to the Greenburgh Health Center in White Plains to encourage reading all year round.

Since 2014, the Westchester Community Foundation has provided funding support to the Greenburgh Health Center’s maternal-infant health care program. The Foundation knew the waiting room at the health center was empty of books and connected donor Ann Spindel, a former children’s librarian who is passionate about early childhood literacy, with the Greenburgh Health Center.

Her response was immediate. Together with an additional donation from her husband, Paul, and friends Ira and Susan Deutsch, she personally selected 500 titles (Spanish and English) and used her donor-advised fund to purchase new books for hundreds of local children who attended the annual Christmas Fair at the Greenburgh Health Center on December 18th. In addition to providing new books, Ms. Spindel collected gently used books to re-stock the health center’s waiting rooms. Families were also able to pick out warm winter coats, and the children met Santa Claus and were given gifts collected by teens from Alexander Hamilton High School.

“The day was so special,” said Ms. Spindel. “We were so thrilled.”

Thanks to the generosity of a Westchester Community Foundation donor, Christmas will be extra-special this year for 500 youngsters.