The Children's Enrichment Committee Doesn't Take The Summer Off

 We all love the long days and dreamy nights of summer and this summer was no exception.

But the needs of children don't take the summer off, and the Children's Enrichment Committee was there to help.

We paid for art therapy (not covered by insurance) for one child and made sure an active six-year-old would be kept busy at the local town's recreation program for six weeks. 

Other children got new clothes for school and a backpack filled with school supplies.

We were happy to give a family a baby gate to keep a child safe. For children in need of beds, the CEC, along with private donations, saw to it that bedframes, beds, mattresses, sheets and pillowcases were supplied.

Thanks to the wonderful generosity of the Slate Hill (NY) Quilters, along with the beds came beautiful handmade quilts that can be treasured for a lifetime.

Autumn is a season with its own beauty and challenges. The Children's Enrichment Committee, with friends like the Slate Hill Quilters, will be there to help and support the children of Orange County. 

Fun And Funds

For over a hundred years, the Children's Enrichment Committee has been giving a helping hand to the children of Orange County. To provide that help, we look for ways to raise funds.

We appreciate all the different people and organizations who have shared our mission with their generosity. But sometimes, we admit, it's nice when there's some fun attached.

For example, there was the fundraising theater party provided by the Muddy Waters Players at the Playhouse at Museum Village. CEC members joined other theatergoers for a performance of Agatha Christie's A Murder Is Announced. There was twist after delightful twist, proving (in case there was any doubt) that Miss Marple was smarter than the police and most if not all of the audience (present company very much included). 

If the play wasn't pleasurable enough, during intermission we were invited to have apple pie a la mode. 

The Muddy Waters Players upcoming schedule includes The 39 Steps, Seussical, and Murder Mystery Manhattan. 

But fun and fundraising can take us on different paths. Every month J's Place in Middletown donates $3 from each purchase of his creative and varied "tinis." This month, the "tini" is watermelon based, which sounds perfect for a summertime drink. Actually, the entire menu sounds perfect. 

The CEC will always be grateful to area businesses who help out. But we admit to a little extra gratitude when it comes with a fun time!

 

We Live To Give

The Children's Enrichment Committee loves to give clothes and furniture to children in need. We've been in the habit for well over 100 years. Our donors are a wonderful and varied group. We are especially appreciative of the multi-year generosity of Stewart Shops. Make sure to get one of their wonderful ice cream cones on the next glorious spring day. 

This year we've given school clothes to eight children (remember how excited you were with a new school outfit). To make the gift even more special, we gave each one a hand knit winter cap and a beautiful quilt. 

Clothes and quilts are great, but sometimes a kid just needs furniture. It's hard to sit down and do homework in a home that doesn't have a table and chairs. So the CEC was happy to donate them.

 Of course there's more to life than homework. Kids have to exercise and what better way than by biking, The CEC was happy to provide a bike and a helmet as well.

When the Children's Enrichment Committee gives, it gets in return the incomparable pleasure of knowing we've made children's lives a little bit better and, we hope, a whole lot happier. There are truly fewer things in life more rewarding than seeing a child smile. 

And you'll smile too when you get that Peanut Butter Pandemonium ice cream cone at Stewart Shops!

A Word From CEC President Liz Hrabowsky

 For over 100 years, the all-volunteer Children’s Enrichment Committee has given to children with financial needs in Orange County, with our primary focus on those in foster care. 

This year, in addition to the six Emily Akers Scholarships awarded to graduating high school seniors for use in colleges and trade schools, we gave grants to three current students to help them purchase supplies and books. We gave requested holiday presents to 110 foster children and included with each a gift card, a homemade blanket and hat. One child enjoyed 2 weeks in summer camp. Another got needed therapy utensils and dishes, as well as a stuffed animal to cherish. And two young adults received personalized memory boxes and gift cards in recognition of their aging out of the system. 

Your generous tax-deductible donation will go directly to area children, making their days a little brighter, a little easier. 

As always, we thank you for your support.  

Back To Normal And Delighted To Be There

 It's a Children's Enrichment Committee tradition to have our June meeting be a luncheon with a guest speaker. But as you can imagine, traditions weren't easy to keep during the past couple of years.

So this June was first time in three years we've been able to return to normal. Even our meetings during the past couple of years have been a challenge. Once, we met in a park and learned meetings are hard to hold outdoors on a windy day. For a long stretch we met at the Dispute Resolution Center in Middletown, NY. We were very appreciative of their letting us use their meeting room, but it still didn't feel like home.

This spring our regular meeting space at Middletown Thrall Library reopened and we were thrilled to be back.

And now it's June and time for our luncheon.

Everyone pays for their own lunch, since we take pride that all money donated to the CEC goes to children. We vote on how much we're willing to pay and we find a restaurant that works with our needs and we get to eat good food, socialize, conduct a little bit of business, and learn from our guest speaker.

This year our lunch was at Delancey's Restaurant, in Goshen, NY. As you can see, they did a lovely job, making the space charming and hospitable. 

Pat Kind, chair of our Emily Akers Scholarship Committee, told us about the six Orange County high school seniors we had awarded with scholarships, each one selected for showing great determination and achievement while facing significant personal challenges.

Our guest speaker was Cynthia Weintraub. She's on the board of both Jewish Family Service and People For People Fund. She told us about both organizations and her personal journey to them.

It promises to be a busy summer for the CEC. Previous winners of the Emily Akers Scholarships have turned to us for help with purchasing items for their dorm rooms or book for their classes. We're also looking into how we can help children attending summer camp with shoes and supplies they will need. 

Normal for us is giving. And we are delighted to be back to normal!

The Season For Giving and For Giving Thanks

The holiday season is a joyous one but it is also a time to reflect on our blessings and to share with others what we have been fortunate enough to receive.

The Children's Enrichment Committee has been able to help children in financial need for 110 years thanks to the dedication of its members and the generosity of the community. We would especially like to thank the following organizations and businesses for their support this past year:

Dispute Resolution Center, Middletown NY

Galleria at Crystal Run, Middletown NY

Gardnertown United Methodist Church

The Interact Club of Pine Bush High School

Orange & Rockland, Spring Valley, NY

The Prayer Shawl Ministry at Cold Spring UMC

Rotary Club of Middletown NY

Stewart's Holiday Match, Stewart's Shops

The Trinity United Methodist Parish

The Vail's Gate United Methodist Church

Warwick Lions Club, Warwick NY

The Yarntastics at Gardnertown UMC

Thanks to them and the donations of people like you, the CEC has had a place to hold its meetings and its fundraisers. It has received beautiful handmade items to give as holiday presents to 100 children in foster care. It has been given gift cards to brighten those children's holidays. And it has been given money which is spent directly on the children, whose requests for items like bunk beds, sports equipment, a bicycle helmet and lock, we have been able to fulfill, as well as financing our 4 Emily Akers Scholarships, given to outstanding high school seniors to help them with expenses their freshman year in college. 

If you would like to help us help children, please send your donation to:

The Children's Enrichment Committee

PO Box 297

Middletown, NY 10940

All donations are tax deductible and all money goes to the purchasing of requested items or to the Emily Akers Scholarship Fund for the children of Orange County, NY. 

We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a better and brighter 2022!

College Is Their Future And Their Future Is Bright

 The Children's Enrichment Committee has always taken special pride in our Emily Akers Scholarships, named for the first administrator of our scholarship committee. This year we awarded four Orange County NY high school seniors $1000.00 each to help them with their freshman year expenses. 

The scholarship committee works hard to determine which students will win these scholarships. It reads the essays of the applicants, looks at their GPAs, and evaluates their extra-curricular activities, community service, and work history. Financial need is also a major determinant. 

In 2021, two of our Emily Akers winners come from Middletown High School, one from Newburgh Free Academy and one from Port Jervis High School. Their goals include becoming a social worker, going into  mechanical engineering, and majoring in business administration with a focus on the sports industry. 

"They say the sky is the limit," one Emily Akers winner wrote in her essay. "But for me, I want to reach beyond the sky."

We have faith that all our Emily Akers Scholarship winners, past and present, will soar beyond the sky.

We Receive and We Give

 Did you ever wonder what one of those oversized checks you sometimes see on TV actually look like?

It turns out they look like oversized checks. And officers of the Children's Enrichment Committee had the honor of receiving one from the generous Stewart's Shops Holiday Match Program.

Here are the masked officers (otherwise known as Liz, Susanne, Brenda and Joanne) outside of one our neighborhood Stewart's Shops, oversized check in hand.

And here they are inside, letting the world know that they proudly represent the Children's Enrichment Committee. 

They are no doubt being tempted by Stewart's Shops delicious ice creams.

The Children's Enrichment Committee exists to help children and we're very pleased to have done just that. When we learned of a girl who recently moved with her mother and had only a bed for her room, we purchased a desk, a chair, a lamp, desk accessories, a clock and art and craft supplies. 

It turned out the caseworker we worked with uses her own money to buy balloons and cupcakes as birthday treats for the children in her caseload. We gave her a $50 gift card to help cover the costs. 

It's thanks to the generosity of Stewart's Shops, our other corporate donors, service organizations, and loyal supporters that the CEC can continue its mission of helping children throughout Orange County. We thank them and we thank you.

Thank You Stewart's Shops

 We are happy to announce that Stewart's Shops has honored the Children's Enrichment Committee with a $1000.00 grant as part of its Stewart's Holiday Match.

The grant was given in appreciation of the creativity and strides towards sustainability the C.E.C. has shown during the particularly challenging times of the pandemic. Over 1700 organizations applied for grants, which are financed by donations of Stewart's Shops customers between Thanksgiving and Christmas with matching funds from Stewart's Shops.

A family and employee owned business, Stewart's Shops has over 300 locations in New York and Vermont. 

The Children's Enrichment Committee relies on the generosity of businesses like Stewart's Shops, the Lions Club and other service organizations, and the donations of the many people with connections to Orange County who want, as much as we do, to help brighten the lives of children. We thank them all.

The Needs Remain Great In This Time Of Pandemic

 The Children's Enrichment Committee of Orange County was founded in New York over one hundred years ago. It has survived two world wars, the great depression, and the Spanish flu. But it has never seen the likes of 2020.

The CEC has been there to make the lives of children with family and financial uncertainties better and brighter. We give holiday presents, sports equipment, music lessons, computers and textbooks to children and teenagers in need. We have paid for summer camp and school trips in the past and look forward to doing so again in a healthy future.

Recently we learned of a child whose family home had burned down. We paid for new softball equipment so she could return to the game she loves. 

We were also told of children who needed a bunkbed. We were glad to purchase one. And the children who now have a safe and comfortable place to sleep showed us how happy they were to receive it. 

In 2020 we took special pride in our Emily Akers Scholarship Program. Four high school graduates were awarded scholarships of $1000.00 each to help with their college costs. All of the winners showed strong scholastic aptitude and community involvement, as well as an impressive focus on their academic and professional goals. In a time of social distancing and canceled graduations, the CEC made the lives of four young adults with college plans and financial need more secure.

The CEC has always believed that when you help a child you help the world. In this time of world crisis, we remain committed to our goal of supporting the children of Orange County. Their future is ours. May their sun shine bright.

2019-20 Message from President Kathy Hufcut



November 2019


Dear Friends, 


Every day it seems there’s a headline about the opioid epidemic in America and how it is tearing families apart. The youngest victims of this epidemic are children. From 2015-18 there has been close to a 17% increase in the number of children in foster care in Orange County, children who can only hope that one day their family will be able to reunite in a healthy and loving environment.


The Children’s Enrichment Committee of Orange County, New York was created over 100 years ago to help the children in need in our community. Our all-volunteer organization purchases and wraps holiday presents asked for by the children, to brighten a day when their feelings of loss must be greatest. In addition, we answer requests for a variety of items from musical instruments to the most basic needs of new clothes for a new life. Through our Emily Akers Scholarship program, we offer financial aid to high school graduates who might otherwise have to give up their dreams of a college education.


Won’t you please help us help these children? Your generosity can have a positive impact on a child or teenager facing the most uncertain of times.


Your tax-deductible donation will go directly to help the children of Orange County:


                                    Children’s Enrichment Committee

                                     P.O. Box 297

                                     Middletown, NY 10940


Thank you for helping good children through bad times.


                                                                            Sincerely,




                                                                      Kathy Hufcut, President

2018-19 Message From President Kathy Hufcut

Dear Friends,

Can you put a price on the smile of a boy the first day of summer camp? Or that of a girl who learns her dream of college has become a little more achievable?

For over one hundred years, the all volunteer Children's Enrichment Committee of Orange County has been committed to  putting that smile on the faces of children in foster care. The C.E.C. helps pay for summer camp and after school activities. It gives holiday presents to the children and teenagers in foster care in the county. Thanks to our Emily Akers Scholarship program, college becomes a little more affordable to lower income but higher achieving students.

None of this can be done without your generosity.

Please send your tax deductible donation to:

Children's Enrichment Committee
P.O. Box 297
Middletown, NY 10940

Sincerely,

Kathy Hufcut, President

A Message From President Kathy Hufcut

Dear Friends,

The needs of foster children in Orange County are a year round concern for the members of the Children's Enrichment Committee. Our goal is to enhance their educational and social needs, provide special opportunities and supplies throughout the year and spread joy during the holiday season.

Our Emily Akers Scholarship program has provided many high school graduates with the extra assistance they need to make a college education more affordable. The letters we have received from our scholarship recipients communicate not only their academic success but also their gratitude for our support.

To continue these valuable services our all volunteer organization must rely on the generosity of our donors. Our yearly fund drive provides the majority of the money we need to continue our work on behalf of Orange County's foster children.

The Children Enrichment Committee members sincerely hope that you will support us by making a tax deductible contribution that will help us provide these valuable services.

Contributions can be sent to:

                                               Children's Enrichment Committee
                                               P.O. Box 297
                                               Middletown, NY 10940

Thank you for supporting our mission of helping good children through bad times.

                                                                                       Sincerely yours,


                                                                                          Kathy Hufcut
                                              

It's A Wrap!

The Children's Enrichment Committee is always looking for new ways to bring in revenue. The more money we have, the more we're able to brighten the lives of Orange County children in foster care.

One method we're exploring is gift wrapping holiday presents. We have decades worth of experience. We've been giving holiday gifts since our founder, Anna Delano Hitch, first started collecting mittens for area orphans. But now our plan is to wrap other people's gifts with the hope that they'll donate money to us as a way of saying thank you.

Our next meeting is on Monday, November 13, 2:00 PM, at Middletown Thrall Library. If you have any spare gift wrap paper or pretty bows, please bring them to the meeting. For that matter, if you know someone interested in culling their own gift wrap and bows, bring them to the meeting as well. Gift wrap and visitors are gladly welcomed.

And when you're not assembling your gift wrap, remember to vote on November 7 and to honor veterans on November 11.

Then be sure to join us, gift wrap and all, on November 13!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Summertime is always a busy season for the Children's Enrichment Committee, and this summer was no different.

The CEC paid for five "camperships," allowing children who might not otherwise have been able to go to summer camp to enjoy a time of companionship and fun.

We helped a student at our local community college with car expenses, enabling him to get to campus and to the two jobs he holds.

We covered the cost of a digital camera for a teen interested in photography and assisted another one with the fee for entering his school's football program.

Our three Emily Akers Scholarship Fund students are finding their senior years of college a little easier thanks to our continued help.

Autumn is a season to look forward, and the CEC anticipates another year of helping Orange County children through our annual Holiday Gift program, as well as by providing things like cameras and sports program memberships. We are continuing community outreach, informing local service clubs about all we do and what they can do to help us in our mission. And, of course, we welcome new members, people whose commitment to aiding children and teenagers matches ours.

When the members of the CEC have time to look back, we often think about the wonderful meals we've had at John's Harvest Inn, and the extraordinary generosity we've benefited from, thanks to its Dining To Make A Difference program. We wish John and Deb Botti all the success in the world as they move on. Their restaurant and hospitality will be missed.

Thank You and Thanks To You

The Children's Enrichment Committee of Orange County wants to thank Stewart's Shops for their continuing support of our organization.

We also want to thank our membership for all they do. And we're hoping to see all of you at our upcoming meeting, Monday May 8 at 2 PM at Middletown Thrall Library, where we'll be discussing, among other things, future fundraising possibilities.

Also at that meeting, we'll be taking reservations for our very popular (and very delicious) annual fundraising luncheon at John's Harvest Inn. This year the luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6 at noon. Our guest speaker will be a member of the Middletown Lions Club. The CEC has a special connection with The Lions Club, since our founder, Anna Delano Hitch, was its first woman member.

Past, present and future, the CEC has a lot to be thankful for!

What Do 33% of the United States Presidents Have In Common?

We know that 100% of the Presidents of the United States have been men, and all but one of the forty five men who have served as president have been married.

But what many people don't know is one third of them, fifteen out of forty five, grew up without a father or a mother.

One president, Herbert Hoover, lost both his parents by the time he was 9.

Three others, Abraham Lincoln, John Tyler and Calvin Coolidge lost their mothers at young ages (9, 7 and 12 respectively).

Two presidents, Gerald Ford and Barack Obama, had parents who were divorced when the future presidents were very young, and both of them grew up without regular contact with their fathers.

Another six presidents were 16 or younger when their fathers died. George Washington was 11, Thomas Jefferson 14, James Monroe 16, Andrew Johnson 4, James Garfield 2, and Grover Cleveland 16.

Perhaps the most startling fact is that 3 presidents never had fathers at all, their fathers dying before they were born. Andrew Jackson's father died 3 weeks before Jackson was born, Rutherford B. Hayes' father died 10 weeks before Hayes was born, and Bill Clinton's father died 3 months before Clinton was born.

It could be this is a statistical fluke. It could be that growing up in a single parent household makes a boy either more ambitious or more accustomed to responsibility at a young age, and either of these possibilities could lead to an interest in politics and a willingness to serve.

But whatever the reasons behind that 33%, one thing is clear. Love and support and caring doesn't have to come from a traditional Mom and Dad family for a person to succeed.

The Children's Enrichment Committee was founded in 1911, when William Howard Taft was president. 18 presidential administrations later, the CEC is still offering the support and caring that helps children in Orange County succeed.

They Weren't Handed Success On A Silver Blade

It's a familiar and gratifying story, the football or basketball or baseball player who grew up in a single parent household, making his way to athletic stardom with the help of his family or friends or mentors and coaches.

In honor of the upcoming United States Figure Skating Championships, here, compiled with the aid of Figure Skating Universe, is a list of some of the many American champion skaters who were either adopted or grew up in non-traditional families. Italicized names or titles indicate links to videos.

United States Champion Nicole Bobek, is known for her elegant spiral.

Adopted through the same agency, but not biologically related, brother and sister Peter and Kitty Carruthers won Olympic silver in pairs.

One half of the beloved World Champion pairs team, Babilonia and Gardner, Randy Gardner learned as an adult that he was adopted.

Multiple National and World Champion, as well as Olympic gold medalist, Scott Hamilton is an adoptee and with his wife the parent of two adopted children.

World Junior Champion Ann Patrice McDonough was adopted from Korea, as was pairs skater Erika Smith.  Young and upcoming skater Brynne McIssac was adopted from China and pairs skater Max Settlage from Vietnam.

Along with pairs partner Marcy Hinzmann, Aaron Parchem was a U.S. bronze medalist and proud Olympian.

Reigning U.S. champion Adam Rippon's parents divorced when he was a young teenager.

World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist Debi Thomas left skating to become a doctor.

Brought up by a single mother, skater Rohene Ward has become best known for his work as a choreographer, including the iconic Riverdance freeskate performed by Jason Brown.

No one is born with the ability to land a triple axel. Figure skating is a sport based on the combination of strength, grace, hard work and helping hands, the very same qualities that growing up in any environment requires.

Please Read Our Annual Letter

Dear Friends,

We all know the value of family. At the Children's Enrichment Committee we think of ourselves as "extended family" for Orange County, New York children in foster care.

For over a century, our all-volunteer organization has bought and wrapped  holiday gifts requested by children in foster care to brighten their Decembers. Our committee has also answered requests for musical instruments, sports equipment, camp vacations and other unique items. In April, a young athlete received airfare to attend a track meet in South Carolina. He wrote, "I got to see and experience lots of new things, all thanks to you."

Our Emily Akers Scholarship Program has awarded financial assistance to many young students. One of this year's four recipients has informed us that she was able to focus more on her education and less on finances, helping her "to receive a 3.4 GPA." We couldn't be prouder!

We recently welcomed into our fold A Friend's House, which is a youth shelter run by HONOR (Helping Others Needing Our Resources). Our members collected and bought school supplies, health and beauty items, linens, and socks and shoes for the youngsters they serve.

Please be a part of our family. Your tax-deductible donation will go directly to support Orange County children in need and can be sent to:


                                                      Children's Enrichment Committee
                                                       P.O. Box 297
                                                       Middletown, NY 10940

Thank you for helping good children through bad times.

Sincerely,

Kathy Hufcut
President: Children's Enrichment Committee

Make A Difference In November

Before we know it, the holiday season will be upon us and members of the Children's Enrichment Committee will be busy holiday shopping for children in foster care in Orange County. Last year we were the number one organization for purchasing holiday gifts in the county, and this year the CEC will be bringing more holiday joy.

But before the shopping season begins in earnest, there are ways that everyone reading this blog can make a difference.

First off, John's Harvest Inn is once again helping the CEC with its generous Dining To Make A Difference program on Sunday, November 6 from 3-8 PM. You, your friends and your family can enjoy a wonderful meal, knowing that 10% of all the money the restaurant makes that day will go to the CEC. In addition, there will be a weeklong raffle of a beautiful gift basket, with proceeds from the raffle also going to the CEC.

It's a good idea to make a reservation, so call 845-343-6630, and look forward to great food, great company and a great cause.

There's a second way that you can make a difference in November and that's by voting on Tuesday, November 8. Decide which candidates best represent your ideas and beliefs, and be sure to go to your polling place and cast your ballot. If you can, bring your children or grandchildren with you, so they can see democracy in action.

Finally, Veterans Day is Friday, November 11. Take a moment to think of their sacrifices, and if you have a chance, thank them for all they've given our country.

And once all that is done, you can start concentrating on Thanksgiving and everything that follows!