United Way of Westchester and Putnam Awards $150,000 in Community Impact Grants
United Way of Westchester and Putnam (UWWP) awarded 35 Community Impact Grants totaling $150,000 to local nonprofits. These annual grants support organizations serving the needs of the under-resourced or ALICE (those who are employed but are living paycheck-to-paycheck) populations in Westchester or Putnam Counties.
Community Impact Grant Recipients:
914 United, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Westchester, Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon, Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, Cancer Support Services, Caring for the Hungry & Homeless of Peekskill (CHHOP), Choice of New Rochelle, Community Center of Northern Westchester, Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow, Community Resource Center, Community Service Associates, Croton-Cortlandt Food Pantry, Feeding Westchester, Good for Girls, Hearts & Homes for Refugees, Interfaith Emergency Food Pantry of Pleasantville, Latino U College Access, Lifting Up Westchester, Meals on Wheels, Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry, Pace Women’s Justice Center, Philipstown Behavioral Health Hub, Pro Bono Partnership, Project Morry, Putnam CAP, Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Tarrytown Horseman’s Harvest Neighborhood Pantry, The Salvation Army Peekskill Community and Worship Center, Second Chance Foods, Sheltering Homes ORE, Westchester Community Health Center, Westchester Library System, Women’s Enterprise Development Center, Inc., Youth Community Outreach Program of Mount Vernon, and YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester.
United Way President and CEO Tom Gabriel stated, “Our grant recipients are the backbone of community support in Westchester and Putnam counties, delivering life-changing services to families who need them most. Each organization has consistently demonstrated their ability to meet critical needs, whether they are keeping families housed, providing meals, or creating opportunities for our youth. With these grants, they will continue their essential work of strengthening our communities and helping ALICE households achieve stability and hope.”
The 2025 State of ALICE Report reveals that the number of households that are struggling to make ends meet reached record numbers. Data shows that 38% of Westchester’s households, totaling 144,612, fell below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival in 2023, up from 2% or 10,581 households in 2022. Organizations like Boys & Girls Club of Mt. Vernon are meeting the need of empowering youth and their families with vital resources at such a critical time.
“Boys & Girls Club of Mt. Vernon is pleased to partner with the United Way to continue to provide essential services for youth in Westchester & Putnam Counties. The United Way has supported our communities for many years and always meets current critical needs,” said Mel Campos, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Mt. Vernon.
Similarly, in Putnam County, 38% of Putnam’s households, totaling 13,091, fell below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival in 2023, up 2% from 2022. It is the largest number of households falling below the ALICE Threshold since the study began in 2010. Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WestCOP) is a 2025 Community Impact Grant recipient working to combat the difficulties many of their community members face in Putnam County.
Marisa O’Leary, WestCOP’s Director stated, “We are incredibly grateful to the United Way of Westchester and Putnam for awarding us with a generous $5,000 Community Impact grant. This vital funding will directly help low-income residents in Putnam County facing immediate crises by providing crucial assistance with rental and utility arrears. It means we can keep families housed and their lights on, preventing the devastating ripple effects of eviction and utility disconnection, and offering a critical lifeline to those in urgent need.”