Scarsdale College Students Need Your Support
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This letter was submitted by Monica Rieckhoff on behalf of the SHS PTA Scholarship Fund: As a 17 year old, I was thrilled by the prospect of heading off to college. Then, the reality of college costs arrived in the form of a financial aid package. My parents would be able to cover a portion of the fees and I would max out student loans and have a work-study job in the cafeteria. Additionally, the college provided a partial scholarship. It was enough to get by as long as I didn’t come home more than once a year and worked during school breaks.
But what if my mother or siblings had become ill, my parents divorced or my father lost his job? Divorce, disease, death and job loss have hurt families in Scarsdale, affecting their high school senior's ability to afford college. The SHS PTA Scholarship Fund is our community resource, for any Scarsdale student who has exhausted their means to pay for the first year of college. This year the need is greater than ever- applications have doubled while donations have declined 25 percent over the past two years. It is hard for a family to reach out for help and even harder to be rejected. Please consider making a donation to help these students.
Sincerely,
Monica Rieckhoff
SHS PTA Scholarship Fund for College -- Board Member
Donations can be made at http://www.scarsdaleschools.org/Page/2206 . Or checks payable to SHS PTA Scholarship Fund can be sent to PO Box 147H, Scarsdale, NY 10583
Adults Rock Out For Teens
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The Scarsdale Teen Center held its 6th annual “Adult Night Of Rock” fundraiser at Vintage Bar in White Plains, hosted by 107.1 The Peak's Jimmy Fink on Saturday night May 5th. Scarsdale adults flocked to Vintage to hear performances from We Stole The Kids, The DB6, and Skyfactor, all of which have ties to Scarsdale. While listening to the bands, guests bid in a silent auction which included items as varied as the music. Included in the auction were a signed picture of New York Yankee Curtis Granderson and a brick from the old Yankee stadium, both of which were donated to the Teen Center by Last Licks. Local Scarsdale businesses such as Moscato, Chat and Learning Express were also featured in the auction.
But what really brought in the crowd were the music and the $4 margaritas. The doors opened up at 7:30 pm with the band Harvest the Champion playing a short set. Leading Harvest was Scarsdale High School student, Connor Bodine. The opening act served as a reminder of what this night was all about and what the Teen Center was raising funds for: the teens. As The DB6’s guitarist Dave Cannon said, “It’s all about the kids.” For years the Teen Center has been putting on the Adult Night Of Rock as a way to get the community involved in keeping teens safe and away from alcohol and drugs.
Parents and community members have always shown resounding support through their donations and participation in the Adult 
Night Of Rock, and this year it was no different. While their crowd was small, Harvest the Champion played liked the room was packed and the adults clapped at the end of their set to show their support. “We’re excited to be playing here,” said Bodine, “We’ve played a bunch of shows at the Teen Center, and we have great time doing it.” A few Scarsdale teens had shown up to support Harvest the Champion but once the local high school band had finished their set the bar became 21 and over and it was time for the featured performers to take the stage.
Vintage started to fill up as We Stole The Kids (WSTK) began playing. For the most part the audience was made up of Scarsdale parents and community members, but sprinkled throughout the room was the occasional college student, home for the summer. While We Stole The Kids has played venues from Dewey Beach Fest in Delaware to The Studio at Webster Hall, they haven’t forgotten where they got their start, their hometown of Scarsdale. Members Eric Sherman, Daniel Lonner (aka August Coupe), Scott Jacobson and Ziya Smallens played together while they were students at SHS, performing at the Teen Center and larger venues like the Apollo Theater in Manhattan. Since then they have added Jess Ingui on vocals and Brett Schneider on drums and have continued to have success. Lonner, a sophomore at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at the Tisch School, said he likes playing at large festivals but he was excited to be playing a gig in his hometown in a more relaxed setting. Eric Sherman, a junior at Boston University said, “it’s nice to play a show close to home where people can come out and enjoy themselves and support a great place like the Teen Center.” While WSTK’s sound may be geared toward a younger audience, the adults in the room danced and bopped their heads to Daniel Lonner’s rapping and Jess Ingui’s diva style vocals.
We Stole The Kids wasn’t the only band present with Scarsdale roots. Skyfactor’s Jon and Cliff Rubin grew up and in town and were part of the band “Sky Blues” in the early nineties, which recorded five albums at an indie label. But like We Stole the Kids, the Rubin brothers got their start in the halls of SHS. “We both grew up in Scarsdale and had a great experience there, so agreeing to lend our time and talents for the Scarsdale Teen Center was a no-brainer for us,” Rubin said. Skyfactor has been playing together for seven years with their drummer Jason Taylor and lead singer Bob Ziegler. Taylor and Ziegler have been playing music with the Rubins for seven years and are Westchester residents as well. Skyfactor was eager to bring their jam band sound to the stage at Vintage, representing a musical style that pre-dated the electronic and alternative sound of We Stole The Kids.
However, it was The DB6 that put the “Adult” in Adult Night Of Rock. Not to be outdone by the younger bands, The DB6 jammed on classic rock tunes, bringing to the stage their versions of songs like American Girl by Tom Petty and Ramblin’ Man by The Allman Brothers. The DB6 band members Dave Cannon, Dan Groner, Dan Bernstein, and Eric Wayne, play in another Scarsdale band that has been around for several years, The Del Bocas. However, two of The Del Bocas were unable to make it to Night of Rock this year, so they added Steve Rabinowitz on guitar and Mike Pearson on drums to form The DB6. One of The DB6’s guitar players, Dave Cannon, has participated in every Adult Night Of Rock, playing in different bands over the years. “It’s an important night for us,” said Cannon after he and The DB6 had finished their sound check, “It’s a great cause because the Teen Center keeps kids drug and alcohol free, and we have a lot of fun doing it. Any way to help out the Teen Center’s cause is worth it.”
That seemed to be the overall sentiment of the night. It was all about helping the Teen Center raise money and to put on a great show. Like Cannon, the event’s host, Jimmy Fink, has been involved in the Adult Night Of Rock every year. He summed up the night quite nicely. “I think the Teen Center is something unique to Scarsdale. If we can help by having an event like this, all the better.”
This article was contributed by Sandor Mark, a 2009 graduate of Scarsdale High School who currently attends Boston University. He is a former member of the Scarsdale Teen Center board.
Scarsdale Historical Society and the Friends of the Scarsdale Parks Announce Community Meetings
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The Scarsdale Historical Society invites all Scarsdale residents and other interested parties to bring their ideas regarding how to best use their two properties to a Community Forum at the Quaker Meeting House at 937 Post Road on Wednesday, May 9th from 8-9:15pm. The Historical Society is seeking constructive ideas for how to use the Cudner-Hyatt House and the Quaker Meeting House to improve the community. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Specifically, the society is looking for ideas that would benefit specific organizations or the community at large and help to preserve the properties.
If you can't attend, but have constructive ideas, please post your ideas on their Facebook page :
Friends of the Scarsdale Parks:
The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks invites all residents to their annual meeting on Thursday May 3 at 7:30 pm in the third floor meeting room of 
Scarsdale Village Hall. The group strives to preserve open space and carries out parkland restoration projects. You can support your Village in a Park by becoming a member and volunteering your time.
The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks have been working in partnership with the Village of Scarsdale, the Conservation Advisory Council, Scouts and several neighborhood associations on the following areas:
· South Fox Meadow Brook Storm Water Project
· Daffodils throughout the village
· Entrance to Village Hall
· Harcourt Woods
· Red Maple Swamp
· The Audrey Hochberg Pond Preserve (Library Pond)
· The deLima Park
· Chase Park
They will give away a free native tree seedlings at Sustainable Scarsdale Day at the Middle School on Saturday, May 5th, starting at 10am until supplies run out.
Your membership donation of $20 or more can be sent to FOSP, P.O. Box 53, Scarsdale, NY, 10583, or transmitted via the PayPal link on the Friends new website: www.friendsofscarsdaleparks.com.
Free Tom Chapin Concert Today at Sustainable Scarsdale Day
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Sustainable Scarsdale Day, will be held this Saturday, May 5, at the Scarsdale Middle School. Exhibits open at 10 am, presentations start at 11, with lunch at noon and a free performance by Grammy-winning Tom Chapin with his group, including songs from a new recording at 2 pn.
Everyone is encouraged to attend and volunteers are needed to help with the events of the day. If you, or your kids can help out, contact Merrell Clark at merrellclark@gmail.com or 914-472-6238 or Steve Frantz at stevenf941@aol.com or 914-874-5095 for details.
Here are ten good reasons to attend:
#10. Build your own awareness of best sustainable practices and new products for use at your own house and property.
#9. Find out why Scarsdale government and school boards are studying ways to improve sustainable operations and cut costs.
#8. See examples of real progress being made by homeowners, governments, institutions, and organizations throughout Westchester.
#7. Listen to expert presentations by Scarsdale and Westchester professionals.
#6. Check out displays by Scarsdale students, green vendors and other local organizations.
#5. Have family fun and learn with your young children, your teens, and your friends. Bring the families of your kids’ friends! Meet interesting, fun people.
#4. Take advantage of this huge organizational effort by the Board of Education, the Village Board and the Scarsdale Forum to bring it all to you.
#3. Volunteer as a guide or helper, and ask your kids to help, too with providing directions, parking, signing up, guiding, tidying up, and cleanup
#2. Enjoy lunch provided by local cafes and products offered by local vendors.
#1. It’s the right thing to do, for you, for your family, for your neighbors and for Scarsdale.
See you at Scarsdale Middle School on Saturday May 5 from 10 am to 3 pm.
Latin Women of Scarsdale Fund Summer Daze Camp
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The Latin American Women of Scarsdale and Friends, a group that began as a social gathering of Spanish speaking women has evolved into a fund raising machine. In the past seven years, this group of enterprising women has raised more than $200,000. The lucky recipient? The Summer Daze Camp, a camp attended by more than 250 underprivileged kids, ages 3-14, run by the Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester.
Ana Maria Ticoll, one of the longtime members of the Latin American Women of Scarsdale & Friends explains that Scarsdale resident Linda Ferr founded the group in 1998. At the time, Ferri, who is of Spanish and French origin, was trying to find a way to practice her Spanish. “For 3 years she had attempted to put together a group, and one day, she grabbed the Scarsdale Middle School telephone directory and called anyone whose name sounded “Latin”. She finally gathered a group of about 27 women and hosted the first meeting at her house in Quaker Ridge in January of 1999. By September of the same year she had 32 regular members.” The group now has about 55 women members, from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. It meets frequently at many social gatherings but one of the events which they most look forward to is their annual fundraiser which raises money for the Summer Daze Camp. This year, the fundraiser will be held at the Scarsdale Golf Club on May 5 at 7pm.
Rosario Kaune, who has tirelessly worked on the fundraiser for the past seven years, explains that the women decided to use their time, education and generosity to help those in need. “We chose to work with Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester, a non-profit organization, which runs a variety of programs to help underprivileged families in the Port Chester area.” The community center provides help and education for new mothers, a soup kitchen, used clothing distribution, the Don Bosco Boys & Girls Club, and after-school youth programs. Kaune points out that her group decided to help sponsor the 6-week summer day camp for children 3-14 years old. “During the summer months, many of the parents are faced with either quitting their jobs or leaving their children unattended in their apartments. We wanted to support the summer camp so that these parents would be able to continue to work while their kids attended a safe and fun summer program.” The camp, which runs from 8:30am to 4pm, gives all the children breakfast, lunch and snack. The children participate in daily sports and arts activities. “Almost 50% of the children attending the camp need partial or full scholarships in order to attend and we are happy to help make this happen,” states Kaune.
For many years, the fundraiser was held at the home of Maritza Williamson who has been instrumental in its success. However, this year, it will be held at the Scarsdale Golf Club on May 5th at 7pm, with a CINCO DE MAYO theme. Guests will enjoy Mexican food and dance to a DJ and mariachi band. As in past years, there will be silent auction items including a week at a villa in Casa De Campo, meals at popular restaurants, and donations from many Scarsdale vendors. Esther Dodo, Marietta Fica, America Gonzales and Estella Kochiss, have also devoted long hours and used their unique talents to raise money for the children who would not be able to attend the camp without their help.
Ticoll adds, “As Latinos we love to get together with friends, have fun, enjoy good food, good music and dance. For this event we try to invite many of our non-Latin friends to enjoy and experience our culture and contribute to such a good cause. Everybody is welcome!” An added benefit has been that these women have inspired their children to get involved. Camilla Kaune, a senior at SHS, volunteered this past winter, organizing the thrift shop at Don Bosco. Gabby Czerniak and Celina Ticoll, both juniors at SHS, have also helped out at the camp as junior counselors for many years and last year, Alex Czerniak chose to teach music to the camp children as his mitzvah project.
For more information about the Cinco de Mayo event and to learn more about the Summer Daze camp program or to make donations to the program, please contact Ana Maria Ticoll at anamariaticoll@yahoo.com, telephone (914) 714-0524 or Rosario Kaune at rosario.kaune@verizon.net or (914) 806-6169.
(Pictured at top: America Gonzalez. Susan Groner, Rosario Kaune, Maritza Williamson, Ana Maria Ticoll)
This article was contributed by Hyun Heffner of Scarsdale.
