The Food Pantry team is looking for help delivering bags of groceries and elder care supplies to the Beaveridge senior citizens community. This is a twice-a-month effort, and substitute/backup drivers would be very much appreciated. Could you help? Louise Fang provided a history of the church’s involvement with this community, which supports many low-income senior citizens:
I would like to give you a little history of the First Presbyterian Church’s beginnings with the Beaveridge Senior Citizens Apartments. Jean Beaver and her husband were long-time, active members of this Church. They established the Beaver Conference Farm through the gift of their home and land on the corner of Underhill Avenue and Route 118, creating a Board which had oversight of the use of the facilities and its various programs. As a part of the Board’s Ministry to the Yorktown Community, a pressing need for Affordable Housing was realized and the Board began working toward that goal. At least four of the Conference Board members were also members of this Church and they were Jean Beaver, John Given, Ed Huibregtse and Dudley Jones. These four spearheaded the project as the Beaver Farm Conference Board set aside a sizeable piece of property from the former Beaver Farm for the construction of 171 affordable housing units which currently operates under the HUD Rental Assistance Program.
The first tenants moved into the complex some 50+years ago, and since its opening several of our church members have resided in the facility. A certain number of units were made available to those who could not even meet the lost cost rent. Currently, these units are also made available to those people who are severely disabled, as well as those with very low income. Often there is a waiting list of over 2 years.
For the last 14 years our Church’s Food Pantry has helped the disabled and elderly by delivering bags of groceries twice a month, and is now delivering Eldercare products. The residents are extremely grateful. The average age of those we help is over 80. My heart goes out to the lady who lost both hands but always smiles.
If you would like to help as a substitute delivery driver, please call Louise Fang at 914-962-4515 or e-mail her.