As 2019 comes to a close, Pelham Together is grateful to our community for helping to make this year one of tremendous success and growth. Pelham Together is a local nonprofit organization that strives to bring Pelham together to ensure a healthy and vibrant community for and with our youth. We ask for your continued input, involvement and investment so that we can build on our success and growth in 2020. We ask for pre-teens and teens to get involved in our school clubs, Youth Group social events and summer internships. We ask for parents to request, attend and give input about relevant programming. We ask for our schools and other organizations to continue to partner with us. And we ask the whole community to invest financially in our efforts by donating to our year-end campaign.

            Geoff Allen, a parent of college-aged boys, approached Pelham Together about screening a documentary he had seen on ESPN: “After seeing The First Day, which highlights Chris Herren’s work in substance abuse prevention, I contacted Laura [Caruso, Executive Director at Pelham Together], to recommend the film. She and her colleagues moved quickly to buy the movie and to investigate bringing Chris to Pelham to speak to PMHS students. The response was firm and her focus was clear — these activities will benefit Pelham and certainly bring Pelham together.” The First Day’s Director, Jonathan Hock, an 11-time Emmy award winner, participated in a panel discussion after the film and explained why this is his most important film: "Parents express gratitude that we’ve opened a door for them to talk to their kids, to be able to make an emotional connection instead of just lecturing." This event in October brought together dozens of Pelham teens and many parents, along with Pelham High School coaches, Pelham administrators, Dr. Cheryl Champ and Lynn Sabia, and PMHS social worker Kristin Quintano. We look forward to Chris Herren speaking to all PMHS students in October 2020.

            Pelham Together’s “Parents Talk” initiative, started in November, was developed after parents repeatedly asked for opportunities to meet and talk informally with other parents. Dozens of Pelham parents attended the four discussions, held at local homes and facilitated by local mental health professionals. Amie Hughes, a parent of three children, described the group she attended: “The unscripted conversation covered many issues that we as parents are facing right now. The intimacy of the group allowed women of different ages, cultures and backgrounds, to share their challenges. It was validating to hear that so many of us are going through, or have gone through, the same thing. I left with incredible insights, armed with great ideas on how to tackle some of the challenges as our kids work their way into and through their teen years.”

             In November, Pelham Together, in partnership with Pelham Middle School, hosted 100 7th and 8th graders at the Pelham Country Club for the annual Youth Leadership Summit. Students being trained as Student Ambassadors gathered to develop plans for a school climate built on character and dignity for all. Scott Brown, PMS Guidance Counselor, says, “Pelham Together is a unifying force that consistently pushes us to work together and strive for Excellence. The 2019 Youth Leadership Summit was a resounding success. Judging by the students’ excitement and engagement, it is clear that they value concepts of empathy, caring relationships, responsibility, and community engagement The collaborative projects, spontaneous laughter, and thoughtful dialogue resulted in creative ideas that we look forward to implementing through the Pelham Together Club.” In other youth news, be on the lookout for applications to our Summer Internship program in March 2020; last year, we matched 38 high school interns with our Pelham partners. 

            On January 27, 2020, Pelham Together and the PMHS PTA will co-host a discussion with Mary Dell Harrington, one of the authors of Grown and Flown: How to Support Your Teen, Stay Close as a Family, and Raise Independent Adults. In the weeks leading up to this event, Pelham Together will continue our “Parents Talk” series, with groups discussing Grown & Flown in anticipation of the author’s visit. Register here for these January book clubs.

            As you consider your year-end charitable donations, please consider donating to Pelham Together to help us continue our work with the community. You can donate here or mail checks to Pelham Together, 901 Pelhamdale Ave., Pelham, NY 10803. To volunteer, partner, or make a suggestion about programming, please contact Laura Caruso, our Executive Director, Monday through Friday during business hours, at 917-648-6680 and/or lcaruso@pelhamtogether.org.

To get more information or to talk about how Pelham Together might better support our community, you can also speak with any of our Executive Board members, who are all Pelham parents: Andrea Gottfried, Nandini Anandu, Liza Benner, Tim Case, Todd Cross, Anne Fredbeck, Megan Garufi, Teddy Johnson, Colleen Maiberger, Melissa Ronan, Jen Silvester, Leah Tahbaz, Nancy Tsang and Anne Van Praagh.