There are numerous not-for-profits in our town and county who deliver critical services for our residents who find themselves in need of help in the light of personal difficulties. We are so fortunate to have many different organizations assisting us in connecting residents to services for people with disabilities, veterans, childcare resources, mental health, elder care, food assistance, domestic violence, substance abuse, LGBTQIA+ issues and others. Luckily, many of those not-for-profits happen to be centrally located in the Town of Clarkstown.

But oftentimes it can be hard for people to find comprehensive information on these types of services.

Recently, Chris Barry from PFFLAG ROCKLAND and Marissa Freemont from the Rockland Challenger Little League raised this point and asked if we would consider adding information about local support organizations on our town website. I thought it was an excellent idea and was happy to see this project come to fruition. Residents can now get information about various not-for-profits on our town website under the Community tab on our home page.

Linking people to these organizations isn’t just for when individuals find themselves in a time of need; it is also a great way for people to learn about ways they can help others by donating or volunteering their time. Having worked for various not-for-profits for many years prior to becoming Supervisor, I know firsthand how vital donations and volunteer assistance be. In Clarkstown, we are always open to partnering with and helping these organizations in any way we can. Some of the simple ways in which we can help are coordinating holiday food drives for local pantries, sock drives for the homeless shelter and hosting various walks and events at our parks and facilities. Right now we are conducting a Back-to-School Drive to collect school supplies to assist People to People and Advocating for Change as they equip students in need for school. We also help promote events, scholarships, and fundraisers for all not-for-profits on our social media outlets.

I am delighted we found another way to not only help promote our local not-for-profits, but to also help our residents find the assistance they may need.

Thank you to Chris and Marissa for bringing this idea forward and for the good work they continue to do within their own organizations. Please visit www.clarkstown.org and click Community to learn more.

* This is a weekly column by Town of Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann.