Working with Youth
Help with homework/afterschool tutoring at the Coachman Family Center (CFC) in White Plains or the Elm Street Neighborhood Center, (ESNC) in Yonkers. Teach chess, knitting, cooking, dance, music, art, etc. Organize outdoor picnics or sports activities at a local park or take a group of young people to a ball game, concert, or museum. Work with staff to bring a cake and other goodies to celebrate collective monthly birthdays or holidays.

Working with Adults
Help homeless clients filling out housing applications and making appointments by phone to see available apartments; help adults with career-related activities such as mock interviews, resume writing, workplace protocol. Provide an opportunity for Westhab's clients to shadow an employee during a typical work day in a business setting.

Organize clothing/product drives at work or in your community.

Help individually or through your civic or religious affiliations to provide meals and gifts for holidays.

Help plan and implement a Westhab event.

Join Advisory Boards/Committees.

Help those moving to permanent housing with furniture donations at Westchester County’s Furniture Sharehouse

Drives for Needed Items
Personal hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, razors, tissues and disposable diapers are always in need.  In winter it’s coats, hats and boots. Holiday time is brightened by gifts for children and their families. You’ll be pleased at how fast that bin you put out in the lobby is filled by your co-workers. 

Site Visits to Your Office
There are a number of activities to consider that could take place at your offices which involve both youth and adults. They are as follows;

Adults - Job Shadowing
Each year we provide soft skills and job readiness for close to 200 Westhab residents or community members who meet low income guidelines.  Many trainees have never experienced a corporate environment and would derive great benefit from that kind of exposure.   You can help by hosting a job shadowing program.

You recommend areas that would best lend themselves to shadowing, ie, customer service, human resources, information technology, or facilities.
You select volunteers willing to dedicate an agreed upon time to a trainee.  The expectation is that the trainee will learn about office decorum, punctuality, dress standards, teamwork and supervision and other workplace expectations. 

Youth - Career Awareness
The focus for teens is to keep them in school and to give them a glimpse of employment options and/or higher education. You can help by considering a Career Awareness Day at your workplace for a half day program. Teens would rotate to different departments to learn the inner workings of your company. If time allows, perhaps they have lunch with you in the company cafeteria.

Off Campus Trips/Activities
If it is preferable to engage in one day activities, arrangements can be made to transport Westhab children, accompanied by staff, on vans to the site of an activity. This could be to a park for a picnic, to a ball park for a sports activity, or a cultural event. 

Recently New York Life, an active corporate partner, recruited Westhab teens to help with two projects for which they had volunteered. One was to assist   with tree preservation and the other to help the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals refurbish its facility.  Our youth can provide a ready workforce for community projects with which you are involved when extra hands are needed.

Event Sponsorships
Events are the greatest single source of unrestricted funding for non-profit organizations.  Each summer Westhab holds a major fundraiser which is a golf outing. Corporations often sponsor foursomes which give employees a chance to network while enjoying a day of golf.

In the spring Westhab holds an event at Grand Prix New York.  Many companies sponsor teams which include opportunities for team building, employee recognition and corporate visibility.  A wonderful competitive spirit prevails and drivers love racing around that quarter mile track at speeds of up to 40mph.

Milestone Events
Westhab holds many community-oriented events to mark the groundbreaking or grand opening of a new affordable housing development or a community development activity such as the opening of a playground or neighborhood youth/service center.  The participation of corporate volunteers in such events is welcomed – in terms of just sending out the troops, or helping to plan or fund the event.

Employee Matching Program
Many companies have employee gift matching programs. If you want to make a donation to Westhab, please check if our mission conforms to their matching guidelines. Another way you can help is to see if you can get us the opportunity to give a presentation to your co-workers so they too, can get to know us.