SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!
Dear Community, Our volunteers are the heart of our success at SOUL RYEDERS, making a difference in the lives of those we serve. Since March of 2020, our usual in-person events such as Stitch & Sip and Big Batch were put on hold, but our volunteers still came to us looking for ways to get involved and support their community members dealing with cancer. Though we could not do our projects together in person, we provided our volunteers the materials they needed such as fleece for no-sew blankets, note cards to personalize, eye pillows to sew, all to be worked on in the comfort of their own homes. Our talented chef and baker volunteers made home cooked soups, breads and muffins for our client care packages which were also delivered by volunteers to clients in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties to Lower Connecticut and the Bronx. In the fall, our annual TieTheTownPink campaign flourished with the help of hundreds of volunteers, individually and in family and friend groups, who tied ribbons in a COVID safe manner in several Westchester county areas. It has been inspiring to see how motivated people have been to continue to find ways to give back even in these challenging times. Fast forward to this spring, we were thrilled to participate during a number of school service week sessions. For the first time in three years, SOUL RYEDERS was invited to engage students in meaningful projects. More than 200 canvas bags were hand decorated by local students and will be sent to Camp Kesem this summer for kids who have been impacted by cancer in their family. Watching the children working together - putting their heart and souls into making these bags - was priceless. And, one student aptly named them the ‘make people happy bags.’ This was our first step to getting us on track to in person volunteering back at our office with our ever popular Stitch & Sip! We are working on a plan to find a comfortable way for us to get together to chat, laugh, and build connections while making special items for our clients. Stay tuned for more details and a July date! Continue reading below for ways to get involved - we are so excited to start seeing everyone again! Thank you for being part of our community,
Rachel Felenstein, Volunteer Coordinator and Christine Lombardo, Project & Events Manager | 
