Big things are happening in Carmel. A few months shy of its two-year anniversary, Emmanuel House International (EHI) has helped hundreds of low-income Moms and Moms-to-Be and their Families gain the resources needed to take care of their Babies when resources are hard to come by. Moms and Moms-to-Be come to EHI for help to make sure their Babies have diapers, formula, clothing, sometimes even lights and heat, and everything else a Mom or Mom-to-Be needs to be able to provide for their Newborns.
Founder and Executive Director Rita O’Brien is a force of nature, making sure each Mom and Mom-to-Be has everything needed to be able to provide for their Baby – whether they are you, your neighbor, your friend, the woman in the grocery store, or even someone you’ve never met. Rita has been honored by the Northern Westchester & Putnam Chapter of the Knights of Columbus, Center for Life of Westchester & Putnam, Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell, Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino, Senator Terrence Murphy, and Putnam and Westchester Counties Board of Legislators, for her tireless support for all women and teens who are in crisis due to an unplanned pregnancy, helping them to prepare and then care for their Little Ones. As one client put it, “I was so scared and stressed out about not having anything for my new child. My husband had lost his job at the time and a friend told me about this program that Rita ran. Oh, man, was it a blessing! Rita made sure I had everything for my baby boy. This place makes sure we mothers have everything we need for our babies!”
Over the years, Emmanuel House International has organized its yearly winter clothes and toy drive, with the help of local churches and organizations, giving children sometimes their only new toy or winter clothes during the holiday season. (This is in addition to the gently-used clothes they provide year-round.) They have handed out countless vouchers for food, baby supplies and gently-used baby equipment and furniture. They have provided thousands of hours of support, hunting down resources and having emergency baby supplies at the ready while also being a welcoming listener. But with all this good, EHI still fights to find the necessary funds. While Rita and Emmanuel House International have done so much for our community, they struggle to keep the doors open; to the point, Rita has started a gofundme.com/helpmomsinneed campaign to help make sure the doors stay open so that these Moms and Moms-to-Be will continue to have a place where they can go to get what they need for their Babies, their Families and Themselves.
Presently, Emmanuel House International is in real danger of having to close its doors due to insufficient funds. On Saturday September 26th, EHI will host its 2nd Annual “Families Shine” Walk-a-thon at Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park from 12noon to 4pm. Walk-a-thon RSVP instructions, including how to download group sign-ups, pledge sheet and info packet, and more, are available at www.EmmanuelHouseInternational.org. If you’d rather RSVP offline, have questions, or are interested in volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, contact Rita at (914) 393-7208 or Rita@EmmanuelHouseInternational.org.
Please help to keep this valuable community resource alive and well!