Brewster Cares NY is a non-profit organization based in Brewster, NY. We are dedicated to helping the poor and needy in our community by providing free of charge ESL classes, the only Spanish speaking AA meeting in Putnam County, and a program that provides meals for families.
Our mission is to make a positive impact in the lives of those in need, and we rely on the generosity of our community to achieve this goal.
We are turning a geographical area into a community. What does that mean? Lending support to your neighbor when he falls down, and offering a hand when she’s climbing up.
We believe we are stronger together. So not only are we helping the citizens of Brewster, we are citizens of Brewster helping the larger community.
Our focus is building a community of volunteers to contribute to different initiatives we identify will have great and lasting impact on the financially unstable in our neighborhoods and surrounding areas .
So join us. Let’s turn strangers into neighbors.
People served in our homeless shelter and warming center this season, which was open 7 days a week from December to March
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Students served in our ESL program with over 2,000 hours of class time offered in 2 locations
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Meals delivered to families through our Supper Hugs program in connection with local restaurants
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"There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about"
Testimonials
"I love this place. Brewster Cares has been kind, loving, helpful. I don't know what we would have done without them."
Mark H
"Brewster Cares has helped me find a job, helps with my self esteem. The family they've created has helped me to come out of my shell."
Kathleen B
"If I didn't take these classes, I wouldn't be able to do my job. And all of the teachers are amazing."
Brewster Cares has administered a warming shelter for the homeless during the past five winters, most recently at 72 Main Street. It has run as a volunteer operation with members of St. Lawrence O’Toole and Trinity Lutheran Church. It began as a community response to a very real need: ensuring that our neighbors had a safe, warm place to go during the coldest months of the year. We are enormously grateful to the staff, volunteers, churches, donors, community partners, and Putnam County agencies who worked alongside us to make that possible.
In recent years, the needs surrounding emergency shelter have changed. Putnam County Department of Social Services has identified the need for a higher level of shelter coverage and services than Brewster Cares, as a small nonprofit organization, is equipped to provide. This past June, the DSS put out a public Request for Proposals in order to sponsor a 24/7 full-service homeless shelter for six months. DSS indicated there were other organizations interested in providing such services.
After careful consideration, our Board determined that we could not responsibly commit to providing that expanded level of service. Brewster Cares therefore will not be involved in any shelter program this winter. Going forward, it will focus on other areas of its mission to serve the local poor and immigrant families and neighbors facing hardship in the Brewster area.