Croton & Ossining Religious Institutions Hit Tough Financial Times

The tough financial times have hit Croton and Ossining hard. Some of the hardest hit places are our religious institutions. There are numerous reason why our places of worship are feeling the brunt of the economic downturn. They include church and synagogue members losing their jobs or tightening their belts due to family budgets shrinking.

Houses of worship are also depleting their cash reserves as they work to help their members and others in the community who have fallen on tough times. Patch visited one local church that is reaching out to their church members and those in the community to help get their budget back on track.

Church members at on Cleveland Drive in Croton decided to get creative when it came to their efforts to give their parish a financial boost. They decided to hold a spaghetti fundraiser to help get the church get back in the black. The effort was daunting, as many of the young volunteers had never dealt with food preparation and service before.

Church member Julie Kelly could be seen in the center of the operation making sure that the spaghetti dinner went off without a hitch. “It’s exciting. I’m glad to see the turnout. I’m hoping we can at least fulfill half of our budget deficit. That would be my dream goal right now,” said Kelly.

When it was all said and done the church did raise a lot of money during their May 22 fundraiser. Pastor Anthony Stephens says they were able to make up 40% of their budget deficit. “It makes me hopeful that people are still able to rally to good causes in difficult times. We operate this church really quite frugally…” said Pastor Stephens. “There is also the issue of people not associated with the congregation that drop by because they have a specific need. After exercising due diligence with discretionary money their particular needs might be met... That discretionary money has been used up, because there are so many people who have needs. And there is a greater flow than there has been before.”

If you would like to help Our Saviour with their budget deficit, please send an email to mail@oursaviourcroton.org. Or give them a call at 914-271-4632.