Peekskill Holiday Party Brings Holiday Cheer for Young, Old

A good cause, good holiday cheer and a good time were all on the agenda during Tuesday night’s intergenerational Christmas party at the BeanRunner Cafe in Peekskill.

The annual event was sponsored by the local chapter of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and the Archonettes, the sorority’s youth auxiliary group which is made up of girls in the 14 to 18 age range. The party, in its fourth year, featured live music, Christmas carols and food.

In order to attend the party, people had to donate a toy for the ‘Toys for Tots’ program or a gift card for a senior citizen. The cards will be given to seniors and families that have been identified with help from organizations such as the Peekskill Housing Authority and Hudson River HealthCare.

Tuesday McDonald, one of the party's organizers, said she started the event through her involvement with the local chapter Community For All Ages. Community for All Ages, which originated out of Temple University, is a national organization dedicated to promoting intergenerational advocacy and collaboration.

“A lot of the work I do is intergenerational, even the work I do with the Archonettes,” McDonald said. “I try to make sure everyone is included. I wanted to make sure that we didn’t just support ‘Toys for Tots,’ which is important, but that we also remembered our senior citizens.”

In addition to Tuesday’s party, the Zeta and Archonetts held a youth clothing drive for youth, organized a Healthy Harvest Festival at Hudson River HealthCare and collected food baskets for two families for Thanksgiving last month.

“We stay pretty busy,” McDonald said.

The group is holding another Christmas celebration and pin ceremony at 1:30 p.m. this Sunday, Dec. 16 at the BeanRunner Cafe.