Briarcliff Teacher’s Association Raises Funds, Food for Ossining Food Pantry

The Briarcliff Teacher's Association (BTA) continued its annual tradition of running donation drives at Todd Elementary School, Briarcliff Middle School and Briarcliff High School during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. 

This year the BTA collected its biggest haul yet: 19 boxes of dry/canned goods -- approximately 750 pounds of food -- and $502. Per tradition, all of the donations are headed to the Ossining Food Pantry.

Ellen Mager, the head of the BTA Community Service Committee, said everyone involved takes pride in giving back to their community. 

“Our goal is to work together to try to make a difference in the community where we work,” Mager said. “We have ran three fundraisers district-wide the last four years: Support Connection in October, the Ossining Food Pantry in November, and the Westchester Food Bank in January.”

Mager said the Todd School collected an additional seven boxes, which was coordinated by Cindy Yaeger. Mager added that the teachers in each building also participated in a dress down day, and a bake sale was ran in the high school to bring awareness to the drive.

“We believe modeling behavior is an important way for students to learn about giving to those who are currently less fortunate,” Mager said.