Giving Rye: Meet the Port Chester Carver Center
Giving Rye is a new occasional feature highlighting non-profits and community groups in and around the City of Rye. Today meet Anne Bradner of the Port Chester Carver Center.
Your Name: Anne Bradner
Organization: Port Chester Carver Center
Your role: Chief Executive Officer
MyRye.com: Tell us your organization’s mission.
Bradner: Port Chester Carver Center helps our community thrive through programs that nourish, educate, and empower.
How long have you operated in Rye?
Bradner: We’ve been operating in Port Chester for 81 years.
What programming or work in Rye is the organization best known for?
Bradner:
- As Port Chester’s only community resource center, the Carver Center provides a holistic approach to addressing the diverse needs of individuals and families. From food security to education to youth development, we offer comprehensive support to empower and uplift the Port Chester community.
- Carver Market – our self-choice food pantry provides families with fresh produce, high-quality proteins, and nutritious food options for no cost. In the last six months, our Carver Market had 11,165 household visits.
- Youth & Young Adult Programming – We remain committed to youth development by continuously enhancing our programs and expanding our reach. Children and teens are being served through our Afterschool and Teen Center programming. In partnership with the school district, we secured funding to offer an affordable afterschool program to 585 children across all four Port Chester elementary schools. Additionally, 266 teens are currently enrolled in our Teen Center programming, where they receive academic assistance, engage in enriching activities, and develop essential life skills. Through these efforts, we aim to empower young adults to reach their full potential and thrive as confident, capable leaders in their communities.
Looking forward to 2025, what will be your top initiatives?
Bradner:
- Expanding our Case Management Services – Our Case Management service is a collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, evaluation, and advocacy for options and services to help meet an individual’s or family’s emerging needs.
- Carver Market – Carver Center is dedicated to growing our Carver Market food pantry operations to meet the needs of our community. In late January 2025, we will be expanding our open Market days to include Saturdays. Volunteer opportunities will be available to help with this distribution. Call our Welcome Center in 2025 for more information, 914-305-6009.
- In 2025, we will continue to expand our workforce development efforts thanks to a grant from the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board. We will be hiring 25 young people ages 16-20 to work in local businesses. Call Karina Lehan at 914-305-6024 if you would like your business to participate in this valuable work experience program.
Tell us about the population you serve and how they can get involved with your programming and services.
Bradner: Carver Center serves the vibrant and diverse community of Port Chester, NY, where economic challenges, including a lack of affordable housing, deeply impact residents. With a per capita income of $40,722 and 14.3% living below the poverty line, Port Chester is home to a rapidly growing Latinx population, now 62.4% of the community. 79% are economically disadvantaged, and 39% are English Language Learners. Carver Center empowers this underserved community through education, and vital resources.
Are you a 501(c)(3) non-profit with tax exempt status?
Bradner: Yes.
Looking back across 2024, what were your organization’s top achievements?
Bradner:
- Completed a community needs assessment and a new, three-year strategic plan outlining our priorities to help Port Chester families with programs that nourish, educate and empower.
- Awarded a New York State grant to offer free elementary afterschool programs in two schools ($900,000 per year for five years).
- Began a new workforce development initiative that gives jobs to youth (ages 16-20).
How can local residents support your organization?
- If you own a local business, call us to see if we can add you to our growing list of workforce development employers (we pay the salary). Current employers include: Port Chester Rye Brook Library; Office of State Senator Shelley Mayer; M Auto Detailing.
- Call us at 914-305-6009 to volunteer. We can always use help in our Carver Market (food pantry) and expect to have new, Saturday volunteer hours beginning in late January.
- Buy a ticket, or two, to our annual fundraising event on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the Westchester Country Club!
What local Rye residents and area businesses have been the longest, steadiest supporters of your organization?
Bradner:
- Robert Kaplan is a lifetime board member, and along with his wife, Debra Stokes Kaplan, funded our MakerSpace, which provides a popular place for STEM activities.
- June & Ho Park established a bequest to fund college and vocational school scholarships for young people, particularly first-generation college students.
- Our past board presidents include: Claire Steinberg, Maureen Gomez, Dinah Howland.
- Ingraham Taylor has positively influenced generations of teens through her involvement in our youth development programs
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in your current role?
Bradner: I celebrated my 6th anniversary as CEO in October
Is the role full time or part time? Paid or volunteer?
Bradner: Full-time Paid position
How would your friends and family describe you in one word?
Bradner: Optimistic
Where did you grow up?
Bradner: I was born in Chicago and grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. The first time I got off the train in Rye and walked across Purchase Street, I felt right at home!
What is your favorite unimportant thing about you?
Bradner: I now have a “grand dog,” who is an adorable mini-Dachshund puppy. He and I have a great time playing “chase” together!
If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is this chapter about?
Next Chapter: The Next Generation. I love my work and look forward to developing the next generation of nonprofit leaders by mentoring staff at Carver Center. This is consistent with one of our strategic goals to be a competitive employer and offer more training opportunities for our staff.
The Next Generation is also a theme in my personal life with one son newly engaged to be married and both of them “off and running” in their young adult lives.
What would you do if you were not afraid?
Bradner: I once considered skydiving, but thought I’d wait till my children were grown. Now I’m chicken.
Where do you live in Rye and how many years have you lived in the City?
Bradner: I’ve lived just over the Rye border in Harrison for 27 years.
Thanks Anne!
Bradner bio:
Anne Bradner is a dedicated nonprofit manager with extensive leadership experience in community-based organizations. Anne was previously the Vice President of Development for the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, CT; Deputy Director for the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College, State University of New York; and Executive Director of The Rye Arts Center. She is a strategic mission-driven leader, skilled in philanthropy and organizational leadership. Anne is credited with leading Carver Center through the challenging period of the pandemic with a refreshed commitment to mission and outcomes. She holds an A.B in Theater from Smith College in Northampton, MA.
