A New Pavilion for the Jay Gardens!

A NEW PAVILION FOR THE JAY GARDENS!

Thanks to an extraordinarily generous grant from the prestigious Gerry Charitable Trust , JHC is building a beautiful pavilion based on a

19th-century design at the head of our new Historic Jay Gardens .

BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The Gerry Charitable Trust awarded JHC a $50,000 grant in 2019 — and challenged us to raise another $75,000 by March 31, 2020, with the promise that they will match every dollar, for a total of $150,000 . We're almost there! Thanks to your generosity, we have already raised $56,000. But we need to raise another $19,000 in the next two months to take full advantage of the challenge grant .

Will you help us reach our goal and add your name to the special list of garden pavilion donors?

Yes, I want to build the pavilion!

Plus...

TWO CELEBRATIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE AND LITERATURE

On an icy Martin Luther King Day, three acclaimed authors — Bridgett M. Davis, Dr. Nell Braxton Gibson, and Rudean Leinaeng — spoke to a crowded Carriage House as part of the American Women of African Heritage annual Literary Celebration . See the video here or for photos, click here .

And next month, on February 27th, for the 7th year running, JHC will host Westchester County's annual Black History Month and Trailblazer Awards . This year's honorees, which include a member of the national Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and a former US Attorney for New York , will be recognized for their dynamic community legacies. Click here to find out more about them.

THIS WILL SELL OUT—GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

CNN's Bianna Golodryga will interview Tatiana Schlossberg , a former climate reporter at the New York Times and the daughter of Caroline Kennedy , about her new book, "Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have."

Click here to register

JAY ESTATE ADVOCATE

CHARLES BIRNBAUM TO RECEIVE NATIONAL MEDAL FROM

GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA

For more than a decade, Charles Birnbaum, founder and president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, has been a passionate ally and an effective advocate for preserving the historic landscape of the Jay Estate. His efforts on both our behalf and on behalf of other significant American treasures will be recognized this May by the Garden Club of America when he receives one of their highest honors. Read more here.

Plus, in the news...

Earlier this month New York Governor

Andrew M. Cuomo proposed a

$3 billion bond act that would aim to protect environmental resources including natural wetlands, reduce flooding, protect wildlife habitats, and build New York's resilience to climate change. "No economic strategy, no social justice reform, no education policy will be worth a damn if we don't have a planet that we can live on," he said in his State of the State address.

A key component of his "Restore Mother Nature" plan is the creation of a climate change council which will include former NY State Parks Commissioner and Jay Estate advocate, Rose Harvey .