Moms Who Rock Around Our Towns: Hastings' Pam Koner

Patch shares with you local moms we think are awesome. We ask them some questions and hear about how they manage life with kids and other activities. We hope you'll enjoy getting to know some of our neighbors.

Pam Koner lives in Hastings-on-Hudson with her husband, David Yohai. She is the founder and executive director of Family-to-Family. She is also the founder and president of the Homework Club, which has been serving children in Hastings since 1994. She has two daughters, Olivia, a law student and Chloe, a college student.

1. How do you balance being a mom and working?

Pam acknowledges that it has always been a "struggle to balance being a mom and working." She thinks that "everyone balances, it is just how well we do it."

Her work has mostly been home-based, so she’s had some flexibility with her schedule. When her kids were in elementary school, she was running the Homework Club in the afternoon and was concerned she wasn't spending enough time with her own kids.

She came up with a creative idea that she called "tailgate lunch parties," where she'd get her kids at school and sit it the back of the car in the parking lot once a month just to have time together. She notes that it was "a little wild and wacky," but for her, it was important to have the special time with the kids and for them to "experience things that are out of the box."

She believes that "life is about possibilities not about limitations." Their lunch adventure might have been different, but she would rather have that than her kids saying "I never get mom to myself because she helps kids after school everyday."

2. We'd love to hear more about your work; tell us about it!

Pam is a self-described entrepreneur in both the for-profit
and non-profit fields.

In 1994, she created the for-profit Homework Club to help families in the Hastings community that needed extra childcare. It offers “unique creative-based child care programs for children 12 months-13 years.”

In 1992 she founded non-profit Family to Family after
reading an article about poverty in the New York Times. Currently, it helps 22 communities throughout the United States. It asks families to “sponsor” other families, providing them with meals. There are other opportunities to become involved as well, including Birthday in a Box, encouraging Giving Parties, seasonal drives to collect items for holidays and so much more. In 2009, Pam was nominated as a CNN Hero.

Family-to-Family is excited about their newest program,
which will launch soon, called Pantry Partners. Individuals can register to
become a participant and donor to a local food pantry. Every month, volunteers will be provided a list from the pantry and can shop for the items they need. It is a great, simple way to involve even young children in giving back to the community.

There are lots of ways to become involved in the programs
that Family-to-Family offers. Ultimately, Pam hopes that through her efforts, she is “helping to create another generation of doers and givers.”

Both Homework Helpers and Family-to-Family really define her
in so many ways “as a woman in addition to being a mother.”  She feels 
lucky that this work makes her feel so good and at the same time,
values how it provides for the community."

3. When you find time for yourself, what do you enjoy doing locally?

Pam is usually working, but she is often found having meetings at or wandering through the in Hastings on Saturday morning.

4. What are some of your top things to do around Westchester with your family?

You can find Pam enjoying one of her favorite activities, walking, often at the .

5. What is your favorite thing about living in this area?

Pam likes "the small town community feeling and that finding it 20 miles north of Manhattan is unique.” She feels that now, after so many years, she is "embedded in the community and knows so many people." She appreciates that people know her and the work she is engaged in each day and feels cared for by others in the community. She also feels that there is a reciprocity from others around this area and if she needs something, she either "knows someone that can help get things done or knows someone who has ability to network."

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