To the editor:

I’m writing to encourage you to reelect Maura Curtin as a Pelham town councilwoman and to share my experiences working closely with her in our roles as volunteer grief facilitators with the Tree House Program at the Bereavement Center of Westchester. Curtin served as a grief facilitator for 18 years, providing compassionate accompaniment to grieving children who suffered the death of a parent or sibling. I’ve been a lifelong resident of Westchester and have volunteered with the Bereavement Center for the past 25 years.

The Tree House is a very special, donor-funded program, affiliated with N.Y. Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital and staffed entirely by volunteers like Curtin. It has served many families from Pelham, and it’s one of the first grief centers in the country established solely for children and their families experiencing the trauma of loss.

Anyone who knows Curtin knows she is a fierce advocate for youth and children. So it should come as no surprise that she was well-loved by those she counseled at The Tree House. As the facilitator of our teen group, she made immediate and lasting connections with youth, helping them process their grief, share worries and concerns, and explore the “absent presence” that is often a part of children’s experiences coping with loss. She traveled from New York City to Bronxville every week to carry out this work and easily earned the admiration of our fellow volunteers. Simply put, Curtin shows up, always, for those in need.

She also brought her enormous talent for donor relations to her work as a member of the Bereavement Center’s fundraising team. Her efforts helped ensure that families would continue to benefit from vital services at no expense during times of profound crisis. Simply put, where there is a need, Curtin is a creative and successful fundraiser, a valuable skill in public office that she has repeatedly drawn on to the benefit of all Pelham residents.

While Curtin’s role as town councilwoman is public facing and her many accomplishments reflect the kind of leader and advocate she is, it is her dedicated and quiet volunteer work, carried out well away from the limelight, that reveals the kind of person Curtin is. She is by nature deeply compassionate and caring, wanting only the best for her family, neighbors and the Pelham community.

As you cast your vote on Nov. 7, I encourage you to support Maura Curtin’s reelection to the town council. Pelham is lucky to have her in their corner, and I am excited to see how much good she can help achieve in a second term serving the people of Pelham.

Donna Bucciarelli

24 Colonial Road

Bronxville