Daughters of Wisdom Awards $15,000 Grant to Maryhaven Center of Hope

Daughters of Wisdom awarded a $15,000 Wisdom Grant to Maryhaven Center of Hope. 

Maryhaven was founded in 1929 by the Daughters of Wisdom, who initially worked with forty children with disabilities. Well-trained caregivers have since taken over Maryhaven’s programs and work to enrich the lives of those with special needs. Their main services include a Community Residential Program, Day Habilitation Programs, and the Integrated Business Center, where people living with disabilities work alongside non-disabled employees.

They were given a grant to expand their existing Day Habilitation Culinary Program, which addresses food insecurity on Long Island's East End. It’s centered on teaching culinary skills to those living with developmental disabilities. Maryhaven is planning to include the preparation and distribution of meals to households with disabled individuals, as well as providing food assistance to its direct support professional workforce. 

“The intended goal of this initiative is to expand Maryhaven’s current culinary day program to include the preparation and distribution of healthy prepared meals to households that include those who live with disabilities and often experience higher rates of food insecurity,” said  Development Director Diane Burke.

Maryhaven has previously received a Wisdom Grant in 2023.

They were recommended for a 2025 grant by Sr. Evelyn Eckhardt. 

“Maryhaven has a long history of serving our brothers and sisters with disabilities and their families. In the past, we were blessed to have our Sisters participate directly in the mission of Maryhaven, and the giving of the Mission Grant allows us to continue a meaningful connection,” said Sr. Evelyn. 

“I find the expanding of the culinary program to be a wonderful expression of Wisdom setting Her table. It not only includes training for persons with disabilities; it also provides outreach to the direct support professional workforce who are suffering from food insufficiency — a need that might very well increase going forward. How good it would be for us ot collaborate on this creative plan — a source of hope in these troubled times!” 

In 2024, Maryhaven gave thanks to Daughters of Wisdom by planting two rosebud bushes outside of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent in Sound Beach.