Bethany House of Baldwin set for third annual Garden Tour in Rockville Centre

Bethany House, a nonprofit organization based in Baldwin dedicated to providing a safe environment for women, and women with children experiencing homelessness, will raise money for programs to help at-risk women through financial, emotional and physical assistance during its third annual Garden Tour fundraiser in Rockville Centre on Wednesday, June 12.

Attendees will enjoy a self-guided tour through five residential gardens in Rockville Centre, located within a half-mile of each other, which will conclude at noon with a luncheon at the Rockville Links golf club.

The tour will begin at 10 a.m., and participants can view them at their own leisure. The garden locations will be revealed the day of the event, and are all due north of Sunrise Highway, making the tour more welcoming for pedestrians.

The luncheon at the Rockville Links Club on Long Beach Rd., will take place from noon to 2 p.m., and will feature an assortment of sandwiches, light snacks, desserts, coffees, iced teas, and other drinks. Both the tour and luncheon are a single ticketed event, with only an $80 donation required for each ticketholder.

Bethany House hopes to raise upwards of $8,000 during the event. There is a maximum of 200 tickets available for the tour and luncheon, and guests are welcome to provide additional donations when purchasing tickets online.

Rockville Centre resident Elizabeth Burke donated her garden to be part of this event. She also participated in the tour last year, and said she found the experience to be socially beneficial.

“It’s a great event,” Burke said. “People get inspired when you look in these gardens. It’s a beautiful day, it’s self-guided, and you get so many ideas and inspiration (from the) five houses.”

Burke describes her garden as her “refuge” and “little paradise,” but is not shy about entertaining guests, particularly when it is to help a charity such as Bethany House, which provides homeless women and children with “safe refuge.”

Although New York’s Department of Social Services provides funding for the three emergency shelters that Bethany House owns, the organization depends on fundraisers and partnerships with government programs, schools, religious institutions, and corporate sponsors to provide the personal level of care and programming, which the clients of Bethany House receive.

Lisa King, a board member of Bethany House and an avid participant in the organization’s events and services, shared how the Garden Tour will help steer the initiatives and goals of Bethany House.

She explained how the organization’s donor-sponsored programs help meet their goal, to support women and children to transition out of homelessness permanently by providing care and pathways to self-sufficiency.

King said that each guest, and their children, are provided with their own room and privacy, as well as intentional and individual help. She also mentioned that Bethany House has several other fundraising events slated for later this year, including a golf and tennis outing on July 30 at the Rockaway Hunting Club.

For tickets and more information on Bethany House and upcoming events, visit BHNY.org.