Carmel Rotary Shares the Aid (Aired February 15 and 16, 2020)

Rotarians Marjorie Keith and Jessica Vanacoro of the Carmel (NY) Rotary Club visit
RadioRotary to describe and promote the way their club has found to induce the community to donate to the many worthy local nonprofit organizations. Instead of having a fundraiser for donations to the club and then distributing the money as requests for help come in, the Carmel Club along with the Carmel High School Interact has an event that raises money directly for the participating nonprofits. The club handles all the preparations for the event, which is their annual Basketball Challenge, and also collects the donations, doing whatever paperwork or arithmetic required. At the end, the club gives 90% of the money to the participating nonprofits, while retaining the rest for their own projects and donations. This is the 13 th year that Carmel Rotary has been running the Basketball Challenge—in 2019 the total amount collected was $60,000 for 65 nonprofit organizations, and they expect to do even better today. Although the Challenge is to see how many baskets you can make in 2 minutes, the game is adjusted to handle children as young as 3, persons with handicaps, and the aged, so everyone has a chance to make money for their favorite cause.

Learn more
Carmel Rotary Club (NY): https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2208
Carmel Rotary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmelrotaryclubny/
Carmel High School Interact: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2208/stories/interact-international
Mighty Cause, Carmel Basketball Challenge: https://www.mightycause.com/event/2020bballchallenge

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February 20, 2020 · Posted in Events, Rotary Club Projects  

Friends of Guirgho (Aired February 8 and 9, 2020)

Victor Guirma and Pascal Guirma along with Bob Rich visited RadioRotary from their
home Rotary Club, New Paltz. All three are part of Friends of Guirgho, a 501(c)3
nonprofit that is trying to improve the school and other facilities in the village of Guirgho,
Burkina Faso, the ancestral home of the Guirma brothers. Burkino Faso (formerly
known as Upper Volta) is a landlocked nation in West Africa whose people are mostly
Mossi. Roughly 100 years ago when France controlled this part of West Africa, French
Jesuits wanted to start a boarding school, but few natives would attend. Finally the
Mossi emperor had his second son, known as Bila Victor, hogtied and carried off to the
school, which signaled the other Mossi that it was safe to attend. Bila Victor became
educated and his children did also, one of whom became the first ambassador from
Upper Volta to the United States and later the ambassador to the United Nations, which
is how his sons Victor and Pascal came to attend school at SUNY New Paltz and later
settle in the town. They always had remained connected to the ancestral village of
Guirgho, a rural settlement about 60 km from the capital of Burkina Faso. Visiting the
village of they saw the need for a better school and for other modern improvements.
One of their most complicated projects was bringing computers to the school, since
there was no infrastructure. Listen to the program, which tells much of the story.

Learn more
Friends of Guirgho: https://www.friendsofguirgho.org/
New Paltz Rotary Club: https://www.newpaltzrotary.org/
Burkina Faso: https://www.britannica.com/place/Burkina-Faso
Ambassador Frédéric Guirma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frédéric_Guirma

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February 20, 2020 · Posted in International Programs, Rotary Club Projects  

Helping Victims of Domestic Abuse (Aired February 1 and 2, 2020)

RadioRotary interviews Branka Bryan, Executive Director of Grace Smith House, a shelter for
persons confronted with domestic violence in Dutchess Country, about 10% of whom are men.  Domestic violence includes psychological as well as physical abuse of a person in an intimate partner relationship. The abused and the abuser can each be any age, ranging from children in middle school to persons over 90 years old. Grace Smith House started nearly 39 years ago when a small group from Poughkeepsie’s First Presbyterian Church (including a church elder named Grace Smith) recognized that there was a need for housing to protect victims of domestic violence.  Today Grace Smith House also provides transitional housing, counseling, and education in the schools and the community. Victims can easily reach help by calling the hot line, (845) 471-3033, where trained volunteers will direct the caller to help. Services of Grace Smith House are free and highly confidential. Women with young children can be accommodated in the shelter as well as adults and teenagers.

Learn more
Grace Smith House: https://www.gracesmithhouse.org/
Domestic Violence Services, Dutchess County: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Community-Family-Services/Domestic-Violence.htm
Gaslighting: https://www.healthline.com/health/gaslighting

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February 20, 2020 · Posted in Domestic Violence, Support Groups, Women  

40 Years of Hudson River Housing (Aired January 18 and 19, 2020)

Back in 1980, Dutchess County Executive Lucille Pattison recognized that there was a
homeless crisis in the county and appointed a Task Force to address the problem, which
resulted in the formation of Hudson River Housing and the first emergency shelter for the
homeless. This vital service has been at the heart of the program as Hudson River Housing
expanded over the years to include transitional housing; affordable apartments and houses;
housing for veterans, for youth, and for seniors; historic preservation; rehabs of existing
structures as well as new construction; employment assistance; and help for first-time home
buyers. In this program, Christa Hines, Executive Director of Hudson River Housing, tells the
story of this amazing agency and the work that it does. With a staff of 160 as well as many
volunteer workers, the Housing Agency has become central to improving Poughkeepsie—and it has extensions to Beacon and to northeastern Dutchess (Amenia, Pine Plains, and Millerton)
where there are considerable needs as well.

Learn more
Hudson River Housing: https://hudsonriverhousing.org/
Family Partnership Center: http://familyservicesny.org/family-partnership-center/
Mental Health America of Dutchess County: https://mhadutchess.org/

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February 4, 2020 · Posted in Community Planning, Financial Planning, Housing Assistance, Service Organizations  

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