Empowering People with Disabilities (Aired June 18, 2023)
Radio Rotary welcomes Lily Schaub and Jill Rodriquez, who describe the In Flight program that aids persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In Flight, Inc. empowers its clients to support a meaningful quality of life, which can range from developing basic skills to living in a group home (or independently) or to finding satisfying employment. In Flight achieves its mission
through residential services for adults and one-on-one skill-building, including for children living at home. The I-Sail program provides training that can lead to employment opportunities. Clients and supporters come together in August for the Cornhole for a Cause fundraiser, which includes music, food trucks, raffles, and other entertainment.
Learn More:
In Flight: https://www.inflightinc.org/
COM-HAB: https://www.inflightinc.org/community-habilitation/
I-SAIL: https://www.inflightinc.org/isail-flights-success-academy-independent-living/
Hudson Valley Service Providers: https://www.hvspllc.org/
New York State Office of Developmental Disabilities: https://opwdd.ny.gov/
Developmental Disabilities: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/facts.html
Improving Life in Honduras for 22 Years (Aired on June 11, 2023)
Rotarian Christopher Parkinson (Bow, NH, Rotary Club, Past District Governor District 7870, 2007-08) joins Radio Rotary to describe the 7870 District’s 22-year involvement with improving conditions in Honduras, one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. The project began when a major hurricane destroyed much of Honduras in 1999. The mission from District 7870 that year revealed the serious problems that faced that Central American nation and led to more than 30 subsequent missions to build schools, improve sanitation and water sources, and provide medical assistance.
Learn More:
Amigos de Honduras (Friends of Honduras): https://rotary7870.org/page/amigos-de-honduras-district-mission
Pure Water for the World: https://www.purewaterfortheworld.org/
Rotary District 7870: https://rotary7870.org/
Rotary Club of Bow, NH: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/1612
New England Accordion Connection & Museum (Aired on June 4, 2023)
Radio Rotary welcomes Paul Ramunni (and one of his more than 500 accordions) to the program. A few years ago, Mr. Ramunni learned of the connection between musical instruments, especially accordions and concertinas (smaller instruments sometimes called “squeezeboxes”), to the Holocaust. Concentration camp prisoners who played instruments were often used in propaganda bands. He began to collect historic accordions, having learned to play the accordion as a youth. His collection is now displayed in the old railway station in North Canaan, Connecticut, at the New England Accordion Connection and Museum, which also sells instruments and related items. Mr. Ramunni has many wonderful stories of how accordion music in the museum has had a profound effect on some visitors, many recounted in his book Accordion Stories from the Heart. On the show, he also plays a lovely rendition of “Arrrivederci Roma.”
Learn More:
New England Accordion Connection & Museum: https://newenglandaccordionconnectionandmuseumcompany.com/
Accordion Stories from the Heart: https://www.amazon.com/Accordion-Stories-Heart-collection-extraordinary/dp/0976176610
CMTQ Guide to Accordion Museum: https://www.ctmq.org/new-england-accordion-museum/
The Accordion in History: https://www.earlymusicamerica.org/web-articles/according-the-accordion-its-historical-due/
The River Valley Arts Center (Aired on May 28, 2023)
Michelle Martinetti, the founder, and CEO of River Valley Arts Center in Wappingers Falls, visits Radio Rotary to discuss the multiple studio spaces for arts and community programs that constitute the Arts Center. Renters and community organizations provide classes and workshops in music, performing arts, visual arts, yoga, kintsugi, photography, culinary arts, language arts,
robotics, STEM, and more based in the single building that previously was the education building for the United Methodist Church. A commercial kitchen is also available. In the works is also a remake of the church’s former sanctuary into a hall with a stage that will become an event space.
Learn More:
River Valley Arts Center: https://rivervalleyartscenter.com/