Wildfires in California

Imagine all of your material possessions – gone in a matter of minutes. Imagine being forced to leave your home – not knowing when you’ll return – or if you’ll have a home to return to. Fire, tragically, puts many families in that position in our community each year. And right now, that’s the sobering reality for so many Californians this week– as wildfires tore through hundreds of thousands of acres of land - reducing thousands of homes to rubble.

It’s times like this when we all count our blessings. We’re lucky in the fact that – in Rochester- we’ll hopefully not have to face the threat of wildfires to that extent. But we do have a terrific Red Cross chapter, which we help fund, that is there for people in times of crisis. And in times of need, United Way and its programs are there. Thanks to you.

Because of your support of United Way, people in our community have access to critical emergency services - like those provided through The Emergency Service Providers Collaborative (a group of eight agencies that includes the Salvation Army, Baden Street Settlement, the Ibero-American Action League, and the Community Place of Greater Rochester).

Rest assured that United Way’s in California are helping the people in their communities during this time of crisis. If you are interested in making a donation to the Southern California Wildfires Recovery fund, please click on the highlighted text.

(link to https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/united-way-ca-wildfires-fund/donate/)

The Mural Unveiled

Everyone who attended the unveiling commented on how perfect the day was. It was perfect because it was 75 and sunny in late September, but it was also perfect because we were there to celebrate the unveiling of a mural that a determined team of neighborhood kids (& a few adults) completed over the course of the summer. I was there because we were able to support the project with a grant through our United Way - Bank of America Neighborhood Mini Grant Fund.

Located in the Upper Monroe neighborhood, the mural pays homage to the neighborhood’s history (original home to Crosman Brothers Seeds), as well as to its future, the kids ages 2 ½ to 17 growing up in that neighborhood. According to Joseph Sorrentino, neighborhood leader & artist, the kids haven’t always seen eye-to-eye and the mural was a great way to get them to work with one another. They all had a hand in its development – it’s colorful and busy and each of the elements contributes something positive to the overall composition – a great analogy for a vital neighborhood.

If you have a chance, you really should swing by to check it out. It’s comprised of three panels, carefully spaced along the curve of Laburnum Terrace where it meets the 490 sound-wall. If you’re walking west on Monroe, look to the right, just before you get to Wilson Farms – it will put a smile on your face.

Developing the Youth

Puerto Rican Youth Development has been developing Rochester’s youth for 37 years. Just a little background, it was started by students who weren’t happy with what they were getting out of the schools. They wanted to have an impact within the community so they started several clubs within the school and it developed into Puerto Rican Youth Development.
PRYD has programs at Edison, Monroe, Franklin, Jefferson, and East High Schools. These programs vary from preventing substance abuse to after school programs where tutors come in. United Way actually funds two of their tutoring programs; the PODER-Bry Achievement Mentoring Program and the Hispanic Youth Tutorial Program. Both of these programs help students that are at risk of falling behind. Last year was Bry’s first year in the city. It helped 200 students in the 6 schools and it improved attendance and performance.
One of the stand out students was Essence Coleman. She was a student at Edison who was doomed for failure until her English teacher took her under her wing and told her about the Bry program. To learn more about Essence’s story check out www.youpreventviolence.com

Cleaning up the streets

Last Friday a group of United Way staffers hit the streets to clean up our neighborhood. We teamed up with 450 other fellow Clean Sweepers to join the first Corporate Clean Sweep. Maybe you drove by some of us – wearing our day-glow t-shirts! Mayor Bob Duffy kicked the event off in front of all the volunteers and then we dispersed to our different assignments around the city. Here is Mayor Duffy with some of our staffers at the kickoff.

The United Way team worked together to clean up the neighborhood surrounding our building on College Avenue. I was shocked to see just how much garbage we picked up.

It feels pretty good to do something so simple for our community. So if you’re interested in having the same feeling, visit the city’s web site to learn about getting involved in the next clean sweep – www.cityofrochester.gov. You don’t have to live in the neighborhood to help out. If the City decides to have another Corporate Clean Sweep, I would definitely sign up….and not just for the awesome shirt!