Sign-ups Ongoing for Sponsors, Work Sites and Volunteers for CSCY 2012
Camp Koininea was one site where volunteers worked last year.
While time is running short for local companies or individuals to sponsor the 15th Annual Celebrate Service… Celebrate Yates day of community service, non-profit agencies anxious to serve as host sites or volunteers eager to lend a literal helping hand still have time to sign up.
During Celebrate Service… Celebrate Yates, Yates County students, families or senior citizens interested in making the community a better place to live and work come together to perform painting, cleaning, building, and repairs to help local non-profit agencies and groups. This year’s event will be held Sunday, April 22, and plans are underway to make it a special one with added touches such as entertainment to mark the 15th anniversary.
A collaborative effort of volunteers from Keuka College and the Yates County Chamber of Commerce, Celebrate Service … Celebrate Yates would not be possible without support from local organizations, merchants, businesses, and citizens. Individuals or companies interested in sponsoring the 2012 event for $250 or a donation of goods or supplies have until March 1 to contact Mike Linehan, executive director of the Yates County Chamber of Commerce, at (315) 536-3111, or mike@yatesny.com.
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Fort Drum Delivery an “Eye-Opening” Experience
College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar had mixed emotions when the last of the College’s three shipments to the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) in Afghanistan was “returned to sender.”
“I was disappointed that our Keuka College t-shirts and various supplies didn’t get to the soldiers but on the other hand, ‘return to sender’ meant that they had returned home and I was happy for them,” said Detar.
Detar’s emotions turned to all-out joy when he, Resident Director Tim White and three students presented the t-shirts to their adopted platoon in person at Fort Drum Nov. 18.
“We were invited to attend the CAB’s uncasing ceremony,” said Detar, who was accompanied by Samantha Chesnut, a freshman sociology major from Mexico, N.Y.; Kathryrn Drueschler, a freshman childhood education major from East Aurora; and Amanda Collins, a sophomore early childhoodASL major from Manchester, Conn.
When CAB deployed to Afghanistan two years ago, its colors were cased—taken down, rolled up, and placed into a protective case. Upon its return to Fort Drum, where it is part of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, the colors were uncased, unfurled, and flown.
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15 Years of Service…15 Years of Smiles
By Ryan Nichols ’12
Celebrate Service… Celebrate Yates (CSCY), Yates County’s annual community service day, is scheduled April 22, 2012. It marks the 15th anniversary of the event, where volunteers from around Yates County pitch in to make a positive impact on the community.
Since 1996, volunteers have painted, cleaned, repaired buildings, raked, and cleared trails all over Yates County. Last year, 280 volunteers turned out to volunteer at locations such as Camp Cory, Branchport/Keuka Park Fire Department, and St. Michael’s Church.
The event is a joint effort by Keuka College and the Yates County Chamber of Commerce and local organizations, businesses, merchants, and citizens can lend support in a variety of ways. Individuals and families can sign up to volunteer on the work day and non-profits across Yates County may sign up in order to have volunteers perform work on site. Local businesses and merchants can get involved by becoming a financial sponsor or supporting the event with tangible goods and services.
As part of the planning for the 2012 event, members of the CSCY committee will contact representatives from organizations who have previously participated in CSCY to garner feedback Other agencies interested in signing on early to become work sites this year may send an e-mail inquiry to the CSCY team at cscy@keuka.edu.
Sponsorship is key to the success of CSCY and the list from 2011 includes: Fitzgerald Brothers, Graphic Connections, Knapp & Schlappi, Knights of Columbus, Keuka College Student Senate, K-Ventures, Lyons National Bank, Penn Yan Area Council of Churches, Penn Yan Elks Lodge, Penn Yan Kiwanis Club, Roto Salt, Sodexo Food Services, Soldiers & Sailors Hospital, Stork Insurance, Tony Collins – Class of 1977 Celebrity Golf Classic, Yates ARC, and the Yates County Chamber of Commerce.
Sponsorship is $250, and sponsors are listed on the back of the CSCY workday t-shirt as well as in print materials. If you have any questions about sponsorships, contact Mike Linehan at the Yates County Chamber of Commerce at (315) 536-3111 or e-mail him at mike@yatesny.com. For information regarding hosting volunteers or the event in general, contact College Chaplain Eric Detar or McKala Accetura at cscy@keuka.edu. You can also reach Detar at (315) 279-5378 or Accetura at (315) 279-5397.
College will Mark Veteran’s Day with Presentations, Prayer of Remembrance
College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar leads a prayer of remembrance at the World War II Monument during 2010's Veteran's Day commemorative service.
Keuka College will mark Veteran’s Day Friday, Nov. 11, with presentations by two faculty members and a prayer of remembrance by the College chaplain.
Beginning at noon in Norton Chapel, Professor of History Sander Diamond will discuss how our veterans have been memorialized at home and on former battlefields overseas while Chris Leahy, associate professor of history, “will provide an overview of this important and memorable day,” said Diamond.
After the chapel presentations, College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar will offer a prayer of remembrance at the World War II memorial located near Lightner Library. Erected by members of the Political Science and History Club in 2005, the memorial commemorates the 60th anniversary of VE-Day and recognizes the College’s nursing program “that was created during the war years as our College’s major contribution to the war effort,” said Diamond.
College Pays Tribute to 9/11 Heroes
College President Dr. Jorge L. Díaz-Herrera.
“Life,” said Keuka College President Dr. Jorge L. Díaz-Herrera, “forever changed that day, challenging our sense of stability and security.”
That day was Sept. 11, 2001, and Díaz-Herrera and other members of the College community took time to remember and reflect on 9/11 at a remembrance ceremony held on the lawn near the Dahlstrom Student Center.
Emergency personnel – including some Keuka alumni – from Yates County and other counties, attended the ceremony, led by College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar.
“Many of us have our own personal memories of that day and find comfort in sharing with others as we remember, mourn, and reflect on the effects of this significant date,” said Diaz-Herrera. “In an effort to reflect upon what happened, we take this moment to pause in remembrance of the fallen and the survivors. We praise those heroes who gave their lives to help others, and we honor those who were the first responders.
College to Mark 10th Anniversary of 9/11
Keuka College will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with a ceremony Friday, Sept. 9, at noon on the Norton Chapel lawn.
It is open to the public.
The ceremony will be led by College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar.
“We want to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and honor those who died in the attacks,” said Detar. “We also want to reflect on where we are 10 years later.”
According to Detar, Yates County emergency personnel—firefighters, police, dispatchers, and others—have been invited to attend.
The ceremony will include the dedication of an American elm tree, “which is appropriate since the American elm is a symbol of patriotism,” said Detar.
The site of the first public shade tree planting in the New World was in Boston, Mass., in 1646. It became a symbol of freedom to the colonists and became known as the Liberty Tree. In 1765, the Sons of Liberty gathered with other protesters under the Liberty Tree to organize their opposition to the British crown. As the movement grew, settlers began planting elm trees all over New England to symbolize their resistance to oppression.
A plaque that will be installed in front of the tree features the following inscription: “To honor and remember the victims, emergency personnel and other heroes who died in the attacks on our country.”
The College also hopes to play an audio statement from Betty Maxfield, a 1965 Keuka College graduate, at the ceremony. Maxfield, chief of Army Demographics in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel in the Pentagon, survived the Sept. 11 attack on the building.
Thinking Outside the Box
A year ago, the Keuka College community rallied to raise more than $4,000 for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Keuka College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar
Now, a College-wide effort is underway to help those impacted by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Once again, the vehicle of choice is ShelterBox.
The ShelterBox project was developed by Tom Henderson, a member of a Rotary Club in England, and is now an international organization, with affiliates in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and other countries. Shelter Box was launched in April 2000 and has become one of the most effective aid agencies in the world. The international relief agency Feed the Children called it “the best disaster relief tool we have seen in 20 years of experience.”
Skip the Suntan, Serve Soup Instead
Last year's team served with Bethel Bible Church in Hixson, Tenn.
Ten Keuka students and two staffers will get an up-close-and-personal view of life in the trenches for those serving the homeless population of downtown Cincinnati during their Alternative Spring Break, March 27 – April 1.
According to statistics from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, 1,300 – 1,500 people are homeless each night in Cincinnati. Striving to meet their needs, along with Franciscan monks and others will provide students a very different perspective from the stereotypical sun-and-fun spring break vacation. Alternative Spring Break has become something of a tradition for students here, who made service trips in prior years to locales including Hixson, Tenn. , Boston, Mass. and multiple Florida cities to tackle landscaping, painting, simple construction projects, and more.
The Keuka team will be hosted this year at Tau Community House by Franciscans for the Poor, where simplicity, communal living and service – exemplified by monks in the Franciscan order – form the thread of daily life. After serving in city soup kitchens, shelters, on simple construction projects and elsewhere as needed each day, the students will hear firsthand accounts each night from men and women battling homelessness and those working with them.
College Observes Veterans Day
The College observed Veterans Day with a talk by Penn Yan residents and U.S. Air Force veterans Les and Wanda Wood. In addition, College Chaplain Rev. Eric Detar led a prayer service that was followed by a recognition of students who have served in the military.
College ‘Adopts’ Fort Drum Platoons
Keuka College has “adopted” two platoons from Fort Drum’s (Jefferson County) 10th Mountain Division.
Both platoons— the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) S-3 and one from the Division of Public Affairs—are being deployed to Afghanistan this month.
“’Adoption’ means offering support to our troops while they are serving overseas,” said College Chaplain Eric Detar of this project, a joint effort of the Center for Spiritual Life (CSL) and Rotaract Club. “As a campus, we will send care packages, letters, and will be there for the soldiers when they return. ‘Adoption’ also means praying for, and remembering, the troops and their families while their loved ones are away.”
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