Our Mission, Our Dream - Watertown Urban Mission

Our Mission, Our Dream
Your Newsletter for the Watertown Urban Mission
& The Impossible Dream Thrift Store
Spring 2015
Your Mission: Delivering Food To Your Neighbors
How the Meals on Wheels Merger Gives You A Way to Help Shut Ins
O
n February 9th, your
Mission and Meals on
Wheels announced a partnership that would merge
these two vital nonprofits.
Through your continued support of your Mission and this program, you
are now part of delivering
meals each week to those
who otherwise would be
unable to leave home or
cook for themselves.
“This is a perfect fit,”
said Erika Flint, executive
director of your Mission.
“It is amazing for the Mission to take on a program
which has been run so
well for so many years and
be a part of helping to ensure it keeps going strong
long into the future.”
“Meals-on-Wheels”
delivers quality, nutritionally balanced meals to
people who are largely
shut in to their homes and
at risk of hunger. With a
warm meal for lunch, a
You Can Sponsor
The Next Newsletter!
Underwrite the cost of printing our newsletter and let everyone know how much you support your Watertown Urban
Mission!
Call 782-8440 for Development Director Drew Mangione
or email him at development
@watertownurbanmission.org
to show your commitment to
your community.
Inside this issue:
Meals on Wheels Director Donna White at announcement of merger
bagged meal for dinner,
and a daily visit, the volunteer drivers and runners
make a direct impact on
the lives of your neighbors
in need.
Throughout the years
these visits have not only
lifted spirits but saved
lives. When a longtime
volunteer showed up at
Beverly’s house, she found
the senior unresponsive
laying on the floor. A diabetic, she was in sugar
shock.
The
volunteer
called 9-11 and in just a
few days, Beverly was
back in her home, healthy
and excited to receive the
meals that meet her dietary demands.
Through your support,
the Mission will maintain
this quality approach for
food delivery and service
that has been the hallmark
of this program, while providing long term stability.
“We’ve made the right
decision,” said Donna
White, who has led the
program since 1983, since
(Continued on Page 4)
Your Mission
2
Coupons
2
WUMBA & Auction
2
New Sales to Save
3
Your Summer Calendar
3
Your Generosity in Action
3
Into the Woods
4
Made in New York
4
Double Your Gift
5
Find “Your
Mission” on
Facebook &
Click “Like”
YOUR NEWS
What your gifts have done
in your community through
April of 2014
 You provided 66 vital prescriptions and nearly 2,800
personal hygiene items.
 You supplied more than
150 gallons of gas, for going
to work & medical appointments.
 You distributed more than
3,812 diapers to protect
infant and toddler bottoms.
 Your support gave 11,381
items of clothing, furniture
and supplies to individuals &
families facing a critical need.
 You provided groceries to
make nearly 70,000 meals
 Most importantly, you
gave hope more than
8,000 times to individuals
in need of basic help.
Our Mission, Our Dream
Page 2
Your Mission: Reaching Out, Working Together
Y
Erika Flint has led the Mission as
executive director since 2011. By
working in the community to build
relationships, she has maintained a
focus on the future of the Mission,
looking for ways to add to the
great legacy of this organization
over the past nearly 47 years.
our Watertown Urban
Mission has a long
legacy of reaching out and
working across what divides us, thereby making
your community stronger.
In the beginning, it was
churches, protestant and
Catholic, working together
to serve the poor.
This cooperative spirit
has bridged gaps between
social services and recipients, brought tenants together with landlords, and
has continued to build
lasting relationships with
a diverse group of businesses, churches, organizations and individuals
like you.
It is this spirit that continues to drive your Mission to find new ways to
reach out and work together in the community
for the common good.
Merging with Meals on
Wheels is a perfect example of this.
It is exciting to think
that through cooperation,
your Mission is giving
Meals on Wheels assurances for its future, and
then also reaching out to
serve even more people.
It is our goal to not
only provide the stability for this program’s
incredible work, but empower volunteers delivering nutritious and delicious meals to look for
other ways to provide
help that may be needed.
This effort is bolstered
by the Northern New York
Community
Foundation
and the United Way. Both
have pledged support as a
way of encouraging nonprofits to share services.
This support recognizes that by working together, we make our community stronger than if we
simply work alone.
In your generosity you
are part of this legacy.
Meals on Wheels has
done great work for many
years, and we are excited
to be a part of continuing
and enhancing this work
for many more to come.
This is only possible
because of your continued
support. And so, we thank
you in advance for reaching out and working together.
— Erika
Concordia Takes ‘15 WUMBA
Coupon Class at Your Mission
The 2015 Watertown
Urban Mission Basket Auction Award or WUMBA now
belongs to Concordia Lutheran Church, which donated a basket of gift cards
named “The Choice is Yours”
that brought a high bid of $300 to win the trophy.
Overall, 22 WUMBA entries from 15 churches, along
with nearly 100 unique and unusual auction items, a silent auction, a Cash & Carry Jewelry/Handbag sale and
50/50 drawings raised nearly $13,000 for your Mission’s
programs. Thank you for your support!
Your Mission has added a
Coupon Class with Kimberly
Pelkey to help stretch every
dollar for both families in
need and families looking to
donate what they collect using coupons.
The class is held the 1st
Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. and the 3rd Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. It is free to participate and open to all, but
limited to 16 participants per week with 10 receiving a
starter pack complete with the Sunday Watertown Daily
Times. To register, please call 782-8440 in advance.
Your Mission’s Story Corner
Through your generosity, 1,200 families received help
through your Mission’s Critical Needs program and 1,800
families have received groceries so far this year.
When Steven stopped in for food in January, he was
despondent. He had worked all of his life, but a recent injury and disability left him unemployed. He felt desperate
and was searching for meaning.
Because of you, he received a five-day supply of
food and later attended a volunteer orientation session. Now, while he’s looking for work, Steven is giving three days or more each week as a food pantry
volunteer and has started going back to church.
Too often when a family falls on hard times, they struggle
with the care of a pet and your Mission gives out pet food
when it is donated. To meet this need for pet food and supplies, Watertown Animal Hospital collected and donated
nearly 500 items plus $250 through their Scratch Out Hunger campaign in February. Thank you for donating.
Spring 2015
Page 3
Your Dream Store: New Deals, More Opportunities to Save
F
New Super Sunday Sales Day Add to Success of Wacky Wednesday, Senior, Military, Holiday Sales
ive hours of incredible bargains
every Sunday has added a new
excitement for bargain seeking customers at your Impossible Dream
Thrift Store.
Not that there wasn’t already
enough to be excited about!
The new SUPER SUNDAY Sales
started about eight months after the
completion of renovations in the
Dream, about which customers and
donors continue to praise the new
store’s cleanliness, efficiency and the
savings.
“Adding Super Sunday and setting
Wacky Wednesday as a recurring 50
cent clothing day has sparked a renewed enthusiasm among our shoppers,” said Tammy Olivas, store manager. We are thrilled about the response, because this store’s profits
go to support our other programs.”
Revenue generated by sales in the
thrift store is up. The renovated store
has increased the size of the sales
floor and created a more organized
space for processing donations, making it even easier for donors to give
their quality previously loved items a
new home.
Customers enjoy the same everyday prices as before the renovations,
which were funded by the “Mission:
Possible — Renew, Restore, Revitalize” Capital Campaign. However, with
the addition of Super Sunday, special
sales opportunities are greater.
“Four days a week, you can save
even more on our low prices, plus we
have holiday sales,” added Tammy.
“Because your generous donations
make up our inventory, our goal is
for everyone to shop here and keep
prices low so anyone can afford to.”
Your Generosity in Action…
Keeping Your Neighbors Warm
Helping Children Achieve in School
W
inter in the North
Country was as cold
as it’s ever been, but because of the love you show
your neighbors, well over
2,000 warm winter
items were given to
struggling families
in your community.
“This was a
harsh winter, but
by your generosity, we were
able to make it
easier for the
most vulnerable among us,” Robert
Bowen, Critical Needs coordinator, said. “It’s wonderful to see the gratitude
when a person struggling
to survive the winter gets
a coat that’s new to them.
It gives them hope.”
While the weather is
warmer now and coats are
not a top priority, the focus will soon shift to
school supplies and your
donations will be
needed to again
help 1,200 students start the
school year with
what they need
to learn.
In addition to
new or gently
used backpacks,
some good donations include pens, pencils, folders, 1” binders,
highlighters, erasers, scissors, glue sticks, rulers,
composition and spiral
notebooks, filler paper,
color pencils, pencil boxes,
crayons, and markers.
Where Every Good Deal is a Good
Deed for Your Community
Summer Hours: Mon-Fri. 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. & Sun. Noon-5 p.m.
SUPER Sunday
Check Facebook every week for
SUPER SUNDAY Deals
Tuesday
20% off for Senior Citizens (55+)
WaCkY Wednesday
50 cent Clothing (exclusions apply)
25% Off Everything Else
Thursday
20% off for Military Appreciation
Donations Accepted 7 days a week
We pick up Furniture: Call 782-0090
All sales and donations support your
neighbors in your community.
Your 2015 mission Calendar of
SUMMER Events
Just clip and post in your home
Sat., May 30: Mission Mini-Mall (Craft, Vendor & Yard Sale
Event), 9a.m.-3 p.m. at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds Agriculture Building, Coffeen St., Watertown.
Sun., May 31: 1st Annual Jefferson County Wing Fest, Noon
to 4 p.m. at Bruce Wright Memorial Convention Center,
Faichney Drive, Watertown. $10 ticket.
Sat., June 6: Black River American Legion Riders 112-Mile
Benefit Ride, 9:30 registration, 11 a.m. kickstands up. Start
at Caskinette Lofink Ford, Carthage and finish with celebration at Black River Legion. $20 per bike, $5 passenger.
Sat., July 4: Made in NY Festival, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. at Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor. 14 Bands, 100+ vendors.
Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
July 16-18: Stage Notes Presents “Into the Woods” at 7
p.m. Dulles State Office Building. Tickets are $15 and $12
for seniors/students.
Sat., Sept. 12: Run for Recovery 5k run/walk, 10k run in
memory of Gavin Tedford, 9 a.m. start, (6:30 a.m. check
in) at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds Agriculture Building,
Coffeen St., Watertown. Pre-registration $20 (ind), $105
(team of six), $18 (Military/Student), $96 (military/student
team of six). $25 each at the event.
www.WatertownUrbanMission/RunforRecovery.htm
Our Mission, Our Dream
Page 4
Stage Notes Heading “Into the Woods” For Your Mission
Tales of After Happily Ever After to Take Stage at Dulles State Office Building July 16-18
F
ollowing up on the success of
Les Misérables” last year, the
young performers of Stage Notes
will take on Stephen Sondheim’s
“Into the Woods,” based on the
novel of James Lapine that dared to
ask: What happens after Happily
Ever After?
“We are thrilled to have the support of Stage Notes again this year
and cannot wait to see these talented young people put it all on the
line again for their community,” said
Erika Flint, your Mission’s executive
director.
Broadway music director Stanley
Joseph is back for a second straight
year to work with Ticia Marra, who
is a 2015 Tony Award nominee for
theater education, and a great group
of returning and new performers.
“We really have a great team and
some amazing talent in the cast for
this show,” Ticia said. “We’re excited
to bring this modern take on the
Grimm fairy tales to
the stage here in
Watertown.”
This year’s show
will be at the Dulles
State Office Building
in Watertown, July
16-18 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available
Made In NY Fest Set for July 4
Imagine 14 great bands
and hundreds of products
from across New York at
your fingertips, and best of
all, your fun supports your community, your state
and your country.
It’s true. The
Made In New York
Festival in Sackets
Harbor on July 4th
is a boost for small
businesses, the state economy, and proceeds from
the event benefit your
Mission’s newest program:
Meals on Wheels.
New this year, the 9/11
NEVER FORGET Mobile
Exhibit from the Stephen
Siller Tunnel to Towers
Foundation will be
on site to serve as
an interactive educational tribute to
all who lost their
lives on that day.
The show opens
at 11 a.m. Tickets
will be just $10 in
advance and $15 at the
event.
For more information,
call 646-3374 or go to
www.MadeInNNY.com.
VNA Homecare Partnership
Shortly after the announced merger, your Mission and
Meals on Wheels entered into a partnership with VNA
Homecare to help connect seniors in need of a higher
level of care at home with managed long term home care,
while giving those already in long term home care access
to meals through Meals on Wheels.
In addition, VNA has committed to sponsoring this
newsletter and the next to support your Mission. To find
out more about VNA Homecare, including ways to stay in
your home while receiving top level care, check out their
Web site online at www.477HOME.org.
at Kinney Drugs in Watertown or
online through www.StageNotes
Watertown.org. Tickets are just $15
each and $12 for seniors/students.
Stage Notes features students in
grades 7-12, donating the profits of
each show. In 2013 & 2014, shows
raised $12,500 for your Mission.
Nonprofit Merger (Continued from Page 1)
taking over for founding director Irene Orloff.
“It’s all about having the heart for the people we serve
and what we are striving to accomplish, and you see that
here at the Mission,” she said. “I always think of what my
mother-in-law Irene would think, and I know she would
see that we are gaining a partner in the fight against hunger to keep individuals independent in the comfort of
their own home.”
While the partnership will not be finalized until later
in 2015, the two organizations have begun to intertwine
services as Donna continues to coordinate her volunteers
and the program has maintained contracts with the Samaritan Keep Home for food preparation.
The United Way of Northern New York has committed
to maintaining its funding through an automatic extension
through 2017 to ensure the merger’s success. Likewise,
the Northern New York Community Foundation has given
$25,000 (See article on page 5).
On May 13, 1968, Meals on Wheels delivered its very
first meal. Today, more than 700 meals go out each week
to individuals living in the city of Watertown and within a
five mile radius. The cost for a weekday delivery plan of
10 meals is just $33.25, and $24.50 for a partial plan.
However, no one is turned away from the program for an
inability to pay. Weekend meals, delivered on Friday with
that day’s meals are just $10 more.
To obtain meals, call 782-5555. With just a name, address, doctor’s information, dietary restrictions, an emergency contact and dislikes, a meal made to meet your dietary needs will start coming to your door the next day.
Referrals come from Social Services, health care providers, neighbors, and Jefferson County Public Health.
Spring 2015
Page 5
Your Generosity Will Ensure the Success of Meals on Wheels
I believe in the work being done at by Meals on Wheels and I want to join the Northern New York Community Foundation in ensuring that the new partnership
between these organizations is successful and fruitful to serve my neighbors in need. My contribution will go to support this program, knowing that the Community
Foundation will match my gift dollar for dollar up to $10,000.
I choose to give: $10 $25 $50 $100 $250 $500 $1,000 Other: ________
Name
Address
City
State
Phone
E-mail
Zip
Church Affiliation
Double Your Gift to Support Meals on Wheels,Your Mission
Northern New York Community Foundation Offers Matching Grant of Up to $10k for Merger’s Success
T
o ensure the success of the
merger between your Mission
and Meals on Wheels, the Northern
New York Community Foundation
announced that it has committed up
to $25,000 in support.
“The Foundation has continually
urged and encouraged organizations to explore ways to work
together, not only for efficiency,
but also for the positive synergy
that such partnerships can create,” said Rande Richardson,
foundation director. “Ultimately, we
know all charitable dollars go further
when organizations work collaboratively. We want to send a strong message of our belief in this type of
thinking.”
To that end, $15,000 has been
committed upfront, and another
$10,000 will come via a matching
grant, which you can leverage dollar
for dollar with your own generous
gift in support of Meals on Wheels.
"We feel this is a strategic investment in two organizations for which
we've had a long history of support,
and whose missions are both so vital
to the citizens of our area,” Mr.
Richardson added.
To make your donation, you can
use the slip above this article to clip
out of this newsletter and send it in
with your gift made payable to the
Watertown Urban Mission.
Gifts made to the Watertown Urban Mission through this appeal or
designated to “Meals on Wheels” will
unlock the matching funds. Be sure
to write “Meals on Wheels” in the
memo of your check, or indicate
your preference in some way.
“We are eternally grateful to
Rande, his staff and the board of
directors at The Northern New
York Community Foundation for
their leadership and generosity on
this and so many vital community
endeavors,” said Erika Flint, your
Mission’s executive director. “With
that, we know that we must thank
you in advance for your generosity in
meeting this matching challenge.”
Your Team at the Watertown Urban Mission
President
Fr. Steven Murray
Executive Director
Erika F. Flint
Vice President
Dan Osborne
Development Director
Drew Mangione
Secretary
Maria Purcell
Fiscal Manager
Tim Hillegas
Treasurer
Dale Klock
Administrative Assistant
Janiffer Hadley
The Impossible Dream Thrift Store
Tammy Olivas, Manager
Joyce Hale, Assistant Manager
Critical Needs Program
Robert Bowen
Coordinator
Food Pantry
Anita D. Ciulo, Coordinator
John McConnell, Pantry Assistant
Christian Care Center
James Stanley, Coordinator
The HEARTH II Program
Melissa Dickson
Coordinator
Anthony Matthews
Case Worker
The Bridge Program
Salvatore J. Ciulo, Director
Meals on Wheels Program
Donna White, Director
In addition to the four officers, your Watertown Urban Mission Board is led by Bernie Brown, Chuck Capone, Judy Gentner, Allison Gorham, James
Heary, Bruce Irwin, Rev. Richard Laribee, Rev. Melodie Long, JoAnne Rhubart, Stephen Todd, and Dacia VanEenenaam.
Our Mission,
Our Dream
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Your Newsletter for the Watertown Urban Mission
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247 Factory St., Watertown, NY 13601 Phone: 315-782-8440
Our Mission,
Our Dream
Your Newsletter for the Watertown Urban Mission
& The Impossible Dream Thrift Store
At a Glance Calendar
May 30: Mission Mini-Mall at
Fairgrounds Building
May 31: Wing Fest at Bruce
Wright Convention Center
June 6: Black River American
Legion Riders at Caskinette’s
July 4: Made in NY Festival in
Sackets Harbor
July 16-18: Into the Woods by
Stage Notes at Dulles State
Office Building
Sept. 12: Run for Recovery
5k/10k run/walk in memory of
Gavin Tedford
Inside this issue:
Your Mission:
Delivering
Food To Your
Neighbors
Merger Opens New
Opportunities
Your News: Your Gifts in Action
1
Your Mission: Reaching Out
2
Auction a Success, WUMBA
2
Coupon Classes and Happy Pets
2
Your Dream: New Sales Opportunities
3
Your Generosity in Action: Winter and
School Supplies for your Neighbors
3
Stage Notes to Perform “Into the Woods”
4
Made In New York Festival
4
Matching Grant will Double Your Gift
5