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In the News....
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January 2017
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SEE YOU AT OUR MARCH FUNDRAISER!
5 COURSE DINNER PAIRED WITH A WINE....
Wednesday, March 22 - Shaker Ridge Country Club, Albany. 6pm
A Fundraiser to kick off the Vanderheyden Royal Gala for our Individuals - A Night to Shine!
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MEET DAQUAN, CHEF EXTRAORDINAIRE....
Daquan loves to spend his free time in the kitchen learning to create new and exciting culinary delights.
The Bronx native has been at Vanderheyden the last two years, and will be graduating in June.
He's also a member of Vanderheyden's PBIS team and the Student Council, and plays basketball, soccer and softball.
As part of a work program at our main campus, Daquan gets a chance to practice his culinary skills in the school cafeteria, as he prepares food for the lunch menu, cooks, and bakes a couple of hours a day.
Over the past two years, he says Vanderheyden has changed him. He feels safe and happy here.
"This place helps you a lot, and helps the kids with what they are going through. Vanderheyden helps them leave here and have a terrific life," Daquan says.
There are other reasons why he enjoys his time here. They include learning to become independent, and the variety of fun places he gets to experience, such as museums and sporting events.
As for the future, Daquan is looking at options where he can train to become a pastry chef, and to create elegant, fancy desserts and decorative designs using food. He hopes to enter an independent living program in the Capital Region, where he can continue to learn life skills.
Daquan is bilingual, and is fluent in Spanish. He also loves to travel, and hopes to visit Miami, Florida and Puerto Rico as he has done in the past.
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VANDERHEYDEN COMES TO BROOKLYN....
What a great and memorable time our Individuals and Team Members had at the Brooklyn Nets vs the Philadelphia 76'ers game at the Barclays Center on Sunday, January 8th!
This was the first NBA game ever for most, and an experience of a lifetime!
After the Nets game, our Team Members and Individuals headed to L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn to have the best pizza and ice cream in NYC! Thank you to Camille, Stephen, Matt, Joey and Brittany for making our dinner and our time at your restaurant extra special
for us!
One of our Individuals even caught a t-shirt as it was thrown from court side! Whoa!
Thank you to our generous 2016 Holiday Program donors, who provided the tickets to the game. Our Individuals are still raving about the great time they had!
If anyone would like to donate tickets for any upcoming sporting, music or arts event, including the New York City area, we would most appreciate it!
We provide the transportation. Have vans, will travel!
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VANDERHEYDEN AT THE FOOD BANK....
Vanderheyden's Individuals and Team Members helped to sort over 6,000 pounds of cereal at the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham on January 15th.
Our hard working volunteers will be helping out once again in February.
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VARSITY AND JV BASKETBALL SEASONS IN FULL SWING....
Vanderheyden's basketball season is underway!
Our Varsity and Junior Varsity teams have been busy traveling around the Capital Region and Southern Vermont to take on their opponents.
The team was also involved in a tournament fundraiser for the Albany Boys and Girls Club on Delaware Avenue on Saturday, January 28th.
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HELPING OUR PAWLING AVE NEIGHBORS
Our Vanderheyden Individuals and Team Members were busy assisting with the "Crock Pot Campaign" at Hope 7 on Pawling Avenue in Troy.
Hope 7 collected 185 crock pots, cookbooks, recipes, and all the fixings to make turkey chili for their pantry clients.
Our volunteers carried in the crock pots and packaged them with all the food, just in time to provide warm meals for the chilly winter season.
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HAVING FUN ON THE SLOPES.....
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IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR AT VANDERHEYDEN
Matt McEvilly's family has been a part of Vanderheyden for many years.
His family's involvement began when his mother was a volunteer at the cottages at our main campus in Wynantskill in the early 1990's.
While there, a special young lady had a dream to be adopted on her 18th birthday. Matt's parents made it happen, and added a lovely daughter to their family of three younger sons.
The Troy native still calls Rensselaer County home, and is now the safety coordinator at our Richard A. Desrochers Educational Center. He began his career two years ago at Vanderheyden as a Safety Team Member.
Matt previously worked at a convenience store chain as a store manager and the company's state Training Manager, while working on his B.S. degree in Elementary and Special Education.
The number one reason why Matt was attracted to working at Vanderheyden was the Individuals, and says our organization "does amazing things for all the kids. We provide what they need for life skills. We are their role models."
"I love the staff. I love the people. Everyone is great to work with. They all have an upbeat attitude. They are here for the kids," Matt says.
Helping others plays an important role in Matt's life. "My parents instilled outreach values in me all my life," the father of one daughter adds. "My Grandfather built South Troy Little League. My father ran it."
Because of those values, Matt commits much of his time to volunteering in the Capital Region.
He provides entertainment to kids with his DJ work, and teaches religious education classes at St. Jude the Apostle Church in Wynantskill. As an ordained minister, Matt is also involved in outreach at local rehab centers and jails to talk about addiction issues.
History is one of Matt's big interests. He's a Civil War buff, and plays a part in the Civil War reenactments in the area, including one at Schuyler Flats in Menands. Matt has visited all the battlefields, and even proposed to his wife at Gettysburg.
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BLOOD DONORS ARE NEEDED FOR VANDERHEYDEN'S ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE WITH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
The public is most welcome at Vanderheyden's Annual Blood Drive with the American Red Cross on Tuesday, February 7th from 2pm to 6pm in the Cafeteria at the Richard A. Desrochers Educational Center here on our Wynantskill campus at 614 Cooper Hill Road (Route 355).
The American Red Cross has issued a severe winter blood shortage alert. The organization is calling for donors across the country to help in this emergency, after receiving 37,000 fewer donations in November and December. More than 90 blood drives were cancelled in December alone, due to snowstorms and severe weather.
You can help!
Many openings are left between 5:00 and 6:00pm. Stop by after work! Walk-ins are welcome! To reserve a spot, call Brenda at 874-4920 or email her at [email protected].
The American Red Cross also is taking reservations, just type in "Vanderheyden" at this link:
CLICK HERE
All donors with a valid email address will receive a $5 Amazon.com gift card claim code.
If we reach 100% of our goal, donors are entered to win a $100 Visa Gift Card!
Vanderheyden's President and CEO Karen Carpenter Palumbo says "we are happy to support this effort as part of Vanderheyden's give back to the community from our Team Members and Individuals. We are thrilled once again to be able to donate the gift of life to save lives."
All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply. For donor eligibility requirements, go to: http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood/eligibility-requirements
Here are some reasons to give:
* Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
* Approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day in the U.S.
* Nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 10,000 units of plasma are needed daily in the U.S.
* Nearly 21 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S.
* The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
* The blood type most often requested by hospitals is type O.
* The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs.
* It is estimated that sickle cell disease affects 90,000 to 100,000 people in the U.S. About 1,000 babies are born with the disease each year. Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives.
* More than 1.68 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2016. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.
* A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood.
Hope to see you! Thank you for your support!
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LOBBY DAY AT THE STATE CAPITOL
Vanderheyden was one of many non-profits across the state that participated in the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA) Lobby Day on Tuesday, January 24th at the State Legislative Office Building in Albany.
Our team consisted of representatives of non-profits from the Capital Region, such as Frank Pindiak, Executive Director at St. Catherine's Center for Children in Albany, Anthony Cortese, CEO of St. Anne's Institute in Albany, Maura Psoinos, Vice President of Community Se
rvices and Cathy Yudzevich, Director of Development at Vanderheyden.
Our team had the honor of meeting with Senator James Tedisco and Senator George Amedore, and staff members from the offices of Senator Betty Little, Senator Kathleen Marchione, Assemblyman Phil Steck, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy.
Our discussions included:
* Support 4% growth to the Maximum State Aid Rate that Funds Foster Care
* $1 Million to Establish the Child Welfare Workforce Higher Education Opportunity Program
* $15 Million for Capital Improvements and Deferred Maintenance on Residential Campuses for Youth in Care
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RENSSELAER COUNTY 2017 STATUS REPORT
Vanderheyden's Director of Human Resources Linda Madsen, and Director of Development Cathy Yudzevich, attended the Rensselaer County Executive Breakfast in Castleton, presented by the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
At the gathering, County Executive Kathy Jimino gave her 2017 report on the status of the County, which included economic development initiatives, and what the future holds for our region.
Vanderheyden sponsored the coffee bar at the event.
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SAVE THE DATES!
YOU ARE INVITED TO BE OUR GUEST AT OUR 2017 UPCOMING EVENTS:
Wednesday, March 22 - Shaker Ridge Country Club, Albany. 6pm
5 Course Dinner with Wine Pairing - A Fundraiser to kick off the Vanderheyden Royal Gala for our Individuals - A Night to Shine!
Sunday, April 23 - Vanderheyden Bowl-A-Thon at Uncle Sam Lanes in Troy. 1-3pm. Unlimited Games, shoe rental included, music and prizes. Tickets available at the door or online at
www.vanderheyden.org/news_and_events/
Saturday, October 14 - Community Fall Festival -Vanderheyden Wynantskill Campus
Wednesday, October 18 - Annual Oktoberfest Fundraiser at Brown's Brewing Co, Troy
More details to come.... Keep following us on Facebook!
As always, thank you for your support!
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BLUE BOX DONATIONS ALWAYS WELCOME!
Time to clean out your closets for the season! We will accept any unwanted clothing item! Bring them to our campus at 614 Cooper Hill Road in Wynantskill, and look for the "Blue Box" at the entrance to our parking lot. Thank you so much for your help!
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To make a donation on our website,
click on the "Donate Now" button.
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