Livingston CARES’ mission is to help communities and individuals locally, regionally, statewide, nationwide and globally in humanitarian projects including disaster relief and recovery efforts. CARES also provides a resource and information repository for individuals and organizations wishing to contribute to disaster recovery efforts. 
Livingston CARES Newsletter Issue 6
March, 2021
News and Updates:
Livingston County Cares for our Healthcare Workers

Livingston CARES followed up our Front Line Workers Appreciation Project that took place in 2020 with the Livingston County CARES for Our Healthcare Workers initiative in March 2021.
 
On Thursday, March 25, seventeen volunteers including board members, students, staff, and community members delivered over 2600 gourmet cookies to 118 healthcare worksites throughout Livingston County. 

The 2021 Livingston County CARES for Our Healthcare Workers Initiative: The Board of Directors approved a second project to focus specifically on recognizing our healthcare workers who have been dealing with the pandemic for over 12 months. The COVID-19 Committee included Karen Bailey, Adam Clarke, Brenda Donohue, Angela Ellis, Garth Freeman, Karissa Garbarini, Holly Harvey, Ken Kallio, Haley Kent, Tom Matthews, and Jules Orcutt.

In January and February, committee members compiled information on over 100 healthcare public and private agencies and businesses in the county, called each agency to verify numbers of employees and hours of operation, and organized a plan to distribute a gourmet cookie with a thank you message to each healthcare worker. In the early stages of planning, the estimated number of workers was 800, but expanded to a final list of over 2,600 people. The committee asked two facilities with large commercial kitchens to contribute to the project by baking cookies if Livingston CARES provided the cookie dough. Both Morrison Living at the Livingston County Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation (LCCNR) and SUNY Geneseo Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) enthusiastically agreed by each baking, wrapping and packaging approximately 1,300 cookies in 60 gift bags and boxes for volunteer drivers to deliver to 118 work locations throughout the county. C & R Foods in Mt. Morris ordered 34 boxes of cookie dough and delivered them to the two baking locations. Brian & Rachel Heywood from C & R Foods and Craig & Sharon Bolesky each donated several boxes of cookie dough and Livingston CARES purchased the remaining boxes that were delivered to the kitchens on March 12.
Board member Ken Kallio and intern Haley Kent with staff from Noyes Hospital
The cookies and packages from both kitchens were delivered to the MacVittie College Union on Thursday, March 25. Seventeen (17) driver volunteers picked up their assigned bags and delivered them to 118 locations throughout the county. The drivers were Elaine Anderson, Adam Clarke, Betsy Colon, Angela Ellis, Brenda Donohue, Sally Fox, Garth Freeman, Karissa Garbarini, Holly Harvey, Ken Kallio, Haley Kent, Laura Lane, Eddie Lee, Ellen Leverich, Tom Matthews, Jules Orcutt, and Aimee Rose. Each wrapped cookie had a label with the Livingston CARES logo and a message For Our Healthcare Workers THANK YOU. Each location received a card thanking the donors and contributors and a message of thanks with a handwritten thank you from the APO service fraternity at SUNY Geneseo.
 
Program Highlight:
Home Away From Home Respite Center

Livingston CARES is proud to highlight the amazing work of the Home Away from Home Respite program, one of our community based initiatives facilitated in partnership with SUNY Geneseo. The Home Away from Home Respite program, run by Coordinator Sharon Leary, has a profound impact within Livingston County, providing a safe space filled with activities and student volunteers supporting community members with memory-related illnesses. Home Away from Home hosts meetings twice a week, giving caregivers the opportunity to take care of themselves and recharge. Student volunteers go through training before participating and in exchange get a cross-generational experience that will stay with them forever. Approximately fifteen to twenty students are involved with the program at any given time. The Home Away From Home Respite program has received a lot of positive attention recently from Livingston County News and Spectrum News.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed down the program at all. Participants and student volunteers continue to meet over zoom each week for conversation, games, crafts, and group exercises such as chair yoga. The program also mails all seniors a care package each week, which includes letters from the coordinator and students, as well as coloring pages and gratitude journals. They are looking forward to returning to in-person activities after the health risks of the pandemic are past, but they are doing a fantastic job adapting to the public health crisis by protecting seniors and providing the same opportunities in the safest way possible.

If you are interested in having your loved one join the program, they are currently looking for new families and encourage you to reach out by emailing Coordinator Sharon Leary.

You can learn more about the Home Away From Home Respite Center and find out ways you can get involved by visiting their website here, or their YouTube page here!

Service Trips with
Livingston CARES
As the entire world has had to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic so has Livingston CARES. All service trips involving students from the SUNY Geneseo for the 2021 year were cancelled and planning shifted to 2022 and beyond.

Livingston CARES is hosting a community-member only trip on May 23-29, 2021 to the Lake Charles area of Louisiana that was hit by two hurricanes (Laura & Delta) in the fall of 2020. Volunteers led by Tim Lowmaster and Tom Wilson will work with the Fuller Center for Disaster Rebuilders in Sulfur, LA on low-income family homes. 

In 2022, Livingston CARES is planning three service trips to Puerto Rico on January 15-22, March 12-19 and May 21-28 and two to Louisiana on January 15-22 and March 12-19. Other locations may be added depending on the locations of 2021 hurricanes. Students/faculty/staff/alumni/community residents interested in participating in future trips should watch the website for updates and registration information. 

Please continue to visit our website for updates regarding service trips and feel free to connect with any questions.
Seeking Student Board Members
The board of directors of Livingston CARES has open positions for students to serve a one year term for 2021-22. Our student members are an essential part of our organization, bringing a perspective to the Board that helps us to make decisions that are in the best interests of students.

This position is a full-year position beginning in April 2021. The time commitment of this position requires attendance at one-hour monthly meetings during the semester, participation on committees, as well as volunteering at Livingston CARES Day, Gumbo to Go, tabling at volunteer fairs, and other local events when possible. Student board members are also encouraged to take planning and leadership roles for our service trips. Selected students can serve in this position and receive INDT-395 credit. 

If you are interested please email Garth Freeman: freemang@geneseo.edu. We are seeking to have the new members identified by Wed. April 28.
Did you want to catch up on Livingston CARES' history?

If you wish to see the impact Livingston CARES has had throughout the years, you can use this link to view 15 years of trips, programs, people, projects, and more:
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