Border Community
SERVICE of NU A program of the
Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M. Institute for Civic
Engagement
Director of BCS City of Buffalo
Dana Estrada [email protected]
716.205.0075
Niagara County Coordinator
Terri Mannarino [email protected]
716.205.0076
Levesque Institute Office Coordinator
Gail Struzik [email protected]
716.205.0077
Executive Director Levesque Institute
David B. Taylor, PhD
Office Information:
Phone: 716.286.8010 FAX: 716.205.0072
Office Location:
443 Roosevelt Avenue Niagara Falls, NY 14305
Mailing Addresses:
PO Box 2040 Niagara University, NY
14109-2040
City of Buffalo PD 74 Franklin Street Buffalo, NY 14202
A P R I L 2 0 1 6
Border Community SERVICE
Page 2: Buffalo Update; April SMART Training Calendar
Page 3: Niagara County Update; Niagara County survey available
Page 4: Ride for Roswell - June 25, 2016 - CERT Volunteer Opportunity
Page 5: Earth Day - April 22 - Go out and plant a tree!
Page 6: Reminder tips on being ‘storm prepared’; food safety during outages
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Annual Empowering Volunteers Conference has not been confirmed.
We are working toward a date of Saturday, June 4, 2016. - More information to follow in May’s newsletter -
Our volunteers are always looking for something to ‘offer’ their services at. Perhaps this would be of interest to you...
Second Annual LiveNF Volunteeer Fair at the NACC
ReNU Niagara is proud to present the 2
nd Annual LiveNF Volunteer Fair in
cooperation with Congressman Brian Higgins’ office. If you are an individual looking for ways to give back to your community or are part of an organization in need of additional volunteers, then check out the 2016 LiveNF Volunteer Fair – the perfect opportunity for organizations and individuals to connect.
This year’s Volunteer Fair will be held on Thursday, April 7, at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center (NACC) at 1201 Pine Avenue from 4 to 7 p.m. This event is FREE and open to the public. Dozens of organizations will be on hand to share details on their work in the community, needs and how you can get involved. Participating organizations include the Aquarium of Niagara, Community Missions, the Niagara Beautification Commission, Niagara Community Action Program, Niagara County Employment and Training, Old Falls Street, The Service Collaborative of WNY and more.
The Volunteer Fair is a preview to National Volunteer Week, which runs from April 10-16 this year and represents a national drive to inspire volunteerism and community engagement.
More information can be found at www.niagara.edu/renu – interested organizations can also visit this page to pre-register. The Facebook event page is also available for more information and updates. Feel free to contact ReNU Niagara at [email protected] or 205.0287 with any questions.
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Border Community SERVICE
City of Buffalo Dana Estrada 716-851-4299
The City of Buffalo’s Border Community SERVICE project worked with Belmont Housing to address some of their clients at various sites around the city, including at the Seneca-Babcock Community Center. It was great working with Belmont to set these presentations up and we look forward to visiting their other sites soon.
Border Community SERVICE was also a proud partner in the Head Start Health Fair that took place mid-March. Together with University Pediatric Dental, Cornell Cooperative, and several other organizations, we had the opportunity to talk to each student enrolled in the Head Start Program at the Northwest Community Center. Over 200 students and their teachers came through the health fair! For the first time, I had an video presentation set up for the children that came through making my table a hit! Each child received a “Preparing Makes Sense” brochure for their families, along with a small bandage based first aid kit. What a great day!
April is shaping up to be a very busy month for BCS in the City of Buffalo! We have over 10 presentations scheduled and we’ll be kicking off Clean Sweeps in less than a week. Fingers crossed for warmer weather!
SMART Training/Meeting Calendar - April 2016
The following information has been provided by Pati Aine Guzinski
and if you are interested in attending any of these upcoming sessions,
please contact Pati Aine as listed below:
Dates may change due to participation in community events/drills/exercises.
All classes will be held at the
Erie County Fire Training Academy
3359 Broadway, Cheektowaga, NY 14227
Pre-registration is required for all sessions.
Pati Aine Guzinski
Training Coordinator PH Emergency Preparedness for Erie County
Phone: (716) 858-7109
Tuesday April 19 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm New Member Orientation (current members welcomed)
Wednesday April 20 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm Effective Communication with People who are Deaf
or Hard of Hearing
Saturday April 23 9:00 am - 11:30 am Effective Communication with People who are Deaf
or Hard of Hearing
Niagara County Terri Mannarino 716-205-0076
The month of March found BCS hanging with the dogs and then going to college! We began with
a visit to the Niagara County Community College Campus for their annual health fair. Our drop
disc game, with free prizes, helps draw people in initially, but soon they hear our message about
being ready and prepared, and we win them over every time! Actually,
they win every time! Well, almost…there are always a few people who
think we are selling something and just don't stop, which is sad. It seems
like once we start discussing the topic with people, and explain why we
need, at the very least, to have a plan for our families, people respond.
They agree, they begin to think, and start to make plans and keep
necessary supplies on hand. The freebie item they win at our table will hopefully be an addition to
the kit they create. The nice thing about attending the college event is that, not only do you get to
talk to the students, you reach out to the faculty and staff. Those who support the educational field
benefit and may pass on the information we provide to others. It's such a win-win!
The Sunday before Easter found us attending the Eggstravaganza the SPCA of Niagara County
sponsored at the Niagara Active Hose Company. A huge thank you goes out to Deb Clouser and
Linda Hardy, my hard-working volunteers that spent the day with me. It was a well-attended fund-
raiser for the SPCA and everyone appreciated the firefighter animal "awareness" stickers for front
doors that we handed out with our Emergency Preparedness pamphlets for people and pets.
When you question people about having pet supplies and appropriate
documentation for their animals, ready to go, just in case they had to
evacuate, they begin to realize how important that can be. They now know
that they must consider that their pets rely completely on them to take care of
their needs during an emergency event. The impact of that realization will
hopefully be the push people need to start preparing. Side note, it was
awesome to attend an event that so many dogs present and welcome!
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Attention: Niagara County Residents This survey information has been forwarded to us by
Jacquelyn Langdon Confidential Secretary to the Public Health Director
Secretary to the Niagara County Legislature's Community Services Committee
Niagara County Department of Health
And we have been asked to print the information in the newsletter with the hope that as many Niagara County residents as possible will complete the survey, provided by the Niagara County Department of Health, along with the Niagara County Hospitals. If interested, please check out the
link provided and complete the survey as your voice matters!
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Please help us discover the best way to meet the health care needs of your community by completing this short confidential survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/niagaracounty The survey is available online through April 30, 2016. Please feel free to share the link with other Niagara County residents. We appreciate your time and your input! Thank you!
Volunteering Opportunity - The 2016 Ride for Roswell Dear CERT volunteers – You are invited to serve as a communications support volunteer at The Ride For Roswell, June 25, 2016! The Ride For Roswell is the largest one-day cycling fund raising event in the USA.
The Ride raised a record $4.6 million for cancer treatment, research, cures at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. Since 1996 over 2,000 volunteers and 8,000 riders come together to raise funds for cutting-edge research studies and compassionate, innovative patient-care programs at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
The Ride is supported by hundreds of volunteers and public safety officers. CERT members are uniquely qualified to support The Ride from the Route Support Center based in the Amherst Police Department.
We are seeking volunteer call takers, data loggers, and map readers. This is a full day of communications support, training, and fellowship. We use the DLAN system combined with Amateur radio Emergency Services of Erie County, and over 18 public safety agencies.
The Ride For Roswell Park Cancer Institute - Saturday, June 25, 2016
Event based at SUNY UB Amherst ~ Routes support based at Amherst Police Department, 550 JJ Audubon Parkway, Amherst 14228. APD CERT shifts open from 5:00 am – 3:00 pm; assignments are inside, air-conditioned, amenities and snacks and lunch provided.
Feel free to share with like-minded volunteers!
Contact - Tom Johnston, Operations Manager - The Ride For Roswell
Elm & Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY 14263
http://rideforroswell.org/
Office Direct - (716) 845 – 3945
The Ride For Roswell
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Earth Day - April 22, 2016
Trees for the Earth - Let’s get planting!
What’s on the agenda:
Over the next five years, as Earth Day moves closer to its 50th anniversary, we’re calling on you to help us achieve one of our most ambitious goals yet —we’re planting 7.8 billion trees and we’re starting now. That is one tree for every person on the planet!
Trees will be the first of five major goals we are undertaking in honor of the five-year countdown to our 50th anniversary. On their own and together, these initiatives will make a significant and measurable impact on the Earth and will serve as the foundation of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet for all.
Our planet is currently losing over 15 billion trees each year due to deforestation, land development, and bad forest management (that is roughly 48 football fields every minute). Trees for the Earth will focus on those regions of the world most affected by deforestation. In order to achieve our goal of 7.8 billion trees, we will work with partners from all levels of society, integrate trees into all of our existing campaigns, and create coalitions with national and sub-national governments, mayors, faith leaders, businesses, and civil society from all across the globe.
Our goals for planting these trees are as simple as they are important:
Fight climate change and pollution;
Support communities, their local economies, and their way of life;
Protect biodiversity; and
Inspire millions of people to join us in environmental citizenship and stewardship.
Why Trees?
Trees help combat climate change. They absorb excess and harmful CO2 from our atmosphere. In fact, in a single year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the same amount of CO2 produced by driving the average car 26,000 miles.
Trees help us breathe clean air. Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark.
Trees help communities. Trees help communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability and provide food, energy and income.
www.earthday.org/earth-day/earth-day-theme
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Be prepared for storms - any season!
Storms can happen at any time - some, with little advance warning. Be ready by keeping these items handy: • Working flashlights, extra batteries, and a battery operated radio. • Extra drinking water, a manual can opener and a supply of canned and dried foods. It’s always a good idea to have something on hand to eat that won’t require refrigeration or heating.
• Extra medicine, baby items if necessary, and first aid supplies. • If there’s an power outage in your area, do call it in. You never know if it has been reported. • Stay safe and stay away from any fallen power lines or anything touching fallen wires. Pay attention to trees around you as limbs can easily come down in inclement weather.
The power’s out and you’ve got a fridge full of food. So you naturally start to worry about what’s
still safe to eat. How can you tell?
The refrigerator: how long will foods remain safe without power?
• All foods: at least 4 hours, if the fridge is left unopened.
• Discard after 4 hours without power: Meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, cooked leftovers, soft
cheeses, deli cold cuts/salads and other perishable foods.
• Still safe after 4 hours: Ketchup, mustard, relishes, jams, jellies, olives, barbecue sauce, soy
sauce, bread, rolls, bagels, cakes (without cream or custard), cookies and muffins, certain hard
cheeses, whole (not cut) fruit and vegetables.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service Web Site has an
extensive list of what to keep and what to discard.
• Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
• Never taste food to determine it’s safety. You can’t rely on appearance or smell to determine
whether food is safe.
The freezer: how long will foods remain safe without power?
• Approximately 48 hours, if the freezer is full. Approximately 24 hours, if the freezer is half-full.
• Keep the freezer door closed as much as possible to maintain its cold temperature.
How can you tell if food in the freezer is still safe?
• If the food still contains ice crystals, or is at 40° F or below, the food is safe. Otherwise,
discard it.
• Never taste food to determine its safety - foods that look and smell perfectly fine can still be
unsafe to eat.
Can you safely refreeze food that has started to thaw?
• Yes - but only if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40° F or below. If that’s not the case, throw
it out.
Information from: www.stilltasty.com/articlues/view/27
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