Chronology of Events
The chronology includes a vast array of important moments throughout the history of the Livingston CARES organization from its conception in 2005 to its current function in Livingston County today.
2005
September 7, 2005
The Semi-annual Volunteer Fair at the College provided opportunities for students to join committees to help with hurricane relief efforts.
September 8, 2005
The Center for Community at SUNY Geneseo hosted a meeting of 32 representatives from college and community organizations to discuss a collaborative response to the horrendous devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The participants unanimously agreed to create a countywide effort to respond with a long-term commitment to help the Gulf Coast recover from the hurricane. A set of assumptions was approved that formed the basis of a plan to conduct fundraising for relief efforts while the hurricane remained front-page news and explore possibilities for developing a relationship with communities on the Gulf Coast for long-term recovery assistance. Participants agreed that Livingston CARES would become a college and community program directed by a steering committee with representatives from students, faculty and administrators at SUNY Geneseo, Livingston County government, the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, the Livingston County Coalition of Churches, the Village and Town of Geneseo, and other interested organizations. The College agreed to coordinate the Livingston CARES efforts through its GOLD leadership and volunteer center programs. Tom Matthews, director of leadership education, development and training, agreed to serve as chair with assistance from Kay Fly, Coordinator of Volunteerism and Service Learning.
September 11, 2005
Article by Matthew Daneman in Democrat and Chronicle on “Beyond Katrina: Livingston wants Gulf to know it cares” reports on Livingston County CARES activities.
September 12, 2005
Livingston County CARES logo approved and website created to serve as a location for sharing information on hurricane relief efforts. Numerous student organizations announced fundraising activities on the website. A Student Action Committee of Livingston CARES begins meeting weekly to coordinate SUNY Geneseo student involvement in the relief efforts.
September 20, 2005
Livingston County CARES steering committee met to coordinate efforts and investigate communities on the Gulf Coast that would be willing to partner with Livingston County. Based on the news reports that Mississippi coastal areas were not getting attention or much assistance, members of the steering committee agreed that Livingston CARES should focus its concerns on Harrison County, Mississippi. Cynthia Oswald, President of the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, agreed to contact government and business leaders in Harrison County. Oswald initiated conversations by phone and email with Berinda Logan from Mississippi Gulf Chamber of Commerce whose offices and records had been totally destroyed in the hurricane. Logan connected Oswald with Connie M. Rockco from the Harrison County Board of Supervisors. Conversations between Oswald and Rockco led to the agreement between Livingston and Harrison Counties to work together on the relief and recovery efforts. President Christopher Dahl sent an email to the campus community about the hurricane and the SUNY Geneseo response including information on the community forum and Teach-In on the Hurricane on October 30, the student fundraising activities, and the Livingston County CARES initiatives.
September 27, 2005
Livingston CARES steering committee met and approved a resolution-identifying Harrison County, Mississippi as the location to focus relief efforts. Brad Lowell, a Red Cross volunteer who had just returned from two weeks doing damage assessment in Harrison County briefed the committee on his experiences and observations about the need for long-term assistance in Harrison County.
September 28, 2005
A resolution was submitted by Geneseo Town Supervisor, Wes Kennison, to the Livingston County Board of Supervisors to support Livingston County CARES and to formally offer assistance to Harrison County, Mississippi. Cynthia Oswald, Tom Matthews, and Kay Fly participated in the meeting and addressed the Board of Supervisors on the initiative. The resolution was presented but not acted upon in order to provide time for officials in Harrison County to accept the offer of assistance from Livingston County.
October 6, 2005
Article on Livingston County CARES appeared in The Clarion on the developing relationship with Harrison County. The same issue featured Gail Orr and her work in Harrison County and the Humanity Outreach Partners Enterprise (HOPE) Unites Foundation. Orr led a team of 18 volunteers from western New York to work in a “tent city” in D’Iverville, Mississippi immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
November 21, 2005
Cynthia Oswald, Livingston County Chamber of Commerce President, was interviewed on WYSL about the Livingston CARES initiatives.
November 23, 2005
A feature story in Livingston County News reports on “From Nunda to Gulfport” efforts by Carolyn Lowell, a teacher in the Dalton School District and Paul Kreuzer, an active member of the community to involve teachers, students, and community groups in Dalton, Nunda, Hunt, and Portage to collect school supplies and funds for the Gulfport School District. Gerald Hotchkiss delivered the school supplies to the children in Gulfport on a trip to visit his son in Mississippi.
November 30, 2005
The Livingston CARES steering committee met and approved a K-12 initiative created by Glenn McClure to connect schools in Livingston County and Harrison County. The “Cosmic Gumbo Café” project will involve teachers and students in various arts integration activities over an extended period of time. Dr. Jon Hunter, Geneseo Superintendent of Schools, agreed to work with Glenn McClure on this project.
December 4, 2005
The Pennysaver features Livingston County CARES in its column devoted to “Hometown Spotlight.”
December 5, 2005
Thirty-five volunteers including nine SUNY Geneseo students registered and paid deposits for the trip to Biloxi. SUNY Geneseo, through Bob Bonfiglio, Vice President of Student and Campus Life, subsidized each student with grants to assist with travel expenses. Livingston CARES did not provide any funds to assist the volunteers with the $500 cost of the trip; all volunteers self-funded their expenses.
HOPE Unites provided a three-hour training session for participants in the January work trip to Biloxi. The Iota Lambda chapter of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society announced that Casey Carrigan won an essay for his writing about the hurricane and was sponsored by the chapter to participate in the January work trip to Harrison County.
December 20, 2005
Livingston CARES submitted a proposal to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund to support students and faculty participating in relief and recovery projects during spring break and for summer directed studies and internships in Harrison County. The proposal also requested funds to support the “Cosmic Gumbo Café” project with the K-12 links to Harrison County.
December 21, 2005
Livingston CARES steering committee added its support for the grant proposal submitted to the Bush-Clinton Hurricane Katrina Fund by the College. The committee also agreed to sponsor a community dinner on Wednesday, February 1 at the Geneseo United Methodist Church. The Geneseo Philanthropic Chefs will cater the Share and Care dinner with assistance and entertainment provided by the “Strong As Steel Corporation” 8th grade career studies project students at Mt. Morris Central School. Participants in the January work trip will tell their stories and the event will be a fundraiser with proceeds to go to Livingston CARES. Kay Fly reported that eighteen college organizations participated in a wide variety of fundraising activities during the fall semester with proceeds going to the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, the Humane Society of America, and Livingston CARES. Events included programs such as a Residence Life competition to raise funds, the Japanese Culture Club 1,000 cranes project folding origami cranes in the library, a Beta Fish sale by the Pre-Veterinary Club for animals displaced by the hurricane, a Alpha Phi Omega sale of Halloween Goodie Bags, the women’s athletic teams Kids Knight Out recreation program, a yard sale sponsored by the Royal Lady Knights and Livingston Residence Hall, and numerous collections for hurricane relief. A list of events registered with Livingston CARES was posted on the CARES website.
December 23, 2005
Letters from Glenn McClure, arts consultant, and Jon Hunter, Geneseo school superintendent, were sent to the five school district superintendents in Harrison County introducing the “Cosmic Gumbo Café” project and inviting the school districts to collaborate in long-term partnerships with the schools in Livingston County.
December 29, 2005
A news story on “County helps Hurricane Katrina victims” appeared in The Clarion describing the efforts of Livingston County CARES and the upcoming trip to Biloxi. Livingston County News featured the Top stories of 2005 and listed the disaster response as one of the major stories of the year.
2006
January 2006
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce US Chamber news magazine in its January edition included a feature article “Communities Aid Storm Recovery” that focused on the Livingston CARES initiatives as a “best practices” activity for other chambers of commerce to use in working on the hurricane relief efforts.
January 3, 2006
Kyle Clark, WHAM Channel 13 reporter, interviewed eight members of the Livingston County CARES volunteers on January 2 for a video report that aired on the local news after the Monday Night Football game on Tuesday morning.
January 4-10, 2006
Thirty-three Livingston County CARES volunteers traveled from New York to Biloxi, Mississippi and spent five days working on recovery projects in conjunction with the Urban Life Ministries. The volunteers stayed at the Urban Life Ministries Relief and Recovery Center on the grounds of a former V.F.W. site in East Biloxi. The Livingston CARES volunteers made a presentation to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors in Biloxi on January 9th. The work trip volunteers included nine students, one faculty member, who is also Town Supervisor of Geneseo and a member of the Livingston County Board of Supervisors, and two administrators from SUNY Geneseo; five students and one administrator from the Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada; nine individuals representing the Central Presbyterian Church in Geneseo; three individual citizens dedicated to service; and three team leaders from HOPE Unites.
January 5, 2006
The Livingston County News carried an editorial on the Livingston County CARES January work trip to Biloxi praising the efforts of the volunteers working in Mississippi and welcoming the group returning as heroes.
January 12, 2006
A full-page feature story on “Biloxi Blues” by Editor Mark Gillespie appeared in the Livingston County News report on the January Work-Trip activities in Biloxi. Gillespie interviewed Matthews and Kennsion and Harrison County Supervisor Connie Rockco while the team was still working in Biloxi.
January 17-18, 2006
Cynthia Oswald from Livingston County Chamber of Commerce made a presentation on the Livingston CARES initiatives as part of a panel discussion at the Chamber Alliance of New York State (CANYS) conference in Albany.
January 18, 2006
An article by Dolores Orman on “Group to Explain Post-Katrina Work” appeared in the Democrat & Chronicle highlighting the January Livingston County CARES work trip to Biloxi and the February 1st Share and Care dinner. Livingston County CARES steering committee met and heard brief reports on the January work trip to Biloxi. The committee also approved HOPE Unites as the designated agency to arrange future Livingston County CARES work trips to Harrison County.
January 19, 2006
The Clarion featured a group photo on the front page of the Livingston County CARES work team orientation after arrival in Biloxi on January 4, an article by Sally Fox on “Our Clarion Correspondent Reports on Hurricane Victims,” and an article by Harrison County employee Welton Babuchna on “Harrison County, Mississippi worker says, Good Morning America.”
January 26, 2006
Livingston County News editorial cartoonist Tom Fox depicts a bus with seats available on a work trip to Biloxi with a banner saying “Livingston Cares.”
February 1, 2006
Livingston CARES sponsored the First Annual Share and Care Dinner from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the Geneseo United Methodist Church. The Share and Care dinner was catered by the Geneseo Philanthropic Chefs with assistance and entertainment provided by the “Strong As Steel Corporation” 8th grade career studies project students at Mt. Morris Central School. Participants in the January work trip shared their stories and experiences working on hurricane recovery in Harrison County. The program included commentary from the Wilfrid Laurier University staff and students, SUNY Geneseo students, Central Presbyterian Church in Geneseo participants, and stories about each of the worksites in Biloxi and Gulfport. Over 120 students and community members attended the fundraiser dinner and donated over $1500.00 to Livingston CARES to assist with the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts in Harrison County.
February 5, 2006
The Sunday edition of the Democrat & Chronicle carried a story and photos of four of the January work trip volunteers: Roger and Kathy Collins, Kristy Sirianni, and George Sullivan. The article “2nd Group to Aid Mississippi Cleanup” publicized the March spring break trip and focused on stories from the four January trip volunteers.
March 10-18, 2006
The Student Action Committee of Livingston CARES led a second work trip to Harrison County, Mississippi. Fifty-five volunteers including 51 students, 1 faculty member, and 3 Division of Student & Campus Life staff worked on 5 houses in Gulfport. Charlie Elliot-Bearce served as the trip leader.
March 22, 2006
Livingston CARES steering committee approved a revised mission statement to be used in applications for state and federal government recognition as a non-profit organization. The expanded mission covers future activities related to humanitarian projects at the local, state, national, and international levels.
April 6, 2006
The Lamron reporter Mike Peek reported “Students Help Mississippi Hurricane Victims Recover from Katrina.” Charlie Eliott-Bearce and other students on the March trip reflected on their experiences in Mississippi. The same issue also featured an Invasion of Privacy column by Kathryn Adams on “Charlie Elliot-Bearce’s philanthropy brings Geneseo students to Mississippi.”
April 14, 2006
The Navy Seabee Courier carried a story by JO1 (SW) Dennis J. Herring “NMCB 1 Seabees assist New York college students.” The article interviewed the five Seabees from the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion OBE (NMCB, 1) who assisted the March CARES trip volunteers on the reconstruction of five houses in Gulfport. Tom Hurlburt was the Seabee that arranged for the Seabees to help with the projects.
May 15, 2006
Five students, one retired SUNY Geneseo staff member, and one retired electrician community volunteer traveled from New York to Harrison County, Mississippi and spent the week rehabilitating a house in Gulfport. Connie Hurlburt served as trip leader and her son, Tom Hurlburt, from the Navy Seabees assisted with the reconstruction work.
June 28, 2006
Livingston CARES steering committee approved the filing of papers with the Secretary of State to become a registered New York State non-profit corporation. The initial volunteer directors signed the papers: Tom Matthews, Kay Fly, Kurt Christiansen, Cynthia Oswald, and Lyle Lehman. Doug Wilson reported on the Tools for Katrina project coordinated for CARES by the Livingston County Coalition of Churches.
July 6, 2006
Livingston County News briefly noted a column reported on the Tools for Katrina collections spearheaded by the Livingston County Coalition of Churches for Harrison County, Mississippi. Dave and Erin Bills from the Livonia Community Church delivered the tools and supplies to the Hands On Gulf Coast and Volunteers on the Gulf Coast recovery centers in Biloxi and church related items to the Biloxi Methodist Church.
August 2, 2006
Livingston County CARES, Inc. registered as a New York State non-profit corporation with the Secretary of State. The stated purpose is to help communities and individuals locally, regionally, statewide, nationwide, and globally in humanitarian projects, including disaster relief and recovery efforts. Additionally, it is to provide a central repository for resources and information for individuals and organizations wishing to contribute to disaster relief efforts.
August 30, 2006
Livingston CARES steering committee approved four trips for 2007: a January trip, a February trip hosted by Central Presbyterian Church, a March spring break trip, and a May trip. Doug Wilson and Charlie Becker reported on the Tools for Katrina project that included $1,146.59 in cash donations and 630 items for the recovery centers in Mississippi. Dave and Erin Bills from the Livonia Community Church delivered the tools to the Hands ON Gulf Coast and Volunteers on Gulf Coast recovery centers in Biloxi. The committee also approved $660.00 to purchase equipment for five students in the Woolmarket Youth Football Leagues that had lost all their uniforms in the hurricane. The committee also voted to support the possible restoration of a greenhouse in Gulfport.
September 28, 2006
Lamron at SUNY Geneseo featured an editorial in its Lunatic’s Fringe column on the “Aftermath of Katrina Should be More of a Priority” by Taryn Thompson. Thompson reviews the lack of attention by the press and the government on helping with Katrina recovery efforts in Mississippi. The feature included a photo of the remains of a front step for a home in Biloxi.
Biloxi.
October 3, 2006
The Livingston Chamber of Commerce and SUNY Geneseo annual joint luncheon at the Campus House included a presentation on Livingston CARES from Charlie Elliott, student chair of the March 2006 Spring Break Trip and Tom Matthews. The program also included a slide presentation and the narrative PowerPoint written by Maureen Gillard reflecting on her experience as a student participant on the CARES spring 2006 service trip.
October 12, 2006
Michelle Plyem and Tom Matthews made presentations at the Campus House to the Geneseo Torch Club on Livingston CARES trips to Mississippi. Maureen Gillard’s narrative PowerPoint was used to illustrate the student reactions and reflections on work trip experiences.
October 17, 2006
SUNY Geneseo was one of nine colleges and universities in the nation to receive a Katrina Compassion Award during the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll Awards Ceremony in Chicago. The Katrina award recognized the efforts spearheaded by Livingston CARES to engage students in relief and recovery work on the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi. Geneseo was one of 141 institutions of higher education recognized for distinguished service in the first President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.
October 25, 2006
Letter from Suzanne Martel, President of Woolmarket Youth Football League thanking Livingston CARES for the donation of $660.00 used to purchase equipment and uniforms for the participants. Martel enclosed a CD on the league activities and fall games.
November 1, 2006
The Democrat & Chronicle carried a brief on the “Service Roll Lists Area Colleges” that reported on the first President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll that included SUNY Geneseo. The article also noted that SUNY Geneseo was a recipient of the Katrina Compassion Award.
November 15, 2006
The Livingston CARES steering committee met to review the progress on the upcoming spring trips and the greenhouse, Woolmarket Youth Recreation area, and the Moore Community House projects.
December 4, 2006
Tom Matthews made a presentation to the Geneseo Rotary on Livingston CARES and showed the slide PowerPoint presentation written by student Maureen Gillard, reflecting on her experience on the CARES March trip to Mississippi.
December 28, 2006
Livingston County News editor Mark Gillespie added his “Also Noteworthy” editorial to his top stories of the year praising the volunteers and Livingston CARES for the “tremendous up-swelling of generosity and labor for the residents of Biloxi, Mississippi.” The same issue also included a headline on David W. Parish’s column noting that “Livingston CARES Awarded National Honors” with reference to the presentation on Livingston CARES by Tom Matthews to the Geneseo Rotary.
2007
January 6, 2007
Twenty volunteers traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi to work on three houses in Biloxi and Gulfport. Camp Biloxi run by the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd hosted the group. Original Orphan Train railroad box cars served as sleeping accommodations for the service volunteers. Team members met with Harrison County officials, visited the Moore Community House in East Biloxi, met with The ARC of the Gulf Coast, and took gift packages to the owners of homes worked on by previous Livingston CARES volunteers.
January 26, 2007
Channel 13 reporter Kyle Clark interviewed volunteers from the January Livingston CARES trip to Biloxi. Clark interviewed Marie Ostrander, student co-chair, and Tom Matthews on their reactions to visiting the Gulf Coast for a second time.
February 7, 2007
Livingston CARES steering committee heard a report on the January trip to Biloxi and discussed the February, March, and May trips. The committee approved the greenhouse project in Gulfport and volunteers on the March trip will begin the initial clearing of the area for restoration. The committee also approved the 2nd annual Share and Care dinner for April 18 with Connie Rockco, President of Harrison County Supervisors (Biloxi) as our guest speaker.
February 15, 2007
The Lamron reporter Sean Kaplan’s headline story “Despite Less Media Coverage, Mississippi Trips Continue” featured commentary from Kay Fly and Marie Ostrander on their thoughts about the upcoming March spring break trip to Mississippi.
February 18, 2007
Twenty-three volunteers from Livingston CARES traveled to Biloxi for President’s Week to work on recovery efforts. God’s Katrina Kitchen hosted the volunteers at their site in Biloxi. Participants worked at the recovery center that feeds over 1,000 volunteers and needy families on a daily basis and on three houses in Biloxi. Beth Godfrey, pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church served as the team leader of the February group.
March 1, 2007
The Internal Revenue Service approved Livingston County CARES, Inc. as a tax-exempt organization and public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
March 9, 2007
Forty-four students, three staff members, one faculty, and one retiree from SUNY Geneseo and one community volunteer traveled by bus to Gulfport, Mississippi to spend spring break working on the restoration of homes. The teams also cleaned up a greenhouse area for Harrison County and worked on five homes throughout the week.
March 28, 2007
Livingston CARES approved a $2,000.00 contribution to purchase a flagpole for the Harrison County Woolmarket Youth Recreation Complex. The committee also approved granting the $2,000.00 gift from the Central Presbyterian Church to the Moore Community House pending agreement on a specific use of the funds. The Livingston-Wyoming ARC grant of $4,000.00 was also approved for gifting to The ARC of the Gulf Coast.
March 29, 2007
The Knight’s Life section of The Lamron featured stories on “Fixing Up on Spring Break” that reported on two groups of volunteers and their reflections on the spring break trips. Dan Skahen reported on the trip of thirty-one members of the Outing Club at SUNY Geneseo to Louisville, Kentucky to work on cleaning up the Ohio River in conjunction with Chad Pregracke’s Living Lands and Waters Foundation. The second story by volunteer Sean Roche included a daily “Biloxi, Mississippi: A Journal from Devastation” review of the Livingston CARES trip and work on the greenhouse and five homes in Gulfport, Mississippi.
April 4, 2007
Press release on “SUNY Geneseo Professors to Cater Livingston CARES Dinner on April 18; Mississippi Leader to Speak” circulated to the media.
April 5, 2007
Livingston County News brief on “Mississippi for Mother’s Day” announced the CARES May 13th trip to Biloxi with contact information on the trip.
April 11, 2007
Letter from Senator Dale Volker indicating that a Legislative Initiative in the amount of $10,000.00 has been approved for support of students and recovery work in disasters and other humanitarian efforts.
April 12, 2007
Mark Gillespie reported in a front page article “Gulf Coast County Leader to Speak” in the Livingston County News about Connie Rocko’s visit to Livingston County on April 18 and upcoming speech at the 2nd Annual Livingston CARES dinner.
April 18, 2007
The 2nd Annual Livingston CARES Share and Care Dinner was held at the Geneseo United Methodist Church. The Geneseo Philanthropic Chefs catered the dinner and the guest speaker was Connie Rockco, Harrison County District 5 Supervisor.
May 16-23, 2007
The May 2007 work trip to Biloxi included ten SUNY Geneseo students and six community representatives. Dan Dimpfl was the trip leader. During the week the group worked on three Habitat for Humanity houses. The group also worked with Chip Carter, son of President Jimmy Carter.
May/June 2007
Genesee Valley BOCES News in Brief, profiled Tom Wilson, a BOCES teacher who participated in the February 2007 work trip with Livingston CARES. The article reported on the volunteer work during the February trip group on Jewel’s house in Gulfport and their stay at God’s Katrina Kitchen in Biloxi.
Summer 2007
Livingston County Coalition of Churches published an article in their quarterly Newsletter by Reverend Dr. Doug Wilson on Livingston County CARES projects and trips to Mississippi.
June 29, 2007
Livingston CARES formally established a board to manage the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity corporation. The meeting of the original incorporators Niels (Kurt) Christiansen, Kay Fly, Lyle Lehman, Cynthia Oswald, Kay Fly and Tom Matthews) was scheduled to create Livingston CARES as a formal organization, approve by-laws under Sections 602 and 702 of the Not-For-Profit Law, establish officers, and elect members to serve on the first Board of Directors. Fourteen of the possible 19 members of the Board of Directors were elected to serve as the first board. Board members elected included: Jerry Alonzo, Kurt Christiansen, Joan Ellison, Kay Fly, Richard Hatheway, Connie Hurlburt, Kathleen Jones, Wes Kennison, Lyle Lehman, Tom Matthews, Cynthia Oswald, Doug Wilson, Dan Dimpfl, and Jennifer Delcourt.
July 10, 2007
The first annual meeting of Livingston County CARES was held. The board elected Tom Matthews to serve as chair, Kay Fly to serve as Secretary and Lyle Lehman to serve as Treasurer. In addition to establishing organizational policies and procedures to guide decision making, the board approved four trips for 2008 in January, February, March, and May. The board also authorized the Chair and the Treasurer to establish a bank account at a local bank and move the holding account funds from the college accounts to the new bank account. Tom Matthews announced that Senator Dale M. Volker provided a member item in the New York State budget of $10,000.00 to assist students for CARES volunteer work.
July 27, 2007
Livingston County News published a story on the “Return to Biloxi” that featured work by Livingston CARES in Mississippi and announced the 2008 work trips to the Gulf Coast.
September 26, 2007
The Livingston CARES Board of Directors held its second meeting. The board approved the purchase of two insurance policies from the Chanler Insurance Agency to protect the organization in the event of claims or lawsuits, Directors and Officers Liability and Employment Practices Liability. CARES has no employees but the insurance includes coverage for actions by volunteers. The board approved a donation of $2,500.00 to Moore Community House for purchase of classroom furniture and $500.00 to the Harrison County Greenhouse Project, and approved a Livingston/Harrison County Cookbook project. The board also approved policies relating to processing checks, established the annual meeting of the board in November, authorized July 1 to June 30 as the CARES fiscal year, created a financial assistance committee to approve assistance to volunteers, established a policy requiring evaluations and reflections from all trip participants, approved trip coordinators for 2008, accepted the Salvation Army Volunteer Village in Biloxi for the four 2008 work trips, set the fees for students and non-students for the 2008 work trips, set aside $1,000.00 of the Volker member item to be used for grants to student organizations for humanitarian projects, and established the fourth Wednesday for monthly meetings. BJ Scanlon, the AmeriCorps VISTA in the Center for Community, was elected to the Board of Directors for a one-year term ending in July 2008.
October 24, 2007
The Livingston CARES Board of Directors held its third meeting. The board approved chartering a bus with Kemp’s Bus Service for the March trip to Biloxi, approved an allocation of $3,000.00 for financial assistance to volunteers and a policy of a minimum payment of $150.00 for all trip participants with exceptions made by the Financial Assistance Committee, established a policy permitting gifts honoring individuals or groups, authorized four levels of giving, and established an audit committee consisting of board members Hatheway, Christiansen and Oswald. The board also approved an account with www.goodsearch.com that supports non-profit agencies by donating one cent for every internet done under its name. BJ Scanlon reported on Students CARE, a group of SUNY Geneseo students who have been active with Livingston CARES, which was established at the College. The group will raise funds for students participating in Livingston CARES trips to Mississippi as well as serving in an advocacy role for the recovery of the Gulf Coast region.
November 28, 2007
The Livingston CARES Board of Directors held its fourth meeting. Amanda Flannery, a SUNY Geneseo student was elected for a two year term to fill the second student seat on the Board of Directors. The board approved registration and insurance offered through HOPE Unites for all 2008 trips to Biloxi, and reviewed plans for all four 2008 trips to Mississippi. The board also approved soliciting contributions in December as an alternative form of gift giving during the holiday season and established giving levels: CARES Giver from $1.00-$249.00, CARES Donor from $250.00-$499.00, CARES Good Samaritan from $500.00-$999.00 and CARES Humanitarian $1,000.00 plus.
2008
January 5-12, 2008
The first service trip of 2008 included 24 volunteers. The group flew to Gulfport and rented cars to drive along the Gulf Coast to Biloxi. Highlights included lunch at Sonic, a pizza party, and a greeting by Connie Rockco, Harrison County Supervisor. Work projects included assisting the Salvation Army with work on the Volunteer Village and a satellite facility and work on seven houses under the supervision of the Beaverton Four-Square Church from Oregon.
January 5, 2008
The local Biloxi television station, WLOX, highlighted the 8th visit by Livingston CARES volunteers to the region by putting together a news piece that included interviews with work participants. The story ran on the late evening news.
January 24, 2008
Livingston County CARES was featured in the Livingston County News with a story “Livingston CARES Back From Biloxi” with almost a full page spread showing pictures of the flagpole donated by CARES to Harrison County, work on a house in Biloxi, a visit with Daisy Guyton from a previous work trip, and a group photo at Yankie Stadium of the 24 volunteers on the January 2008 to Biloxi.
January 30, 2008
The Livingston CARES board held its fifth meeting. The January trip participants reported on the experiences of the 24 volunteers at Yankie Stadium working with the Salvation Army and the Four Square Church, reviewed plans for the upcoming February trip coordinated by Chris Lynch with 10 college and community volunteers, reviewed plans for the March alternative spring break trip with 55 participants, approved the third CARES fundraising dinner for April 23 with Kathleen Jones serving as coordinator, and authorized Dimpfl and Matthews to set fees for the May trip depending on the cost of airfares.
February 16-23, 2008
The second trip to Mississippi scheduled during President’s Week included ten volunteers with one from the college and nine community members including two high school students. The group traveled on Sunday and returned on Friday night in order to save money on airfare. Chris Lynch served as the trip leader. The group worked on the final stages of reconstruction of one house in Biloxi.
March 12, 2008
The Livingston CARES board held its sixth meeting. The board reviewed plans for the Annual Share and Care Dinner and agreed to a free will offering instead of charging for tickets, confirmed an agreement by Dimpfl and Matthews to reserve up to 20 plane tickets for the May trip with unused deposits to be credited to final list of participants, heard a report from BJ Scanlon on outreach initiatives to Livonia and Avon, and continued discussion on contributions to work sites in Biloxi. The SUNY Geneseo Outing Club requested assistance from Livingston CARES for a spring break trip to Louisville to continue its work with the Living Lands and Living Waters Foundation project cleaning up the Ohio River. The board approved designating funds from the Senator Volker grant to assist the students with travel expenses.
March 14-22, 2008
On the third trip of 2008, 55 individuals including 4 staff members from the college traveled by Kemps Bus to and from Biloxi, Mississippi for the alternative spring break work trip. Volunteers worked with the Salvation Army and at Popp’s Ferry elementary school, doing an overhaul of their grounds, and sprucing up their playground. Volunteers also worked on three other homes during their week in Biloxi.
April 3, 2008
The Lamron reported on the alternative spring break trips to the Gulf Coast and the Ohio River in a Knights’ Life piece entitled “Fixing up on Spring Break.”
April 15-17, 2008
Students CARE sponsored a JailBreak fundraiser on the College Green during late morning and afternoon class break times. Several faculty, staff and student leaders were recruited to serve jail time and to ask passers-by to help them get out of jail with donations while Students CARE solicited donations to keep the volunteers in jail. The weather cooperated and faculty, staff and students contributed over $500.00 to help fund Livingston CARES trips to Mississippi.
April 17, 2008
The Lamron reported on “Fundraiser Puts Students, Staff in Slammer” describing the Jailbreak fundraising activities organized by Livingston
CARES board member Amanda Flannery.
April 23, 2008
The Livingston CARES board met prior to the annual thank you dinner. Amanda Flannery reported that students raised $800.00 from the Jailbreak fundraising. Board members approved a $1,000.00 donation to the Salvation Army for the Volunteer Village in Biloxi in honor of Edwin and Susan Britt for their work in operating the Volunteer Village at Yankie Stadium.
April 23, 2008
The Third Annual Livingston CARES Share and Care fundraising dinner was held at the Geneseo United Methodist Church. Celebrity Chefs, Gary Towsley, Lynn Kennison and Glenn McClure provided southern hospitality with a gumbo and pasta dinner. KC Bailey presented a multimedia collection of photos and videos spanning the three years of the rebuilding efforts in Harrison County. Volunteers from May 2007, January 2008, February 2008 and March 2008 shared brief reflections on the work trips to Biloxi. Jennifer Delcourt received a special award for participating in four trips and for serving as the trip leader for the March 2008 Alternative Spring Break trip.
May 2008
Fifteen volunteers participated in the May trip to Biloxi. Dan Dimpfl served as the trip leader. Hope Force director Craig Snow reported that the May group was the best group he had ever worked with in his volunteer career.
June 18, 2008
The Livingston CARES Board met and elected Elise Arneson, the AmeriCorps VISTA staff member from the Center for Community to the board of directors. Matthews reported that the annual dinner raised $842.50. The board agreed to change the focus from fundraising to a thank you event for volunteers and contributors.
July 23, 2008
The Livingston CARES Board met to review and approve estimated costs and participant fees for the 2009 trips. Matthews reported that volunteers for all four trips will be accommodated at Camp Victor in Ocean Springs and work will be under the supervision of the East Biloxi Coordination, Relief & Redevelopment Agency. The EBCRRA is a non-profit agency dedicated to helping people rebuild homes in East Biloxi. Plane reservations have been made for 25 volunteers for January and a bus for March has been reserved.
September 23, 2008
The Livingston CARES board met and re-elected Lyle Lehman, Wes Kennison and Richard Hatheway for three-year terms. Student representative Marissa Evarts was elected to a two-year term. The three officers (Matthews, Fly and Lehman) were reelected for another one-year term. The board approved Tom Matthews to head the January trip, Tom Wilson to lead the February trip, and Elise Arneson, Amanda Flannery and Marissa Evarts to lead the March trip.
October 8, 2008
The Livingston CARES Board met to review plans for the 2009 work trips. Julie Matthews reviewed IRS regulations and presented documents that she prepared for submission to the IRS from Livingston CARES.
November 5, 2008
The Livingston CARES Board elected Lori McEvoy, Program Coordinator, Livingston County Coalition of Churches to a three-year term. The board also started a conversation about expanding our volunteer work beyond our current efforts in Mississippi to provide other service options for students.
December 3, 2008
The Livingston CARES Board received reports that the January, February and March trips were filled to capacity and that scholarship assistance has been provided to eight students for the January and March trips. Karen Bailey was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors.
2009
January 3-10, 2009
Twenty-five volunteers including 14 students participated in the January trip to Biloxi. The volunteers worked on two houses in East Biloxi. The group also participated in a ceremony and presentation of the Livingston County and New York State flags by Nick Mazza, Livingston County Administrator and Cynthia Oswald, President of the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce.
January 8, 2009
Volunteers on the January trip were featured in the South Mississippi’s Newspaper, the Sun Herald with a story “Flag Pole Honors Katrina Volunteers” and photo of the flag raising ceremony at the Woolmarket Little League ball fields.
January 15, 2009
The Livingston County News ran a front-page feature story by Sally Fox on “Livingston Cares and Cares and Cares and Cares,” with a group photo of the twenty-five volunteers in front of one of the house projects. An editorial on “Foul Weather Friends,” by General Manager and Editor Mark Gillespie praised the work of Livingston CARES and urged the public to continue to support the recovery work in Mississippi.
January 15, 2009
The Biloxi D’ Iberville Press ran a story about the Livingston County flag pole dedication entitled “New York Volunteers Claim Harrison County.” The story reported on the relationship between the two counties and features the flag being flown at the Woolmarket Little League ball fields.
January 22, 2009
The Livingston County News featured a photo and “More From Biloxi, Mississippi” and reported that the volunteers accomplished two weeks of scheduled work in the five workdays.
February 4, 2009
The Livingston CARES Board met to review February, March and May trips. President Matthews reported that CARES has been registered with the New York State Charities Bureau. The board approved joining the Network for Good that will allow online contributions to the organization. Discussion continued on expansion of CARES work with other agencies and possible involvement in the El Sauce Project in Nicaragua.
February 15-21, 2009
Eleven community volunteers from the Central Presbyterian Church and the Philanthropic Chef led by Gary Towsley prepared a jambalaya special for the event. Dominic Mazza, retiring Livingston County Executive was recognized as our Outstanding Community Partner and Livingston County News Editor Mark Gillespie and Reporter Howard Appell were recognized with the CARES Building Community Awards. Humanitarian Awards were also presented to trip leaders Dan Dimpfl (May 2008), Tom Wilson (February 2009), Amanda Flannery (March 2009) and Marissa Evarts (March 2009). Elise Arneson was recognized for her service supporting Livingston CARES trips and programs during 2008-2009. Geneseo United Methodist Church participated in the President’s Week Livingston CARES work trip to Mississippi. The group worked on reconstructing two homes in East Biloxi.
March 11, 2009
The Livingston CARES board met and reviewed plans for the March and May trips, approved a layman’s version of by-laws for the operation of the organization, heard a presentation from Zach Monahan at Catholic Charities on local work projects, and continued discussion of expanding work opportunities for volunteers.
March 14-21, 2009
Fifty-five volunteers including three professional staff members and 52 SUNY Geneseo Students traveled by bus to Biloxi.
April 6, 2009
Seventy volunteers and donors attended the Livingston CARES Annual Thank You Dinner at the InterFaith Center.
April 14-17, 2009
Student trip leaders, Amanda Flannery and Marisa Evarts, coordinated the Jailbreak fundraiser on the College Green and raised $900.00 to support the volunteer work trips.
May 6, 2009
The CARES board approved the Guidelines for Project Holding Accounts permitting Livingston CARES to accept funds for humanitarian purposes from groups that have approved projects at SUNY Geneseo. The board also approved the first holding account for the Ghana Project.
May 17-23, 2009
Twenty-eight volunteers spent the week in Mississippi working on houses and projects. The trip leader was Trevor Ramsey-Macomber, a SUNY Geneseo senior on his fourth trip to Biloxi. Two retired local teachers, two professors and one administrator joined the 23 students. Volunteers worked on eight different homes on a variety of projects.
June 17, 2009
The CARES board approved the addition of the Give Kids the World winter break service project sponsored by Dave Parfitt, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at SUNY Geneseo. The project will be self-sustaining and not require funding from Livingston CARES. Katie Rogers, the 2009-2010 VISTA was elected for a one-year term on the Board of Directors. The Livingston News featured a story on “Livingston Cares Volunteer Group Makes 15th Trip to Mississippi” by Howard Appell.
September 23, 2009
The board elected Joan Ellison, Connie Hurlburt, Dan Dimpfl, and Dave Parfitt for three year terms, Elise Arneson for a one-year term and Dan Hart for a two-year term on the board of directors. Kurt Christiansen decided to step down as a board member and was thanked for his service as one of founding directors of Livingston CARES.
November 5, 2009
The Livingston News featured a story by Howard Appell on “Livingston Cares Hurricane Relief Still Needed” with information about the 2010 work trips and the fundraising efforts including the haunted house by Alpha Kappa Phi Sorority on Halloween, the Gumbo to Go on November 12 and the December 5 holiday college a cappella concert.
November 12, 2009
The Geneseo Philanthropic Chefs led by Glenn McClure prepared a take-out Gumbo to Go dinner at St. Mary’s Parish Hall. Over 200 dinners were sold raising $2,000.00 for Livingston CARES.
2010
January 3-10, 2010
Twenty-eight volunteers traveled to Mississippi on the 16th Livingston CARES work trip. Volunteers planted a southern live oak tree and dedicated a permanent plaque. The group worked on three different houses on the fifth year of CARES trips to Mississippi.
January 5, 2010
The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi ran a story by Mary Perez announcing that “Live Oak will Honor New York Volunteers” ceremony on Tuesday and a box telling the readers where and when to attend the event.
January 6, 2010
The Sun Herald featured two group photos of the dedication ceremony and a story by Mary Perez titled “Honoring Volunteers on Their 16th Trip to Coast.”
January 10-16, 2010
Twelve SUNY Geneseo students volunteered at Give Kids the World Village which houses kids and families who visit Disney World and other attractions through Make a Wish Foundation. Dave Parfitt served as the trip coordinator and leader in Orlando.
January 20, 2010
The CARES board confirmed an earlier unanimous email and voice vote establishing a Haiti Relief fund to assist in the relief and recovery effort from the earthquake.
January 20, 2010
The Livingston News Letters to the Editor included a letter from Christopher Dahl, SUNY Geneseo President, addressing the Haitian earthquake relief and encouraging donations to the CARES Haiti Relief Fund.
February 11, 2010
The Livingston News editorial “After Quakes and Storms” by Mark Gillespie connected the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina work of volunteers and mentioned the CARES trips and the Haiti Relief Fund.
February 12-26, 2010
Eight local community volunteers traveled to Mississippi on the 17th CARES work trip. Dan Young served as the trip coordinator.
March 13, 2010
The Democrat and Chronicle’s Good News columnist Jim Memmott reported on his conversations with six January trip volunteers in a story “Livingston CARES Keeps Promise.”
March 13-20, 2010
Fifty-four volunteers, including five college administrators and 49 students, traveled to Mississippi by bus on the 18th CARES work trip. During the week, the volunteers split their efforts between the Hope Community development Agency and Camp Victor. Twenty of the volunteers worked at an animal shelter assisting the county caring for abused animals. Several participants have adopted dogs from the facility and Mississippi residents have named a dog “Geneseo.” The Harrison County Sheriff presented the volunteers with Honorary Deputy Sheriff Certificates to thank the students and staff for their work. Marissa Evarts, Dan Hart and Katie Rogers served as the trip leaders.
April 15, 2010
Philanthropic Chef Glenn McClure and crew prepared the second Gumbo to Go Take home dinner at St. Mary’s Parish Hall as a fundraiser for Livingston CARES. Over 200 tickets were sold and generated over $2,000.00 income to CARES.
April 26, 2010
The Livingston CARES Board of Directors held its April meeting at the Interfaith Center prior to the Volunteer and Donor Recognition Dinner. Students from Women’s Action Coalition and GSTV requested and the board approved an El Sauce Fund to assist volunteers with projects in Nicaragua. The board also approved $1575.00 from the Haiti Relief Fund to assist two families to resettle from Port au Prince to Borgne, Haiti. Kevin Felter was elected to serve as a student seat on the board of directors. Fly reported that the first Geneseo Goes to Town volunteer day involved seven student groups who worked on projects in seven Livingston County towns. The Volunteer and Donor Recognition Dinner included over 100 participants from work trip volunteers, donors, and board members. Representatives from each of the four Mississippi trips and Give Kids the World shared stories about their experiences. Humanitarian Awards were presented to the trip leaders: Marissa Evarts, Dan Young, Dave Parfitt, Dan Hart, Katie Rogers, and Trevor Ramnsey-Macomber. Participants in the dinner contributed $691.00 to Livingston CARES.
April 27-29, 2010
Livingston CARES student volunteers canvassed faculty, staff, and students to get friends out of jail by contributing to the Jailbreak fundraiser on the College Green.
May 16-22, 2010
Twenty-one volunteers participated in the 19th CARES work trip to Mississippi. Ken Kallio served as trip leader and Amanda Leonard was the student coordinator. During the week, volunteers were split up into three teams. Team one helped to renovate a stucco-sided home located on Division Street. Teams two and three spent the week working on a new build on Roy Street.
June 23, 2010
Board members approved budgets for 2011 Mississippi trips and established per person rates of $225.00 plus airfare for all participants. All future trips to Mississippi will utilize plane travel; March trips will no longer use a bus. The board also approved the creation of a HEROS project account to serve as a custodial account for donations and expenses associated with the mentoring program coordinated through the Center for Community. The board approved donations from the Haiti Relief Fund for two projects supported by the H.O.P.E. Foundation and Dr. Rose-Marie Chierici. The funds will go to help establish a nursery for reforestation and to purchase three teacher boxes to assist teachers who move from village to village educating students in the rural Borgne area of Haiti.
September 15, 2010
The board elected Matt Jordan for a one-year term and Philip Natoli and Lisa Burns to three-year terms on the Board of Directors.
October 15, 2010
Livingston CARES sponsored the third Gumbo to Go Dinner at Central Presbyterian Church and sold 201 tickets and raised $2,100.00. Chef Glenn McClure supervised the volunteer kitchen staff.
November 17, 2010
Andrew Demonsthenous reported on the Nunda trailer insulation project he supervised under our agreement with Catholic Charities. Board members agreed that all future projects must include waivers and supervision from Catholic Charities. The board approved a special appeal for additional funds to combat the cholera epidemic in Haiti and voted to contribute all remaining funds to purchase water purification kits for the Borgne area of Haiti.
2011
January 9-15, 2011
Twenty-one volunteers participated in the 20th CARES work trip to Mississippi. Tom Matthews served as trip leader. The volunteers were split into four groups. Two groups worked on lead abatement (scraping and painting in white suits) on one house. The other two groups painted the exterior of a house and another worked on interior demolition of a house and removal of removal. One group also did outside cleanup and two groups worked for two days at a new house painting the entire interior with two coats of paint and installing flooring in the kitchen and two bathrooms.
January 10, 2011
The SUNY Geneseo website featured a news brief by David Irwin entitled “Livingston CARES Group on 20th Trip to Gulf Coast for Hurricane Relief Work.”
January 10-16, 2011
Twelve volunteers participated in the Give Kids the World trip in Orlando, Florida. Dave Parfitt served as trip leader. Students worked two shifts a day at the Give Kids the World Village with families staying there. During the day, students served meals to families in the Gingerbread House, made banana splits and milkshakes in the Ice Cream Palace, and delivered continental breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and pizza dinners on a special cart. In addition to serving food, the students participated in all sorts of entertainment activities in the Village including: providing train rides, taking photos with Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld characters, giving makeovers to children in the spa, and playing with kids and locating stars in the Castle of Miracles. In the evening, students helped in the Kids’ Night Out Program. Wish Families drop their children off who are then paired with a volunteer for the evening.
January 27, 2011
The Lamron published a news brief by Susan Kaczmarczyk titled “Livingston C.A.R.E.S. sends Volunteers to the Gulf Coast for the 20th Trip since Katrina.” The SUNY.edu website featured the news brief published on SUNY Geneseo’s website on January 10th with the title “SUNY Geneseo Group Continues Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort.”
February 1, 2011
The ENCOMPASS published a news brief entitled “Twenty Volunteer Trips- and Still Going.” It includes a photo by Kris Dreessen of Samantha Hatz ‘12 and Bill Gurtowski ‘12 helping to build an access ramp for a couple in Biloxi, Mississippi.
February 15, 2011
The Democrat and Chronicle gave SUNY Geneseo and Livingston CARES a “Thumbs Up” for completing its 20th trip to the Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi area to continue Hurricane Katrina relief work.
February 16, 2011
Updated Livingston CARES governance by-laws and policy statements on whistleblowers, conflicts of interest, annual audit review, and acknowledgement of contribution were approved.
February 24, 2011
The Lamron featured an article on a panel discussion hosted by Geneseo’s Ghana Project. The discussion featured faculty fellow for international studies Wes Kennison and education professor Glenn McClure. The discussion examined the political and social realities of modern-day Ghana.
March 13-19, 2011
Twenty-eight Livingston CARES volunteers, including 24 students and four staff members participated in the 21st CARES work trip to Mississippi. Matthew Jordan (staff) and Dan Hart (student) served as trip leaders. Team leaders included Theresa Montenarello, Larry Bellamo, Loryn Royer, and Lizzy Johnson. Two groups worked on lead abatement on a house in Moss Point and two groups constructed a backyard fence at a home in D’Iberville.
March 30, 2011
The CARES board approved tax documents prepared by volunteer Julie Matthews for January to June 2010. This was an interim step in the change to a new July 1-June 30 fiscal year. The board also agreed to establish a Japan Relief Fund pending agreement with students from the Japanese Cultural Club at SUNY Geneseo. The fund was established and announced to the faculty, staff and students at the College.
March 31, 2011
The Lamron featured a news brief on the Third Annual Ghana Gala that was held March 21, 2011. The event included actors and dancers who brought to life the traditions of Ghanaian culture. This year the Gala raised over $600.00 dollars.
April 7, 2011
The Lamron featured an article by Rebecca Smarcz titled “Livingston CARES to Raise Money with Gumbo Dinner”.
April 10, 2011
The Livingston County News and the Genesee Valley Penny Saver (Livingston Edition) featured advertisements related to the Gumbo to Go dinner on April 15, 2011.
April 14, 2011
The Lamron printed a news brief about the Gumbo to Go dinner in their “Goings-On” section. It included information on the purpose of the event and where you can purchase tickets and pick-up your meal.
April 15, 2011
CARES sponsored the fourth Gumbo to Go Dinner and a special acapella concert featuring the Southside Boys at the Central Presbyterian Church. The Gumbo dinner sold 207 tickets and raised $2,073.00 and the concert raised $106.50. Chef Glenn McClure prepared the meal and supervised the kitchen staff.
April 26-28, 2011
Student volunteers headed by Dan Hart organized the Jailbreak fundraiser at the College to raise money for Livingston CARES.
May 2, 2011
The annual Livingston CARES Volunteer Thank You Dinner was held at the Interfaith Center. The program included a few stories from each of the last four trips and recognition of volunteers. Gary Towsley and the Geneseo Philanthropic Chefs prepared the meal.
May 15-21, 2011
Twenty-eight volunteers participated in the 22nd work trip to Biloxi. Ken Kallio was the trip leader assisted by students Amanda Leonard and Bennett Marano.
July 8-9, 2011
Livingston CARES participated in the Geneseo Summer Festival with an information table on Main Street.
July 27, 2011
CARES Board voted to expand the board seats from 17 to 19 directors. Erin Bills was elected for a three-year term to represent the Livingston County Coalition of Churches and Brenda Donahue was elected for a three-year term to represent the Livingston County Board of Supervisors.
July 2011
The Student Association approved a grant of $2100.00 to assist students with financial grants for CARES trips to Biloxi.
September 21, 2011
CARES Board approved Flood Relief Fund to assist recovery efforts in the Southern Tier. Twenty-two students on a Saturday work trip to Owego to assist in the cleanup efforts from Tropical Storm Lee. Amy Sheldon from the Geology department and Sean Phillips from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship organized the bus trip in conjunction with Livonia Central School.
November 3, 2011
The Gumbo to Go Dinner at Central Presbyterian Church raised $2200.00.
November 16, 2011
Board received reports on the Gumbo to Go Dinner and the October trips to Owego for Flood Relief. Twenty-two students participated in the bus trip held in conjunction with Livonia Central School.
2012
January 8-15, 2012
Twenty-eight volunteers participated in the 23rd work trip to Mississippi. Tom Matthews and Kevin Felter were the trip leaders. The volunteers worked on two houses in Biloxi, one in Ocean Springs and a fourth in Gulfport.
January 21, 2012
CARES Board approved an application to be an approved non-profit agency for the State Employees Federated Appeal.
March 11-17, 2012
Twenty-eight volunteers participated in the 24th work trip to Mississippi. Luke Haumesser and Lizzy Johnson were the trip leaders. The teams worked on two houses in Biloxi and one team worked at a soup kitchen during a down day with construction.
March 11-17, 2012
Fourteen volunteers from Geneseo and one from Alfred State spent a week working with families at Give Kids the World Village in Orlando. Dave Parfitt and Mindy Benamati were the trip leaders. This was the third Livingston CARES trip to Give Kids the World.
March 22, 2012
The Gumbo to Go Dinner at Central Presbyterian Church raised approximately $2,000.00.
March 29, 2012 Lamron reporter Chelsea Butkowski reviewed the March spring break trip to Biloxi and shared reflections from students on their volunteer work.
April 16, 2012
The Livingston CARES Annual Corporate Meeting was held in conjunction with the April Meeting of the Board of Directors and the Annual Volunteer Thank You Dinner at the Interfaith Center. Philanthropic Chef Gary Towsley served the traditional Jambalaya Dinner. Dave Parfitt, Joan Ellison and Dan Dimpfl were re-elected for 3-year terms and Chris Crocker was elected for a one-year term on the Livingston CARES Board of Directors. At the dinner, Humanitarian Awards were presented to Larry Bellomo, Mindy Benamati, Kevin Felter, Amanda Leonard, Kellan Morgan and Sean Phillips for their work on trips and projects supported by Livingston CARES.
May 13-19, 2012
Twenty-eight Livingston CARES volunteers on the 25th workweek to Biloxi, Mississippi worked on four houses and projects. Board member Ken Kallio served as the trip leader.
September 12, 2012
The SUNY Geneseo college race team in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge at RIT won first place in t-shirt design and donated their $1,000.00 prize to Livingston CARES.
November 2, 2012
By electronic vote, the board approved the establishment of a Hurricane Sandy Relief and Recovery Fund, working with the Geneseo Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce to assist in the Red Hook area and authorized the board president to negotiate projects and work trips to help in recovery efforts in the New York City area.
November 3, 2012
President Christopher Dahl announced the Hurricane Sandy Fund and invited students, alumni and parents to support the relief and recovery efforts.
November 8, 2012
Gumbo to Go Dinner prepared by Philanthropic Chef Glenn McClure at Central Presbyterian Church raised approximately $2,000.00.
November 9, 2012
CARES hosted two interest meetings for students interested in volunteering for work trips. Over thirty students expressed interest at the meetings.
November 14, 2012
The board accepted, with regret, the resignations of Cynthia Oswald and Dan Dimpfl from seats on the board of directors. The CARES Board confirmed the electronic vote to establish Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund and authorized the president to move forward with planning of Hurricane Sandy work trips in January and March of 2013.
December 2012
A CARES work trip for the week of January 13-19, 2013 on Staten Island was negotiated with the Jewish Community Center and the Bethel United Methodist Church on Staten Island. Alyssa Stefanese, student GOLD Leader Mentor whose family home on Staten Island was severely damaged, helped organize the trip that was announced in early December. Volunteers were recruited during the last week of classes and finals week.
2013
January 3, 2013
Tools for Red Hook collected at the December retirement party for Chamber of Commerce President Cynthia Oswald were delivered to Greg O’Connell for use in the recovery work in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn. Due to the lack of accommodations and work site supervision in the Red Hook area, the tools were one way that CARES could provide some assistance in lieu of an actual volunteer work week.
January 11, 2013
Board President Matthews and student Alyssa Stefanese met Pastor Matt Schaeffer at the Bethel United Methodist Church and Glenn Wechsler and Hiam Kay at the Jewish Community Center on Staten Island to finalize arrangements for the upcoming volunteer work week.
January 13-19, 2013
Nineteen volunteers worked on eight homes devastated by Hurricane Sandy in the New Dorp Beach and Oak Beach area of Staten Island. CARES student board members Matt Bower and Chris Crocker and Alyssa Stefanese assisted Chuck Reyes, trip coordinator. A cover story on the trip appeared in The Scene alumni magazine published in late January 2013.
January 13-19, 2013
Twenty-one Livingston CARES volunteers on the 26th work week in Biloxi worked on three houses and assisted HOPE CDA with moving a warehouse and building a float for the Biloxi Mardi Gras parade. Tom Matthews and Zach Bodenweber served as trip coordinators.
January 30, 2013
The board of directors allocated an additional $1,000.00 to supplement the Student Association Financial grants to be used to assist volunteers with travel expenses and approved a request from Kellan Morgan in El Sauce to fund the building of the La For school from donations received from local contributors during the last several months. The board also approved moving the tornado relief funds to the new Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.
March 13, 2013
The board of directors approved granting $1500.00 from the Ghana Project fund to assist in the building of a school in Besease, Ghana. The school is a project supported by Dr. Jennifer Rogalsky from the Geography Department at SUNY Geneseo. The board also approved forwarding the $1440.00 balance in the Nicaragua Microfinance Loan Fund to assist with small business loans in El Sauce. Funds were collected from the sale of baskets made in El Sauce and sold on campus. The board continued a discussion on appropriate projects or agencies for the Hurricane Sandy Relief funds.
March 17-23, 2013
Twenty-eight volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the 27th Livingston CARES work trip. Luke Haumesser served as the returning veteran trip leader and student board member Matt Andrews served as the student trip coordinator.
March 17-23, 2013
Sixteen volunteers participated in the 2nd Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy Recovery trip. The volunteers traveled in three vans from Geneseo to Long Island. The teams stayed at the Hicksville United Methodist Church.
April 18, 2013
Gumbo to Go Dinner prepared by Geneseo Philanthropic Chef Glenn McClure was held at Central Presbyterian Church. All proceeds went to Livingston CARES.
April 22, 2013
Livingston CARES Annual Corporate Meeting and April Board of Directors Meeting at the Geneseo Interfaith Center followed by the Annual Spring Volunteer Thank You Dinner. President Dahl was elected as an Honorary Member of the Livingston CARES Board of Directors to honor his strong support and advocacy for CARES programs. Humanitarian Awards for service were approved by the board and presented to Matthew Andrews, Matthew Bower, Josephine Champlin and Lizzy Johnson for their strong commitment and leadership on Livingston CARES trips. Livingston CARES board approved Karen Bailey, Kathleen Jones, Tom Matthews, and Tamara Kenney for three-year terms. Livingston CARES board also approved Phil Natoli for a two year term and one year terms for students: Alyssa Stefanese, Diana Castro, Dan Martin, Christopher Crocker, Zachary Bodenweber, and Kyle Kelschenbach.
April 22, 2013
A Resolution to honor Christopher Dahl was presented to the college's president by Livingston CARES board members present at the 2013 Annual Leadership Awards and Recognition Ceremony.
May 19-25, 2013
Fourteen volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the 28th Livingston CARES work trip. Ken Kallio served as the returning veteran trip leader. David Baker and Kelsey Romanowski served as student trip leaders.
May 19-25, 2013
Seven volunteers traveled to Staten Island on the 3rd Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy Recovery trip. Tim Lowmaster served as the trip leader. The team stayed at Bethel United Methodist Church and worked on the interior reconstruction of a family’s home.
June 13, 2013
Livingston County News reporter Howard W. Appell featured Livingston County CARES in an editorial.
September 18, 2013
CARES Board voted to offset the costs for volunteers of the January, March, and May work trips to Biloxi and the January work trip to Staten Island with funds from Livingston CARES’ Gumbo to Go and donations from Kiwanis and Student Association. The Board also approved the liability insurance premium payment.
September 25, 2013
The Student Association approved Livingston CARES’ request and donated $2100.00 for financial grants and an additional $90.00 to help reduce the cost of the March work trip to Biloxi. Dave Parfitt hosted a Give Kids the World informational meeting for students interested in the March 2014 trip to Orlando.
October 2, 2013
Livingston CARES Board approved the following policy statement; the officers are authorized to create restricted Livingston CARES charitable gift accounts to accept donations from College departments and make donations to non-profit public charities. All transactions from each specific charitable gift account will be reported to the board of directors on a regular basis and reviewed at each meeting of the board of directors.
October 23, 2013
CARES Board voted to change the volunteer fees for all three Biloxi trips to $551.60 to help volunteers with travel expenses. Livingston CARES offset these costs with the additional donation from Student Association and a donation of $2100.00 from Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. CARES Board approved a motion to donate $1500.00 for cots and housing supplies to the Hicksville Church on Long Island, which houses our March work trip volunteers, and $2500.00 to the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to be used for purchasing tools and other supplies to be used by volunteers working on Sandy recovery efforts. The CARES Board approved the filing of the 2012-2013 tax forms.
November 7, 2013
Philanthropic Chef Glenn McClure, and a dozen other volunteers worked all day at the Central Presbyterian kitchen making Gumbo to Go as a fundraiser for Livingston CARES.
2014
January 12-18, 2014
Twenty volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the 29th Livingston CARES Hurricane Katrina work trip. Tom Matthews served as the returning veteran trip leader and board member Zach Bodenweber served as the student trip leader. The volunteers stayed at Camp SUMA and worked with the HOPE Community Development Agency in Biloxi.
January 12-18, 2014
Seven volunteers traveled to Staten Island on the 4th Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy Recovery trip. Holly Harvey served as the trip leader and board member Alyssa Stefanese served as the student trip leader. The team stayed at Bethel United Methodist Church and worked with Tunnel to Towers Foundation to renovate three different homes that were severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
January 22, 2014
CARES Board voted to donate $1000.00 to the United Methodist Annual Conference for the Bethel United Methodist Church on Staten Island for the purchase of cots to be used by Hurricane Sandy work trip volunteers on future work trips. CARES voted to support the March 2014 Weekend of Service in Rochester Project proposed by Lynn Horowitz. CARES allocated up to $25.00 per student participant to assist with housing and other expenses.
January 30, 2014
The Lamron reporter Maya Lucyshyn interviewed student board member Alyssa Stefanese about Livingston CARES’ volunteer work on Staten Island.
March 16-22, 2014
Twenty-one volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the thirtieth Livingston CARES Hurricane Katrina work trip. Neal Brooks served as the trip leader and student board member Chris Crocker served as the student trip leader.
March 16-22, 2014
Seven volunteers traveled to Long Island on the fifth Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy Recovery trip. Board member Eddie Lee served as the returning veteran trip leader. Seven volunteers from Lagom Landing, a local alternative vocational program, also participated in the trip. Laurel Nelson assisted Eddie Lee in managing the trip.
April 10, 2014
Gumbo to Go Dinner prepared by Geneseo Philanthropic Chef Glenn McClure held at Central Presbyterian Church with proceeds to Livingston CARES.
April 28, 2014
Livingston CARES Annual Corporate Meeting and April Board of Directors Meeting at the Geneseo Interfaith Center followed by the Annual Spring Volunteer Thank You Dinner. Humanitarian Awards for service were approved by the board and presented to Zach Bodenweber, Diana Castro, Chris Crocker, and Kyle Kelschenbach for their strong commitment and leadership on Livingston CARES trips. Livingston CARES board approved Erin Bills, Brenda Donohue, Ken Kallio, Wes Kennison, and Lyle Lehman for three-year terms. Livingston CARES board also approved Holly Harvey for a two year term and one year terms for Eddie Lee and students: Katie Baum, Diana Castro, Dan Martin, Alyssa Stefanese, and Austin Stone. Livingston CARES board also approved 1-year terms for officers: President Tom Matthews, Treasurer Lyle Lehman and Secretary Kay Fly. The board accepted Ben Gajewski’s letter of resignation with regret and thanks for his service.
May 18-24, 2014
Thirteen volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the 31st Livingston CARES Hurricane Katrina work trip. Board member Ken Kallio, served as the trip leader.
May 18-24, 2014
Seven volunteers traveled to Staten Island on the 6th Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy Recovery trip. Peggy Wirth served as the trip leader.
September 9, 2014
The CARES board elected Jon Macko as a new member and the new Secretary of the Board. The CARES Board voted to establish the volunteer fees for the January and May Biloxi trip at $550.00 and the March Biloxi trip at $600.00 and to help volunteers on a need basis with travel expenses. The Board also voted to establish the fees for the February Weekend of Service in Rochester at $20.00 per volunteer. The CARES board also authorized payment of liability insurance.
September 17, 2014
President of the CARES Board, Tom Matthews, and student board member Alyssa Stefanese, presented a reading requesting a $3000.00 donation from Student Association to offset the cost to Livingston CARES’ student volunteers. The first of two readings passed.
September 24, 2014
The Student Association approved Livingston CARES’ request and donated $3000.00 for financial grants to help students needing assistance with travel expenses on the Biloxi service trips.
October 21, 2014
The CARES Board approved and appointed trip leaders for the 2015 work trips. The Board also voted to confirm an electronic vote on the October financial report.
November 6, 2014
Philanthropic Chef, Glenn McClure, prepared the semi-annual Gumbo to Go Dinner at Central Presbyterian Church.
2015
January 11-17, 2015
Twenty-one volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the 32nd Livingston CARES Hurricane Katrina work trip. Board President, Tom Matthews, served as trip leader and student board member Austin Stone served as student trip leader.
January 11-17, 2015
Seven volunteers traveled to Staten Island on the 7th Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy work trip. Tim Lowmaster served as the trip leader.
January 20, 2015
The board appointed Diana Castro as supervising accountant. The Board confirmed an electronic vote approving a proposal from Lagom Landing to collaborate with CARES on a service trip to the Stony Point Conference Center on the Hudson River as another option for students during March spring break and set the fee at $100.00 per person. The Board also approved the 2014 tax documents for filing with the IRS. Standing and Ad Hoc Committee appointments were reviewed and approved. Standing Committee Members are as follows. Compliance included Lyle Lehman, Wes Kennison, Joan Ellison and Eddie Lee; Finance and Audit included Lyle Lehman, Jon Macko, and Diana Castro. Scholarships included Tom Matthews and Jon Macko. Nominations included Tamara Kenney, Phil Natoli, Austin Stone, Karen Bailey, and Holly Harvey. Strategic Planning included Ken Kallio, Kathy Jones, Eddie Lee, Dave Parfitt, Brenda Donohue, Dan Martin, Tom Matthews, Tamara Kenney and Holly Harvey; Gumbo to Go included Brenda Donohue and Katie Baum. Annual Dinner included Alyssa Stefanese, Dan Martin, and Erin Bills.
February 20-22, 2015
Seven volunteers participated in the 2nd annual Livingston CARES Weekend of Service in Rochester. Victoria Morales served as student trip coordinator.
March 10, 2015
The CARES Board reviewed the strategic planning committee's verbal report on the future of service trips to Mississippi and concurred that CARES should continue our work on the Gulf Coast helping families and communities in the state with the lowest per capita income. Recovery from Katrina will not be the focus of future trips to Biloxi. The fall 2014 SUNY Geneseo SEFA campaign was successful and Livingston CARES will be receiving donations from 22 donors from employees during 2015. Eleven donors were anonymous and eleven were a combination of previous and new donors. The total gift amount of $1952.00 minus 15% overhead to United Way will be $1659.20. The Board approved an allocation of $400.00 to provide CARES t-shirts for the Geneseo Goes to Town service day in April.
March 15-20, 2015
Lagom Landing and five Livingston CARES volunteers teamed up for the first five-day volunteer trip to the Stony Point retreat center. Laurel Nelson served as trip leader.
March 15-21, 2015
Twenty-one volunteers traveled to Biloxi on the 33rd Livingston CARES Hurricane Katrina work trip. Neal Brooks served as the veteran trip leader and student board members Dan Martin and Katie Baum served as the student trip leaders. Seven volunteers traveled to Long Island on the 8th Livingston CARES Hurricane Sandy work trip. Board member Eddie Lee served as the staff trip leader and Brandon Gaylord served as student coordinator.
April 2, 2015
Livingston County News carried a story under their Fundraiser Column, “Gumbo to Go Inspired by Gulf Coast Outreach.”
April 9, 2015
Philanthropic Chef, Glenn McClure and fifteen volunteers prepared the twelfth annual Gumbo to Go Dinner. They worked all day at the Central Presbyterian Church. They wore new CARES Gumbo to Go t-shirts. The sell-out dinner raised over $2,400.00 for Livingston CARES.
April 10, 2015
College photographer, Keith Walters, did an all-day photo shoot at the Gumbo-To-Go dinner and created a photo-essay and YouTube video that was posted as “Gumbo To Go Supports Livingston CARES” on the College website.
April 27, 2015
Livingston CARES Annual Corporate Meeting and April Board of Directors Meeting held at the Geneseo Interfaith Center followed by the Annual Spring Volunteer Thank You Dinner.
May 17-23, 2015
Fourteen volunteers traveled to Mississippi for a weeklong service trip after the spring semester had ended. Sam Cardamone served as the leader of the group. Peggy Wirth led a team of six students on a weeklong work trip to Staten Island. Volunteers worked on numerous homes in the borough throughout the week.July 2015
The Student Association approved a grant of $3,000.00 to offer financial assistance to students participating in service trips with Livingston CARES.
September 2015
Samantha Hebel, Coordinator of Student Leadership, Volunteerism and Service, was elected to the board and Livingston CARES Secretary.
November 12, 2015
Livingston CARES held its annual Gumbo to Go fundraiser at Central Presbyterian Church. $2,000.00 was raised to support Livingston CARES.
2016
January 2016
The board approved an account for the Home Away from Home Respite Center project started up by VISTA Alyssa Penn. The board also approved an account for the Bike and Build program that Aiden Cropsey will be participating in this coming summer.
January 10-16, 2016
Livingston CARES celebrated ten years of service in its thirty-fifth trip to Biloxi in January. Tom Matthews and Sam Hebel led a group of twenty-one volunteers to Mississippi. Connie Rocko and the Harrison County Board of Supervisors presented CARES with a plaque and a resolution congratulating and honoring CARES on its tenth anniversary. Lisa Burns led six students on a work trip to Brooklyn over winter break. The group worked closely with Rebuilding Together NYC.
February 19-21, 2016
Student trip leader Rachel Campbell led seven students on the third annual Weekend of Service in Rochester. The volunteers stayed at the Sisters of St. Joseph in Pittsford and worked at Morningstar, a home for disabled and hard-to-place children and at Bethany House, a home for women and their children who are homeless or abused.
March 13-19, 2016
Samantha Hebel led six student volunteers on a service trip to Brooklyn over spring break. Neal Brooks led a group of twenty volunteers on a weeklong service trip to Biloxi and Sarah Yo served as the student trip coordinator. Dave Parfitt led the seventh Give Kids the World service trip with 13 students to Orlando to serve families and kids with life-threatening illness.
April 7, 2016
Livingston CARES hosted the Gumbo to Go fundraiser at Central Presbyterian Church. Over 200 dinners were sold at the event.
April 19, 2016
Livingston CARES board members hosted Connie Rockco for a special appreciation dinner at the Big Tree Inn. We presented her with a plaque celebrating the ten years of partnership with Harrison County, Mississippi.
April 25, 2016
The Livingston CARES Annual Corporate Meeting, the April Board of Directors Meeting and the Annual Volunteer Thank You Dinner was held at the Interfaith Center. Philanthropic Chef Gary Towsley prepared the meal for the attendees. The board elected Mike Sauter to a two-year term to fill a vacant seat, and Jen Rogalsky and Craig Bolesky were elected to three-year terms. Brandon Gaylord and Amanda Morales were re-elected to an additional one-year term and Amanda Paratore, Rachel Campbell, and Hannah Fabiny were elected to one-year terms. William Blasland and Kathleen O'Brien were elected as alternates without voting privileges. Humanitarian Awards were presented to Neal Brooks, Mitch Gillard, Kathleen Jones, Dan Martin, Dave Parfitt, Brittany Richardson, and Sarah Yo.
May 15-21, 2016
Fourteen volunteers traveled to Mississippi for a weeklong service trip after the spring semester had ended with Craig Bolesky serving as leader. Barry Chow led a team of six students on a weeklong work trip to Brooklyn.
July 2016
The Student Association approved a grant of $3,000.00 to offer financial assistance to students participating in service trips with Livingston CARES.
September 1, 2016
Tom Matthews and Samantha Hebel implemented a required GOLD workshop for all week-long service trip participation to provide additional background information and pre-trip education. Wes Kennison requested and the board approved a project account to accept donations from pasta dinners to help a small town in Italy recover from a recent earthquake.
September 29, 2016
Livingston CARES held its annual Gumbo to Go fundraiser at Central Presbyterian Church. $2,500.00 was raised and all funds went to supporting CARES.
October 2016
The board approved an updated list of bylaws for the organization. The board also approved a motion to match donations up to $700 to build water cisterns in Haiti and to forward funds collected from the campus and community for the 2016 hurricane devastation in Haiti to the H.O.P.E. Foundation.
November 17, 2016
Livingston CARES Board of Directors approved forwarding funds collected from a pasta dinner to Amatrice, Italy to assist in the rebuilding of the historic community after the recent earthquake. The board also approved establishing the Fr. Bill Gordiner Community Service Award Fund to recognize and honor individuals for community service. The contributors intend to award $500.00 each year for 10 years, or until such time as the $5,000.00 contribution is depleted.
2017
January 8-14, 2017
Tom Matthews, Ted Canning, and Tom Lowmaster led a group of eighteen other volunteers to Biloxi, MS to continue work on rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina while also focusing on homelessness and poverty.
February 24-26, 2017
Student leaders Torrie Morales and Rachel Campbell led seven students on the fourth annual Weekend of Service in Rochester.
March 3, 2017
Livingston CARES Board of Directors approved establishing a two-tiered dues structure of annual membership dues of $10.00 for students and $25.00 for faculty/staff/alumni/community, effective for July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018. The student dues will be deducted from week-long service trip fees.
March 11-18, 2017
Courtney Owen and Taylor Gale, led a group of 12 students to complete service at the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, MS to continue work on rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina while also focusing on homelessness and poverty.
March 12-18, 2017
Eddie Lee led five student volunteers on a service trip to Brooklyn, NY.
April 6, 2017
Livingston CARES hosted its yearly Gumbo to Go fundraiser at Central Presbyterian Church. More than 246 dinners were sold for the event.
April 10, 2017
The Livingston CARES Annual Corporate Meeting, the April Board of Directors Meeting and the Annual Volunteer Thank You Dinner was held at the Interfaith Center. Philanthropic Chef Gary Towsley prepared the meal for the attendees. Board members elected Eddie Lee, Ken Kallio, Wes Kennison, Mike Sauter, and Brenda Donohue to three-year terms on the board and Tyler Carrick, Marie Henning, Laura Huff, Amanda Sika, Alex Mrozek, Druzell Smith, Amanda Paratore and Kathleen O'Brien were elected to student one-year terms. Humanitarian awards were presented to William Blasland, Rachel Campbell, Hannah Fabiny, Brandon Gaylord, Stephanie Jacob, and Victoria Morales.
May 14-20, 2017
Craig Bolesky led a group of five students to Back Bay Mission in Biloxi to work on low-income family homes. Bolesky presented the SUNY Geneseo 2017 Community Service Award to the Back Mission. Rev. Alice Graham accepted the award on behalf of the organization. Holly Harvey led a group of five students to Brooklyn to work with SBP on recovery projects from Hurricane Sandy.
August 28, 2017
Garth Freeman was welcomed to his new position in service and engagement at the College and was elected to the board and to the position of Secretary. Livingston CARES approved a motion to become the fiscal sponsor of the Geneseo/Groveland Emergency Food Pantry and serve as the 501(c) 3 parent for the organization that was previously under the Livingston County Coalition of Churches and has gone out of business. The board reviewed and approved membership fees and benefits including key fobs, stickers, member t-shirts and early registrations and 10% discount for service trips. Livingston CARES received a $10,00.00 grant and Sharon Leary has been hired as a CAS employee (reimbursed from Livingston CARES) to manage the Home Away From Home Respite program.
September 15, 2017
Livingston CARES Day was held to promote 2018 service trips and kick-off registrations . Alumni from previous service trips returned to campus to participate in workshops and reflect on their experiences with Livingston CARES service trips.
November 2, 2017
Gumbo to Go fall fundraiser held at Central Presbyterian Church. Glenn McClure served in the role of Chef for his 17th and the last time before his move to Paul Smith’s College.
2018
January 7-13, 2018
Garth Freeman led a group of 13 volunteers on a service trip to Beaumont, Texas. Anjoo Sikka, Dean of the School of Education assisted with the service trip. The team worked on a home damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Holly Harvey led a group of 13 volunteers that stayed in the Largo, Florida Methodist church and worked on a home in Port Richey damaged by Hurricane Hermine.
January 22, 2018
Matthews reported to the board that the Student Association approved $4,000.00 to assist students with service trip expenses. Livingston CARES has established an account with Enterprise that will eliminate the need for service trip drivers to charge on their personal credit cards for van rentals.
March 11-17, 2018
Bridget Beerman served as the trip leader for a service trip with 8 volunteers that stayed in the Westbury United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas and worked on three homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Nick Palumbo led a group of 6 volunteers that stayed in a Methodist Church in Largo, Florida and worked on two houses in Hudson, Florida. Betsy Colon led a group of 10 volunteers to Puerto Rico that stayed at the Campamento de Mujeres de Patillas (Camp) and worked on multiple projects supervised by Rehace and the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico. Tim Lowmaster led a group of 6 volunteers that stayed at the Red Hook SUNY Geneseo apartment and worked on a home damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Far Rockaway under the supervision of SBP.
April 9, 2018
Annual corporate meeting of Livingston County Cares, Inc. held at the Geneseo Interfaith Center. Garth Freeman, Lyle Lehman, Nick Palumbo and Phil Natoli were elected to three-year terms on the board and Enid Brady, Marie Henning, Laura Huff, Dilynn Livesey, and Austin Mann were elected to student one-year terms. Humanitarian Awards were approved for Druzell Smith, Alex Mrozek, Amanda Paratore, Brian Luderman, Haley Smith and one of the founders, Joan Ellison, who retired from the board after 11 years of service.
April 12, 2018
Gumbo to Go dinner prepared by our newly recruited Chef George Hochbruckner at Central Presbyterian Church.
May 13,14-20, 2018
Fatima Rodriguez Johnson and Dan Marin, Class of ‘14, led a volunteer group of 9 volunteers who stayed at a Methodist Church facility and worked on multiple projects related to Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico under the supervision of Rehace. Craig Bolesky served as service trip leader and Kevin Pierce served as the student leader for a group of 5 student volunteers that were housed at Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi and worked at the Micah Center with homeless clients, served meals at Loaves and Fishes, assisted at their Food Pantry and helped rebuild houses.
June 20, 2018
Summer meeting called as a working session planning for the upcoming academic year. Board decided to drop the membership fee but retain the concept of membership for all donors and trip participants and anyone who wishes to join the organization.
August 8, 2018
The Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Tamara Kenney with recognition, thanks and appreciation for her years of service as a board member and leader of multiple service trips. Betsy Colon was elected to fill the seat vacated by Tamara Kenney. The Board approved establishing a project fund and accepting the Community Resource Network (CRN) fund of $777.11. Funds are held for use by CRN. The Board approved investing $20,000 in CD's at Key Bank with a current interest rate of 2%. Nick Palumbo, who is serving as the Interim Director of the GOLD Program, was elected to serve as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors.
September 6, 2018
Board approved donating $1,400.00 to SBP to purchase a table saw for use in their work on Sandy recovery efforts and $500.00 to the United Methodist UMCOR in Florida to purchase a sheetrock sander for use in the hurricane recovery work. The board also approved donating the balance of the Haiti Fund of $707.75 to H.O.P.E for use in the emergency room supplies at the hospital in Bourgne, Haiti where Geneseo students have been volunteering for the last nine years. The Board of Directors voted to accept a $1,500.00 donation from Tom & Betsy Matthews and use the money to establish the Betsy Matthews Geneseo/Groveland Food Pantry internship for a student at the College.
October 29, 2018
Matthews reported that SUNY has agreed to provide a grant of $400.00 for each of our three 2019 service trips to Puerto Rico. The Executive Committee approved purchasing a refrigerator for the host site at Campamento de Mujeres de Patillas (Camp) in Puerto Rico. The Board of Directors approved a donation of $500.00 to purchase a generator for use by Texas Methodist (UMCOR) in recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey.
2019
January 12-19, 2019
Betsy Colon and Joanna Kirk led a group of 14 volunteers that stayed at the Campamento de Mujeres en Patillas, Puerto Rico and worked under the director of Rehace on two homes damaged by Hurricane Maria. Tom Matthews and Madeleine Brilling led a group of 14 volunteers that stayed on Big Pine Key and worked on two homes damaged by Hurricane Irma on Marathon Key. Nick Palumbo led a group of 13 volunteers that stayed in Port Arthur, Texas and worked on seven different home projects in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas. All three service trips experienced difficulty returning home due to a major snow storm that disrupted travel through Baltimore. The Florida group was able to get back to Buffalo, but the Texas group ended up staying two nights in Baltimore and the Puerto Rico group flew to Chicago and rented cars and drove back to Geneseo, one returning on Saturday and the second on Sunday.
March 11, 2019
Board of Directors approved a $1,000.00 grant from the Marjorie Harding Memorial Fund that requires Livingston CARES to raise $1,000.00 for recovery work in Puerto Rico.
March 16-23, 2019
Phil Natoli and Holly Harvey led a team of 13 volunteers to Big Pine Key, Florida to work on Hurricane Irma recovery projects under the supervision of the Florida UMCOR. Fatima Rodriguez-Johnson, Gabe Iturbides and Dilynn Livesey led a group of 14 volunteers to Arecibo, Puerto Rico to work on recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria under the direction of Rehace affiliated with UMCOR of Puerto Rico. Joe Cope led a team of seven volunteers to work on the Hurricane Michael recovery efforts in Apalachicola, Florida. Tim Lowmaster led a team of five volunteers to work on Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts Brooklyn. The volunteers stayed in the SUNY Geneseo Red Hook apartment and worked on SBP supervised projects. Dave Parfitt led a group of 14 volunteers on the 10th anniversary Give Kids the World service trip to Kissimmee, Florida.
April 6, 2019
Over 100 students participated in the annual Geneseo Goes to Town Service Day in eight local towns. Livingston CARES alumni also participated with service day projects in Lansing, Michigan and Washington D.C.
April 15, 2019
Board of directors re-elected Karen Bailey, Craig Bolesky, Betsy Colon, Holly Harvey and Tom Matthews to three-years terms. Gabriel Iturbides was elected to a three-year term and Tom Wilson to a one-year term to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mike Sauter. Stephen Charparro, Adam Clarke, Laura Huff, Karilyn Nieves and Brooke Stickles were elected to one-year student terms. The four officers, Matthews, Palumbo, Freeman, and Bailey were re-elected to one year terms. Humanitarian awards were presented to Enid Brady, Madeleine Brilling, Dilynn Livesey, Austin Mann, Fatima Rodriguez-Johnson, Jennifer Rogalsky, and Beth Standish.
August 14, 2009
Matthews, Palumbo and Freeman were granted the “Privileges of the Floor” at the Livingston County Board of Supervisors Meeting and made a presentation on Livingston County Cares, Inc.
September 9, 2019
Board approved collecting funds to assist in the recovery work in the Bahamas, approved membership in the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON), and approved the hiring of a part-time manager for the Geneseo/Groveland Emergency Food Pantry. Direct Payroll Services was selected by the pantry and Cares to process all required payroll paperwork and serve as the employer.
October 21, 2019
The Board of Directors approved changes to Livingston Cares, Inc. By-Laws, including adding one board seat for a total of 21members, and revising the committee structure.
November 18, 2019
Matthews and Lee made a presentation on the work of Livingston CARES at the Village of Geneseo Board of Trustees Meeting. Matthews provided a short history and noted that the Village of Geneseo participated in the founding of CARES and that Mayor Hatheway served for several years on the Board of Directors.
December 5, 2019
The Board of Directors voted to amend the By-Laws to change the title of the Chair to President and Vice-Chair to Vice President and to add language authorizing each of the four officers “to carry out financial transactions per policy and approved actions of the Board of Directors.”
2020
January 11-18, 2020
Tom Matthews and Tom Wilson served as trip leaders for 13 volunteers, including 8 students, 3 community members and 2 faculty/staff for service in the Clearwater area of Florida. The service team left Rochester on January 11 and returned home on January 18. They worked with the Florida UMCOR agency on a house in New Port Richey and a second house in nearby Holiday, Florida. On January 11, a group of 12 volunteers led by Betsy Colon, Jeff Over and Jenny Apple was scheduled to depart for a service week in Puerto Rico. On the morning of the trip, the host agency canceled the trip due to the unsafe conditions on the island from earthquakes earlier in the week. On January 12, a third group of 5 student volunteers and trip leader Tim Lowmaster traveled to Wall, New Jersey and worked under the supervision of SBP to repair a house damaged by Superstorm Sandy. They returned home after work on Friday, January 17 to avoid travel during a major snowstorm.
January 27, 2020
The Board of Directors approved a Puerto Rico Fund to raise money for recovery work in Puerto Rico. Livingston CARES received a $1,000.00 grant from the Marjorie Harding Memorial Fund that requires CARES to raise an additional $1,000.00 or more for the fund. Board of directors approved posting information with links to share with the community about sending charitable donations to help with recovery from the nationwide fires in Australia.
January 28, 2020
Refunds sent to all volunteers who were scheduled to participate in the January Puerto Rico service trip.
March 2020
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the Livingston CARES service trips during spring break to Puerto Rico, Give Kids the World, and the Florida Keys were canceled. The May trip to the Florida Keys was also canceled.
April 13, 2020
After extensive negotiations by Judy’s Travel, Southwest Airlines agree to provide Livingston CARES refunds for the March and May service trip airfares. The Executive Committee approved refunding the airfares/fees paid by all 44 volunteers, minus a $10.00 processing fee. As part of the refund process, volunteers were also offered the opportunity to donate a portion of their refund to the Puerto Rico Fund or other Livingston CARES disaster funds. The board approved a Front Line Worker COVID-19 Appreciation Fund to recognize and thank healthcare and other front line workers for their work on the pandemic. Humanitarian Awards were presented to the retiring student board members: Stephen Chaparro, Laura Huff, Carolyn Nievers and Brook Stickles. A special Livingston CARES Humanitarian Award was also presented to Wes Kennison, one of the founding members, who also participated in the first service trip to Biloxi in 2006 and is retiring from the board after 14 years of service. New members elected to three year terms on the board included Angela Ellis, Glenn Geiser-Getz, and Tom Wilson. Karissa Garbarini, Parker Slaswetsky and Jules Orcutt were elected to one year student terms and Adam Clarke was re-elected to a second student term on the board.
April and May 2020
Members of the Livingston CARES board of directors and 2020 service trip volunteers contributed $1,243.98 to the Covid-19 Front Line Workers Fund. Board members put together gift bags with treats and postcard thank you messages, delivered pizzas, and handed out goodie bags to front line workers at the Livingston County Department of Health and Mental Health Division, the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, the Emergency Services Operations Center at Hampton's Corners, the Department of Social Services, the Office for the Aging, the Livingston County Administration in Geneseo, every fire and police department in Livingston County, as well as local truck drivers.
June 8, 2020
The Board of directors approved and published a Statement of Solidarity with the Black Community in response to the tragic murder of George Floyd. The board agreed to action steps including undertaking implicit bias training, integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion training for service trip volunteers, offering educational programming about the history of the areas served by our service volunteers and offering trips that engage in anti-racism and inclusive community development.
September 9, 2020
Livingston CARES hosted a Zoom Celebration of the 15 Years of Service that included several of the founders and many of the participants of the first service trip to Biloxi in January 2006. Connie Rockco from the Harrison County Board of Supervisors, Nick Mazza from Livingston County, and Cynthia Oswald from the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce joined the celebration and shared stories about the founding of Livingston CARES and special memories of the service work in Mississippi.
September 21, 2020
The Board of Directors noted that $1,200 has been donated to the Livingston CARES Millie Pitcher Memorial Fund established by the family and friends of Millie Pitcher who participated in the Home Away From Home Respite Program. Board members agreed by consensus that Livingston CARES should reaffirm our relationship with the College through a Memorandum of Understanding to be prepared and reviewed by the board later in the year. Revised the Hurricane Laura Fund to the 2020 Disaster Recovery Fund. Two students, Rachel Roth and Sabrina Gencarelli asked the board for help in responding to the Western Fires disaster. The board agreed to post an appeal for donations and explore possible future service opportunities. Several board members followed up with contacts in California but the efforts were unsuccessful. The board approved a donation of $530.00 to the United Methodist Committee on Recovery (UMCOR) to be used for recovery efforts from Hurricane Laurel in western Louisiana. The Board also approved donating $200.00 to the SBP Dorian Fund in the Bahamas for recovery efforts.
October 19, 2020
The Board of directors voted to cancel all January trips due to the pandemic. The board also agreed to change the terminology from alternative break trips to service trips. To help with recruitment for the March and May service trips, the board approved covering all expenses, except for airfares. The board also decided to donate Laura funds to the UMCOR Louisiana/Gulf Coast. An account for the Food Security Advocates (FSA) was also established to receive funds and pay expenses on their behalf. The remaining funds in the Hurricane Sandy Fund will be donated to SBP New Jersey for continued Sandy recovery efforts.
November 18, 2020
Livingston CARES hosted a Zoom Reunion for 14 volunteers who participated in the January, March and May 2019 service trips to the Florida Keys. Participants were pleased with the opportunity to share stories and reminisce about their experiences. One highlight of the zoom included participation of a homeowner and a tour of her home that the May Livingston CARES volunteers remediated.
November 23, 2020
The board meeting agenda included implicit bias training facilitated by robbie routenberg and students: Katrina Saylor, Jahnia Cherenfant and Marta Leonard. The board accepted the resignation of Gabe Iturbides with thanks for his service on the board and for leading a service trip to Puerto Rico. Iturbides accepted a position at St. John Fisher. The Governance Committee recommended and the board approved Bryan Rivera to fill the unexpired seat vacated by Iturbides. Livingston CARES acknowledged a thank you received from Aly Briscoe at SBP for our donation of $200.00 to their partnership with Abaco Outreach in the Bahamas. An additional gift of $2,500.00 has been received from an anonymous donor to the Father Gordiner Fund.
December 1, 2020
Livingston CARES participated in the Giving Tuesday fundraising known locally in Rochester as ROC The Day. The income from the event totaled $2,209.00. The board approved a new initiative to thank all the healthcare workers in Livingston County for their extraordinary efforts during the pandemic.
December 7, 2020
Livingston Cares hosted a Zoom Reunion for 18 alumni and community volunteers who participated in the January, March and May 2011 service trips to Biloxi. Participants enjoyed the opportunity to share stories and reconnect with fellow travelers.
December 9, 2020
Livingston CARES hosted a Zoom Reunion with 20 alumni and community volunteers who participated in the inaugural trip to Biloxi in 2006. Participants enjoyed sharing stories and memories of their service week.
2021
March 8, 2021
The board approved offering a service trip in May 2021 for community members only (not to students due to the pandemic) to the Lake Charles area of Louisiana to work with the Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders on homes damaged by Hurricane The board also approved joining the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce.
March 10, 2021
Livingston CARES hosted the last of the 15th Anniversary year Zoom Reunions with the six teams that volunteered to work on Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts on Staten Island. Participating team leaders included Chuck Reyes, Alyssa Stefanes-Yates, Holly Harvey, and Tim Lowmaster. Participants enjoyed the stories and reconnecting with service trip volunteers.
March 25, 2021
Livingston CARES distributed over 2,700 gourmet cookies made from 43 cases of cookie dough from C & R Foods and prepared by both Campus Auxiliary Services and the Livingston County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Mt. Morris. Each cookie was wrapped and sealed with a sticker that said, “Livingston County Cares for our Healthcare Workers.” Cards with an explanation of the project and the names of the donors were distributed to over 250 work sites throughout Livingston County.
May 3, 2021
Humanitarian Awards were presented to departing board members: Adam Clarke, Karissa Garbarini, Jules Orcutt and Livingston CARES Intern Haley Kent. The board elected Joe Dolce to a three-year term and three students to one-year terms: Alexa LaRocca, Hailey McCue, Hannah Marafioti, and Betina Popnikolova. The board also approved transferring the remaining balance of Sandy Recovery Fund to the General Disaster Relief Fund to support upcoming service trips.
May 16-29, 2021
Tim Lowmaster and Tom Wilson led a team of four volunteers to work with the Fuller Center for Disaster Rebuilders in Sulfur, Louisiana. The area around Lake Charles was devastated by Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Rita in the fall of 2020 and Hurricane Ida in 202.
September 7, 2021
The Board of Directors approved a 2021 Hurricane Recovery Fund with an appeal to the campus and donors for donations to assist with recovery work from Hurricane Ida. Ten donors contributed $1,307.42 to the fund. The board accepted the resignation of Glenn Geiser-Getz with thanks for his service. The Geneseo/Groveland Emergency Food Pantry assets will be included in our upcoming tax filing for 20-21 and then dropped from our reporting for 21-22 because they now have their own 501 (c) 3 non-profit charitable status.
November 1, 2021
The Board of Directors agreed by consensus that the January 2022 service trip to Louisiana and the March 2022 service trip to Puerto Rico should be canceled due to the pandemic and low registrations.
November 4, 2021
The Gumbo to Go Dinner that had not been offered for two years due to the pandemic was restarted with Chef George Hochbrueckner. The dinner raised $1,483.97 for Livingston CARES.
November 30, 2021
ROC The Day on Tuesday, November 30 raised $2,064.50 from nine donors.
December 6, 2021
The Board of Directors approved a donation of $1,363.92 to the Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders Fund to help with the recovery work from the two hurricanes and extensive flooding in the Lake Charles area. The board reviewed the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) prepared by Nick Palumbo and Ken Kallio and recommended that it be submitted to the College for discussion.
2022
January 31, 2022
The Board of Directors approved a recommendation from the Trips Committee to cancel the remaining service trips for 2022 due to the pandemic. The board approved donations to agency host Rehace in Puerto Rico to purchase a refrigerator and freezer for the kitchen in the volunteer camp operated by Rehace. The board approved a donation of $1,00.00 to Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund and $450.00 to Hope Force International for service projects related to the recent December tornadoes in Kentucky. The board also approved rejoining the Chamber of Commerce at the enhanced level of $200.00 per year and rejoining the New York State Council of Nonprofits at the $80.00 membership level.
March 31, 2022
The Board of Directors approved donations of $500.00 to the World Central Kitchen and $500.00 to the AirBnB to support the humanitarian efforts with refugees displaced by the War in Ukraine. The board also approved the establishment of a Livingston County Cares Endowment at the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
April 7, 2022
Gumbo to Go Dinner on April 7 raised $838.99 for scholarship for students participating in service trips.
April 25, 2022
The Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Secretary Garth Freeman who has moved to a new job with AmeriCorp in Rochester and approved a resolution honoring Freeman for his five years of service to Livingston CARES. The board approved the recommendations of the Governance Committee to accept the offer by Brenda Donohue to serve as the Interim Secretary and elected Andrew Herman to fill the unexpired term of Glenn Geiser-Getz. The board also elected four students to one-year terms on the board: Nina Ghicatelli, Amaya DiGiovanni, Summer Dracup, and Sierra Obad.
August 4, 2022
The Board of Directors elected Mackenzie DeRider to the vacant seat on the board and to the position of Secretary. The Trips Committee reported working on dates for service trips to Sulfur, Louisiana and to Give Kids the World and a third possible trip to Puerto Rico. Management of the Home Away From Home (HAFA) program has been moved from the College to Noyes Hospital with support and grants from the Livingston County Office For the Aging. Livingston CARES will continue to accept donations and pay expenses as long as we are able to do so with existing funds and future donations. A thank you note was sent to Sharon Leary for her incredible work with this award-winning and nationally-recognized respite program. Christa Barrows is serving as the current manager and the program will restart in October.
August 12, 2022
President Matthews and Treasurer Bailey completed the paperwork and deposited a check with the Rochester Area Community Foundation for $50,000.00 to establish the Livingston County Cares, Inc. Endowment.
November 3, 2022
Gumbo to Go Dinner sold out with 240 dinners. The net profit from the event was $2,020.38 for the scholarship fund.
November 21, 2022
The 2022 Hurricane Fund received $500.00 from five donors. The board approved a grant of $750.00 to the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA Builders Care) to support their work in rebuilding low-income family homes damaged by Hurricane Ian in the Fort Myers area of Florida.
2023
January 23, 2023
Matthews gave a presentation to the Geneseo Rotary on the work and projects supported by Livingston CARES. The fall 2022 State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) will generate $1,780.00 from SUNY Geneseo employees for Livingston CARES in calendar year 2023. Nine donors to ROC The Day on November 29 (Giving Tuesday) donated $1,388.00 that was matched by two board members and produced $2,776.00 for Livingston CARES.
January 30, 2023
Eddie Caruso, owner of Mama Mia’s, hosted the Livingston CARES Corn Chowder Soup for Scholarships. Chef George Hochbrueckner made 100 quarts of soup. The event sold out to 100 patrons. Expenses were $358.97 and the event raised a net profit of $876.59 for the Livingston CARES scholarship fund.
March 6, 2023
The Board of Directors authorized the officers to invest in bank CD’s when timely and appropriate. The Donations Committee reported that 13 donors contributed $1,269.61 to the Earthquake in Turkey and Syria Fund. The board agreed to supplement the donations and give three $500.00 grants each to World Central Kitchen, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Direct Relief International (serving both Turkey and Syria). The board received a report on the State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) that eleven employees donated a total of $1,728.00 for the calendar year 2023.
May 1, 2023
The Board of Directors meeting included the annual meeting of the corporation and a review of the 2023 Annual Report to the Community. Five directors were re-elected to three-year terms: Eddie Lee, Ken Kallio, Angela Ellis, Tom Wilson, Brenda Donohue, and Andrew Herman. Dan Martin was elected to the unexpired term of Phil Natoli. Two students were re-elected for an additional one-year term: Nina Chicatelli and Sierra Obad. Students Jena Drapala and Celia Henry were elected to one-year terms. The four officers were re-elected to one-year terms. The board approved humanitarian awards for Michaela Marino, MaddieVenterio, Amaya DiGiovanni, Summer Dracup and Phil Natoli. A special citation thanking Natoli for his service on the board of directors and for leading multiple service teams to Biloxi and Florida. The appeal for sponsors for future Gumbo and other fundraising dinners was included in the March Gumbo Dinner and we have received our first donation of $250.00 from Jessica and Peter Blair.
June 28, 2023
Livingston County Cares Executive Committee authorized the creation of a new website, email address, phone number and a new mailing address (IRS does not accept Post Office Box addresses). The website was purchased and the transfer of documents began in early July. The new website is https://livingstoncountycares.org, the email address is livignstoncountycares@gamil.com and the phone number is 585-515-770, and the new mailing address is 31 Center Street, Geneseo, NY 14454. The Executive Committee also agreed to offer service trips in 2024 to Give Kids the World in Kissimmee Florida, and Kentucky or Mississippi in March and a third trip to Puerto Rico in May.
August 15, 2023
The Board of Directors elected Ken Kallio to serve as Secretary and affirmed the actions of the Executive Board in June to create a new website, email address, phone number and mailing address and to continue planning for the 2024 service trips. The board also approved donations from our disaster relief and recovery funds to three agencies providing relief services in Maui: $500.00 each to Direct Relief, Mercy Chefs, and the Maui Community Foundation.
September 20, 2023
The Board of Directors elected Lisa Burns to fill the one year unexpired term vacated by Mackenzie DeRider who left the College and accepted a new job at RIT earlier in the summer. Lisa previously served on the board from 2010-2012. Burns will lead our future marketing efforts and manage the new website and other communications. The board approved a reframing document that includes highlights of the history of Livingston County Cares and will serve as a guide as the organization focuses on the future of Livingston County Cares. The document will be posted on the new website and used in social media and other publications. Matthews reported on a meeting with County Executive Ian Coyle and Deputy Director Angela Ellis earlier that day to explore ways that Livingston County Cares might work with county departments. The board also reviewed the three service trips planned for 2024: a March trip to Give Kids the World in Kissimmee Florida, a second March trip to Kentucky, and a third trip to Puerto Rico in early June.
November 9, 2023
The 24th Gumbo to Go was one of the most successful dinners to date. All 250 tickets were sold and over $3,000.00 was raised to support Livingston County Cares programs and scholarships for service trip volunteers.
History of Livingston County CARES
How it all began
Livingston County CARES, Inc. is a collaborative effort among groups and organizations at SUNY Geneseo and the Geneseo and Livingston County community that began in September 2005 to focus Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts in Harrison County, Mississippi.
The initial groups and organizations that endorsed and contributed to this project include SUNY Geneseo students, faculty, and staff, the Livingston County Administrator, the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Geneseo, the Village of Geneseo, and the Livingston County Coalition of Churches.
In 2006, Livingston County CARES, Inc. was registered as a New York State non-profit organization. In March 2007, the IRS granted CARES tax exempt status under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
In late summer of 2005, the Livingston County community watched in shock and disbelief as the levees broke in New Orleans and homes were leveled along the Gulf Coast. In response to numerous inquiries of "how can we help," SUNY Geneseo students, staff, faculty and community residents met to discuss how to respond. The collaborating organizations agreed that a long-term commitment would be made to a particular area, ensuring that we would provide temporary relief, but would also help the community rebuild. Livingston County made a 10 year commitment to help Harrison County, Mississippi residents rebuild their homes and communities.
In January 2006, the first Livingston CARES service team traveled to Gulfport and Biloxi with 32 volunteers and helped multiple families with relief and recovery efforts. Between January 2006 and March 2013, Livingston CARES sponsored 40 week-long service trips to Harrison County that involved 973 volunteers, including 754 students, 111 community residents, and 108 faculty/staff/alumni. The last service team on March 16-23, 2019 worked with the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Since its founding in 2005, Livingston CARES responded to multiple hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters throughout the United States and abroad. We sponsored and managed 93 service trips with 1,529 volunteers in Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, New York City and New Jersey. In addition to week-long service trips, Livingston CARES also initiated fundraising efforts every year to provide humanitarian and financial assistance after major natural disasters.