BR News of the week--Finals week!

BR News of the week--short one this week with finals (I used to like finals much better as a student than I do now as a professor!)

Wow that week went fast!

Quick recap:

1. We are working this Sunday.  Come out and help.  Since only one day (not Saturday as well) we will leave at 10:30 on Sunday from Murphy.  Also look for BR work days during Senior week.  Several graduating students have asked for a final work day before they go.

Also Next weekend is Graduation.  We will work a bit after graduation on Sunday and probably a short day on Saturday as well.

2.   Margaret Mahar Service Scholarship

Congratulations to Greg on winning the first ever Margaret Mahar Service Scholarship. (he also won this week's feats of Strength for which he is pictured here)

Greg has been our most active volunteer this year, is a great leader, and truly “gets it”.  Helping others is not about signing some form for a class or other requirement, it is helping because you can.  Because it is the right thing to do.  Here is an excerpt from the blog article on his award:

“I received so much from the time I have spent volunteering BonaResponds. It has taught me that I do have the ability to change the world...one ramp at a time or one hurricane help day at a time.

It has been so rewarding to see the gratitude on the Sandy victims faces when we take a little time to help clean our after the storm or help them to start to rebuild. I have spent time almost every weekend this school year volunteering with BonaResponds”

the entire article is here:

http://bonaresponds.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-margaret-mahar-scholarship-winner-is.html

3.  The New Trailer/Truck body is here!   All the volunteers who have seen it (true a limited sample) are thrilled and are convinced it will make our work much easier/better organized. 

The next steps include painting it (brown), building a ramp and steps to allow us to get into it, and building shelves inside.  Also moving the larger tools (lawn mowers, snow blowers, etc) and supplies from our existing storage. 

Thanks to Ed for the generous donation!!



4. Several WarmSnugglyBlankets have gone out this week.  That is both sad and joyous.  I wish there were no need for blankets as cancer had been eliminated.  

Please keep ten year old Bella in your prayers.  She has had a rough week.  (PrayforBella.com) 


5. GREAT news from Wesley in Haiti!  HaitiScholarships winners in Leogane Haiti and others at the CJM school planted hundreds of trees to combat the deforestation that is common in Haiti.  Here is an album of pictures of the event.  (Don't forget to "Like" HaitiScholarships!)

6. Collections were slow this week :(  I will attribute it to final projects etc.  I hope it picks up!  Shoes, school supplies, winter coats, and books. 

7.  Random stuff:

* Thank you to the anonymous donation of material for WarmSnugglyBlanket!

* New deck screws finally arrived!  10 boxes.  Very exciting news!  

* Some of our larger donors will have their names on the walls of the new building.  If you want to have your name on it, let me know ASAP.  I think the pledge has to be in before June 1.

* Anyone want to be in charge of mailing out blankets this summer?  We will pay postage!


8. We will be doing things all summer.  REALLY REALLY REALLY will need volunteers.  Students are gone, most faculty members are not involved, so we are counting on you!  Yes you! :) come out and help change the world!  Whoever you are, you can help!  I PROMISE!



THANKS EVERYONE!!!
 

Related articles

• The Margaret Mahar Scholarship Winner is:
• Who and What is HaitiScholarships?
• WarmSnugglyBlanket

BR News of the Week

News

* Last weekend we had a good weekend of work at the SPCA and starting a new ramp near Allegany.  Both jobs were really needed! 

* The SPCA work this past weekend went well.  Major improvement.  The back area where the fences had been destroyed by pigs is notw fixed so for the first time in years dogs can use the area for a play area.  The SPCA still needs help.  If you can stop and volunteer, it would be great!  Take a dog for a walk, play with the cats, or help clean the facilities!  Can’t do that?  How about buying some items from their Amazon Wish List: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3LCM1LCPAA5VV/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ws_0FEDrb064C1TX

* Katherine has not been able to be outside since autumn because she could not get back up the stairs to her house.  We will be building a ramp for her this weekend.  We'd love your help!  The ramp will be pretty straight forward: straight shot for the ramp and then installation of new steps on the rear of the house for an emergency exit (Katherine can not go up stairs, but says she is able to get down them in an emergency.)  (work will be at 10:30 on Saturday and 11:00 on Sunday from the rear of Murphy on the west side of campus)

* It is with great sadness I report that Michelle passed away this week.  She was a Warm SnugglyBlanket recipient and is the mother of Brittany (an MBA student at SBU).  Our thoughts and prayers are with Brittany and the whole family.  

* Speaking of WarmSnugglyBlankets, we now has a full time “presence” in Harlingen Texas!  Jim and Wende are helping to distribute blankets to those with cancer.  This week Gail got one.  What a trooper!  She is undergoing chemo for brain cancer and this week not only was a lector at Church services, she also is planning on doing a walk to raise money to find a cure for cancers in La Feria Texas.  Gail, way to go!  Pray, Fight, WIN

* To introduce some of our newer followers to BonaResponds so we began a new vlog on Youtube.  Here is one episode.  When there enjoy some of the other BR videos as well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSgd2V4liy8

* We also are doing blog articles for those of you who prefer to read:

http://BonaResponds.blogspot.com

* The trailer (truck body) has yet to arrive, so the ramp and landing on that is on hold until we get it.  Hopefully very soon.

* Want to make a fast difference in someone’s life?  Send a get well card to :

Kori Quinn, 111 Highland Park Ave, Excelsior Springs Missouri 64024   We sent her a blanket this week.  She is a high school student who is fighting cancer.  We have been in touch with a friend of hers who is organizing a card drive.  So send a card.  It will be appreciated!

* New Job requests this week from Olean (painting), Allegany-clean up, and Delevan (ramp).  Come get involved!  Sat 10:30, Sunday 11:00. 

* COLLECTIONS: (read more about our collections here: http://bonaresponds.blogspot.com/2013/04/collect-collect-collect-how-collections.html)

SHOES!  --  Our collection of shoes for Soles4Souls is winding down.  So when you whether you are doing spring cleaning or moving home for the summer, drop off your lightly worn used shoes in the collection boxes upstairs in Murphy.  

School Supplies--  With the school year winding down and people will soon be cleaning out their lockers and offices, we’d love to ship your slightly used notebooks, pens, pencils, calculators, crayons, etc to students in Haiti and the US.  Why do they need them?  Here watch this video Jim made: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGiueA4qG9E

Winter Coats: these will be largely going to Little Portions (a homeless shelter in Buffalo).  

Books!-- We are collecting books for a friend in NYC.  Here is how she described her program:

“I tutor math at a middle school on Saturdays with the organization Top Honors, Inc.. While they focus on math, a fellow tutor and I are building a complementary reading program. Our Fall 2013 pilot will provide a healthy breakfast of fruit and toast to these students while a tutor reads to them. When the student finishes eating, the roles swap and he/she reads to the tutor. Then the students are ready for their math lessons!

We started this project because we notice that some of the 'math problems' our students face actually fall into one or both of these buckets:

a - Kids come in without breakfast, so their sugar levels are out of whack. OR, they eat super-processed foods in the morning and range from hyperactive to sleepy during tutoring.

b - Every time I work on word problems with a student, he/she stumbles on the vocabulary in the sentence or I notice a ton of spelling errors.

So we want to tackle this problem from all sides. Based on the pilot outcomes, we'll scale to a full curriculum. But the focus is on starting small and iterating from there (for any fellow tech fans who believe in Agile!). If you have any old books in the 5th to 8th grade reading range”

Here is a list of books they are particularly looking for: http://www.nationalbook.org/bookup_books.html#.UXrDd4JAse5

* THANK You to Allie for writing thank yous to our wonderful donors!  It was a great help and something I should have been doing right along--just not enough time in the day.

* Thank you to Olean First Baptist Church for a donation of over a thousand dollars to help with Sandy recovery efforts as well as the First Congregational Church in Wellsville for a $1000 to help cover the cost of the ramp in Cuba.  

* Thank you to Rick and Allie for attending the scholarship luncheon and representing BR so well!

* Look for a job soon in Buffalo.  

* Tentative dates for the NYC trip are May 17-25th.  Plan on helping those affected by Sandy recover!

 

Thanks everyone!  Have a great week.  Hope you can come out and volunteer with us!  

jim

Related articles

• Who and What is HaitiScholarships?
• Notice board announcement
• WarmSnugglyBlanket

News of the Week

BR News of the week

* This weekend local work Sat and Sun (ramp, fence, indoor painting, and more) Sat at 10:30, Sun 11:00.

* Congratulations to Greg on winning the SBU Joesph Doino Service award. Very well deserved. Greg is out with us every weekend and has done a great job leading by example.

* On Monday we are getting the long awaited semi-truck "body" that will be used as storage facility and can be used to prebuild ramp sections when the weather is very bad. In the coming weeks we will paint it, build a deck and ramp to push large items in and out, and shelves inside. This will be a huge benefit! Thank you Ed for the donation and to SBU (Phil and Rob) for letting us have it on campus.

* Thank you to Ellen and Joyce for arranging WarmSnugglyBlankets to be given out at the SouthernTier Cancer Center in Olean.

* Plan on going with BonaResponds the third week of May to the NYC/NJ area. We are also monitoring a possible trip to the Midwest (Chicago area) and potentially a trip back to Texas (West and Harlingen).

* BR will have a grad position for 1.5 hours class credit in the fall AND an office in the new School of Business building. If you will be a grad student for the 2013-2014 school year and are interested please contact Jim ASAP. Thank you Todd Palmer for giving us this grad position--it is much appreciated.

* Our shoe collection as well as collections of books and school supplies got a little momentum this week. Remember donations can be dropped off on the second floor of Murphy or at the Allegany Park and Shop.

* The SPCA is always in need of volunteers. Dog walking, cleaning, painting stalls, and other jobs are what are usually done.

* Last week we picked up about 30 contractor sized bags of garbage to kick off Earth Week. If you didn't get to come out with us and want to help, University Ministries will be having a clean up day on campus at 3pm on Monday. Lend a hand.

* Rich and Greg will be leading a small group in Long Beach this weekend on Sandy recovery efforts. If you would like to help them, let us know ASAP.

* Remember this weekend there is much local work! and we are open to everyone!

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Jim