News stories tagged with "charity"

(06/02/11) A group of women in Canton has organized a fundraiser for widows in Malawi, Africa next week.

The "Mom Prom" at the Best Western in Canton on Friday, June 10 will feature vintage prom dresses and long-forgotten bridesmaid gowns.

Organizer Tiffany Zook told Todd Moe that the event is for women of all ages. Money raised will benefit the Women of Grace Widows' Fund, which alleviates poverty and provides opportunities for widows in Malawi. more

(05/25/11) Our Moving the World series continues as we talk with a Canton man who volunteers with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Alan Leo recently returned from Ghana where he worked with a group of farmers on organizing their day-to-day operations and the economics of farming. Leo, who grew up on Long Island, has been doing international development work for more than a decade, and his volunteerism has taken him all around Africa, Asia and eastern Europe. He told Todd Moe that his travels and overseas work have taught him that people are the most important part of economic development.

(09/14/10) It's harvest season and you're invited to GardenShare's annual picnic in DeKalb Junction on Saturday. Food, games and music are all part of the event. GardenShare will also present its Growing Community Award to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canton's UShare Project, which donates locally grown veggies to food pantries. Todd Moe spoke with Sarah Bentley-Garfinkle, one of the co-organizers of Saturday's GardenShare picnic.

(09/09/10) A SUNY Potsdam alumnus successfully raised $20,000 this year to help build a school in a small east African community. Alex French travels back to Gembeltu, Ethiopia this winter to help with some of the finishing touches on the school, and to talk with government leaders who've promised to provide a small yearly budget and a modest salary for the teachers. Todd Moe spoke with Alex French for an update on his humanitarian work in Africa as part of our series, Moving the World.

(12/30/09) The end of the year is a busy time - holidays to plan for. Travel. Celebrations. It's also a natural time for reflection, and thinking ahead, for trying to make a difference. Cali Brooks works in philanthropy, in the Adirondacks. That's where her thoughts are as 2009 closes. more

(04/16/09) Our "A Year of Hard Choices" series continue today. Over the next several months, we'll track the effects of the recession though people and organizations in this region, and the choices they make in response. Charitable foundations are an important part of the fabric of local life. They fill in the gaps between tax-supported, public services, and the broader needs of a community's people and organizations. Martha Foley talked with Alex Velto, the long-time executive director of the Northern New York Community Foundation, about how it's adjusted to the new economic realities.

(04/08/08) A Watertown-based foundation is increasing its presence in St. Lawrence County. The Northern New York Community Foundation is launching a new scholarship program in the county. It also gave almost $50,000 in grants to county libraries. David Sommerstein reports.

(10/05/06) In the 1890s the town of Forestport in the southern Adirondacks was a rowdy logging town. The joke was there were more saloons than people. And no saloon had more of a reputation than the Hotel Doyle. When the paper mills started to shut down, it was at the Hotel Doyle that the townspeople hatched a plan to sabotage one of the levees on the Black River Canal. Three times they succeeded, each time bringing repair crews - and economic life - back to the region. Today the Hotel Doyle still stands. It's a biker bar called Scooter's. Gregory Warner went there last month for a poker run - kind of like bar hopping for charity on motorcycles. But as he found out, the poker run is about more than beer and wheels. It's another example of Forestport refusing to fade away.

(12/05/05) A much-anticipated event in the Ottawa region sweetens the holiday season. The "Dream of a Lifetime" Lottery is a successful fundraiser for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, nicknamed "CHEO". The prizes include cars, cruises and gift certificates. But what really captures the public's imagination is the grand prize package: A new luxury home - furnished. Plus moving and legal services, cash and merchandise, a new car, and free groceries, for a year. All together, worth about $1 million, U.S. And this pleasant fantasy is all the sweeter in Canada, where lottery winnings go untaxed. Lucy Martin stopped took the dream home tour with some of the hopeful participants:

(09/23/05) A truck full of donated relief supplies arrived in Laurel, Mississippi yesterday. It was driven by volunteers from Saranac Lake. The small Gulf Coast town was cut off for three days after Hurricane Katrina hit. Local officials say there was no outside aid for nearly a week after the storm had passed. Reporter Chris Knight is in Laurel and he spoke last night with Brian Mann.