What a Month....and I'm not just talking the weather

October's been one heck of a month for me.  Turning 50, Central Little League, Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival Refresh Project, Steven Elisha and Mr. Cello Residency, Gear up for November's Refresh Run,   my Godmother passing, Mom, and Aliz.  It's been a rollercoaster emotionally, an endurance race physically and an awakening experience spiritually. 

Turning 50 - If the first half century is any indication, I'm in for a great journey in the next half century.  I'm looking forward to seeing Halley's Comet again in 2061.  'Nough said.

Troy Central Little League - The league of my brothers and friends as we were growing up, the league I learned the game of baseball and how to teach kids to play it couldn't be lost to today's kids. Having operated the league for 31 years, the outgoing board of directors were ready to shutter the doors for good and sell the fields.  Many of you may have even seen the "For Sale" signs hung out.  Their resignation became effective September 30, 2011.  With support from Little League International and local Little League representatives, a dedicated group of volunteers stepped forward to ensure baseball's continuation in Uptown and on October 19, at the general meeting of the membership, I was elected President for 2012.

Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival - The goal was realized fully on Satuday October 29th when the festival kicked off despite wickedly warmthless weather.  Hours of planning, contacting, connecting, organizing and staffing went into making sure the kids of Troy could have a blast that day.  I'm grateful to the volunteers who stuck it out, to the folks that came to enjoy it and to the vendors that helped make it happen.  So many small miracles occurred on Saturday, it's worthy of a blog all its own.

Steven Elisha and Mr. Cello - In conjunction with the Harvest Festival, my Refresh Grant allowed me the opportunity to bring something truly special to students throughout Troy.  Steven performed for students at the Ark Community Charter School, Susan Odell Taylor School, School 2, Knickerbacker Middle School and Troy Prep.  Each group of students was as unique as the buildings they are being educated in.  Kudos to the administrators of these schools for recognizing the importance of the arts in education and allowing their students to experience a personal performance by a Cello Virtuoso.  This too deserves a blog of its own.

Gear up for November's Refresh Grant run - My dear friend Xenia Allen's project Transform North Central Troy: Restore our American Neighborhood has been selected to compete in this month's campaign.  Given her committments, I've agreed to take "lead".  In otherwords, be prepared to be bombarded on facebook.  We'll be supported in this effort by our friends in North Carolina, We've entered into a formal partnership with SWOOP and National Inclusion Project.  Power caps are no longer in play, so it's up to us to muster as many online and text votes as possible.  Watch for a voting hotlink.

My Godmother - On October 22nd, during the Uptown Clean and Sweep Make A Difference Day project at Central's fields, we received a call letting us know that my dad's sister Joanne Mace had passed away.  She was now at peace, back home.  Aunt Joanne was my Godmother.  We said our farewells on October 26th.

My Mom - Friday, October 28th was a busy day.  It was Steven's first day in residency and the final day of preparation for the Harvest Fest.  My fellow Commando Cleaner Nina Glandz and I shopped our little hearts out at Sam's Club on the 24th and picked up all the burgers and hotdogs.  We dropped all that off with Pastor Willie at Missing Link Street Ministry and told him we'd get the rolls on Friday.  Friday came and while Nina was picking up those, I was meeting the delivery guys with the port-a-potties between Steven's performances.  That's when I got the call.  Mom, who had been suffering from a severe cold for over a week, was headed to the ER.  She was admitted that afternoon and is still at Samaritan as I write.  The cold turned into pneumonia. We're hoping she comes home on Wednesday.

Aliz - Aliz Koletis, a bright-spirited piece of sunshine I call friend, was involved in a terrible car wreck on Saturday after having been at our Harvest Festival.  She was at the festival as a neighbor, a supportive friend and a reporter.  As a reporter for the Parentology Show (airing on Channel 10 Sundays at 10 am)  Aliz was covering the festival for a segment.  She's one tough cookie and I have faith that she'll come through this even tougher.  My heart goes out to her parents who are sitting in a very tough place.  I know.  Been there, done that.  Fortunately, she's progressing well and her test results have been bringing back good news.  Please send out good thoughts for her continued recovery.

I couldn't have done it without you

It's official and I couldn't have done it without you.  In August, I successfully competed in the Refresh Everything Pepsi Program for a $10,000 grant to hold the Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival this year.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me to bring this event back to Troy.  Please join in the FREE family fun on Saturday, October 29.

The festival will be held at the Ross Technology Park from Noon till 5:00 pm.  This year's festival promises to be one not to miss.  The wonderful folks at the ARC of Rensselaer County have offered to coordinate our volunteers and Pastor Willie Bacote of the Missing Link Street Ministry will be manning the grill, serving up our fair fare.

Bring the kids and grandkids down to play some carnival games.  They'll earn tickets which they can use at the Prize Booth, the Bouncy-Bounces, the Obstacle Course and the Sticky Wall. If they'd like, they can get some popcorn or cotton candy with them too.  We'll have arts & crafts and a pumpkin decorating contest.  They could even get an airbrushed tattoo!  There'll be plenty to entertain the adults too with live performances by Tom Techman, Dr. Steven Elisha with Mr. Cello, Museum Guards and Silversyde. 

We'll have raffles this year too, so bring a couple of bucks to take a chance on winning some of the awesome prizes.  All proceeds from the raffles will go to replenishing the stock at Troy's food pantries, assisting families adversely affected by Irene and our local family farms who suffered significant losses.

If you'd like to volunteer your time, a service or a raffle prize, please send me an email.  It took a small city of votes to get the funding.  It'll take a platoon of volunteers to make it a wonderful event. I hope you'll join us.

Now is Not the Time to be Complacent

Irene - who as I write continues to wring out the towel overhead - can't dampen the joy my heart feels because of the incredible steadfast, die-hard, invaluable DAILY votes folks have cast to help me bring the Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival to life this year.  After months of supporting other organizations through the Refresh Everything program, I'm within reach of bringing something to my neighborhood so sorely needed - a full day of FREE family fun.  I'm preparing for the best possible outcome.  There's tons of planning that goes into an event like this and that planning has begun. Vendors have been selected and contacted for estimates and groups are gathering volunteers to man the booths.
 
I've reached out to Jim Blessing and the wonderful staff at The ARC of Rensselaer County to let them know it's looking like a "GO".  Pastor Willie Bacote at Missing Link Street Ministry is putting together his shopping list to ensure a festive menu for the days activities. Tom Techman is warming up his vocal cords and songlist so that he can thouroughly entertain us. Joe over at Jumping Bean Party Rental is sharpening his pencil to allow for the maximum amount of fun and games.  And wait till the kids get a load of the prizes they can get with their stash of tickets won at the games.  The cherry on top? Well that is a special four-day residency by reknowned cello virtuoso and my dear friend Dr. Steven Elisha when he brings his Mr. Cello program to the area.

We're close yet we're NOT there.  This is NO time to become complacent. It is vital to continue voting EVERY day and it will take a small city of daily votes for funding to be realized.  In addition to your online daily vote (logging in with your FB account or direct with Pepsi or BOTH), those of you with texting capabilities get to cast a third daily vote by sending 107824 to Pepsi (73774). Your daily votes coupled with our collective POWER VOTES are the reason we're so close.  Those little yellow Pepsi caps contain the codes we need to solidify funding.  Find them where you can & drop them off at Smoker's Choice in either Troy Plaza or Latham or at Troy Discount Beverage in South Troy.  Tell them The Dartlady sent ya.

Beyond a doubt, the hope of funding would not be possible without the strong support by my partner projects and their supporters. Please continue to cast a daily vote for Angels4Epilepy (107962), Nicholson (107973), Cohoes Music Hall/C-R Productions (100081) and most importantly National Inclusion Project (108169) with your daily votes over the next three days.  That's right.  Only three more days till we know whether our projects will be considered for grant funding. A special shout out goes to Uptown Initiative's Youth Supporting Youth partners from January Project Hope/Ft Edward, who have re-activated their voting machines to help make this festival happen.
Tonight as I've been writing this entry, a section of my old neighborhood was permanently altered. I lived both on top of that hill on Highland Avenue and at the bottom of that hill on Congress Street.  My thoughts and prayers are with my neighbors up there especially those directly affected by the mudslide. For those neighbors not living in Mt. Ida, please send your good thoughts to them as well. With the rain continuing to fall, the risk of further slides and the flooding of the Poestenkill on the southside of the road increases.  Ida Hillers & South Trojans are being evacuated. Stay safe my friends.

Into the Final Stretch

This week is Traver's Week in Saratoga Springs which marks the entrance into the final stretch of the local horse racing season.  Well, the same can be said for my campaign to bring the Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival back this year through the Refresh Everything program. Only 11 voting days remain and the winners are determined by the placement in the ranks as of 11:59 PM on Wednesday, August 31st.

$10,000 is a good sum of money and will allow me to expand on last year's event.  In addition to the Bounce House and carnival games, prizes, food & fun, I'm hoping to bring something to these families that they've never seen before - Mr. Cello.  Most kids in these neighborhoods have never seen a cello let alone heard someone play one.  So happens that Mr. Elisha's mother was an educator in the Lansingburgh School District, teaching string instruments.  His roots are here in Troy and he is happy to offer his program as part of the festival. 

Please support my efforts today by clicking here and casting a vote of support today? Please continue to support my partners at Angels4Epilepsy, Nicholson and National Inclusion Project with your daily votes as well. Most importantly, save or salvage as many of those yellow pepsi caps that you can and drop off at any of our Cap Collection Centers: Smokers Choice in Troy Plaza, Troy Discount Beverage Center in South Troy or High Maintenance, Low Budget Consignment Shop in Lansingburgh.  Remember, together we can.

Everyone is Included

At a planning meeting for Uptown/North Central's National Night Out event, I got a bit bent out of shape at what I percieved to be an exclusion of a group interested in participating as volunteers.  As can sometimes happen with me, my passion for the underdog blinded me.  In other words, I jumped when I should have just sat still. In the end, that group was welcomed with open arms and written acknowledgement.

Maybe I'm so passionate about inclusion 'cause so many people I knew were picked on by "the popular" kids in school. Maybe I'm so passionate about inclusion 'cause kids I knew were excluded from activities due to circumstances beyond their control.  Maybe I'm so passionate about inclusion 'cause I'm a Libra.  What ever the reason, it is certainly something I am passionate about. That's why I am so excited to have partnered with the National Inclusion Project while we vie for Refresh Everything grant funding to hold the Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival again this year.

The National Inclusion Project serves to bridge the gap that exists between young people with disabilities and the world around them. They partner with communities and inclusive programs creating awareness about the possibilities that inclusion can bring.  For me, this is a perfect partnership given that The ARC of Rensselaer was instrumental in getting last year's festival up and running.

Please continue to support my efforts to bring the Uptown Troy Community Harvest Festival back this year with your daily votes along with my partner projects National Inclusion Project,  Nicholson Heritage Association and Angels4Epilepsy. Please remember them when voting too. Cap Collection Centers are established at CAC Woodside (a previous grant recepient), High Maintenance, Low Budget Consignment Shop, Smokers Choice in the Troy Plaza and all ARC of Rensselaer County offices. Save those yellow caps and drop off to any location when ya can. Voting continues until August 31st.

Help Bring Back the Troy Community Harvest Festival

Last year The Uptown Initiative along with The ARC of Rensselaer County, Missing Link Street Ministry, TRIP, Ross Valve & SEFCU sponsored the first Troy Community Harvest Festival.  It was a ton of work and took many volunteers to make it the extraordinary success that it was. So when I heard that The ARC would not be spearheading an effort to hold the event again, I decided to see if I could get some funding through Pepsi's Refresh Everything program. Here we go again!

Millions of dollars of funding has been provided to thousands of worthy projects in the last 18 months that the program has been running including grants to CAC Woodside, Cohoes Music Hall & Hannah's Hope.  Troy BID made an excellent run at funding too in January 2011, falling just short.  Well, I'm happy to report that the UptownTroyFestival is within range of getting that funding.  It's early and August is a long month.  As Ken Zalewski, D-District 5 said Thursday night at the City Council meeting, it will take a small city worth of daily votes to get this project funded.  I believe that Troy NY is just that small city.

There are some changes to the program this year, mainly those little yellow caps containing Power Vote Codes.  It is those Power Vote codes that have gotten many a small project funded this year.  To help in collecting those codes, Cap Collection Centers have been set up throughout our fair city. You can drop off your caps at Smoker's Choice in the Troy Plaza, High Maintenance, Low Budget in North Lansingburgh, any The ARC of Rensselaer County office, Missing Link Street Ministry on 101st & Sixth Avenue or Conway Court off of Hoosick.  I'll be adding more CCC's as the month progresses, so keep a watchful eye out for the new additions. If you'd like to set up a CCC at your location, let me know.

I've also been fortunate enough to partner with two incredible projects: Nicholson Heritage Association is seeking to preserve their 1849 Railroad Station and Angels4Epilepsy who provides care packages to children afflicted with Epilepsy from low-income families.  Please support these groups with your daily votes too. 

Together we can make it happen for Downtown

Want to take an active role in Troy's revitalization?  Then vote daily for the Troy Downtown Collaborative's Refresh Everything project.