Working to Make Difference

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

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What’s Inside 2 Big Brothers Big Sisters

The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

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Make-A-Wish Foundation

Salvation Army

The Homeless and Travelers Aid Society

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Double H Ranch

St Paul’s Center

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Albany Institute of History and Art

Ronald McDonald House

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World Awareness Children’s Museum

Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York

from our Friends

Schenectady ARC

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With a Little Help

By Brianna Snyder

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ou won’t find a shortage of volunteer opportunities in the Capital Region. And that’s a good thing — for your personal fulfillment and for your career.

According to the nonprofit resource site helpguide.org, the benefits of volunteering can include making new friends and contacts, increasing your social and relationship skills, enhancing your self-confidence and battling depression, among others. The career-advancement

benefits can include learning job skills and making connections — and it doesn’t hurt to have it on your resume, either.

We want to help you get out there and volunteer. Part of the mission of Women@Work is to promote community involvement, and we’d like to draw your attention to the organizations in these pages as top choices for doing just that. You can learn more about all of them in our special online supplement at capregionwomenatwork.com. capregionwomenatwork.com | 1

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region 1698 Central Ave., Albany · (518)-862-1250 · bbbs.org

2014

marks the 50th anniversary of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region. The chapter is an affiliate of the national Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, an organization that pairs volunteer adult mentors with particularly vulnerable children.

Bigs and Littles, as the adult mentors and the children they work with are called, attend community events, play or watch sports, go to movies, take hikes, or even cook together.

“We hold ourselves accountable for helping children who face adversity achieve measurable, positive outcomes and we demonstrate outcomes in three critical areas for our Little Brothers and Little Sisters,” Houser writes in an email.

“1) Socio-emotional competencies (e.g. higher aspirations, greater self-confidence, and better relationships), 2) avoidance of risky behaviors, and 3) educational success.”

Ninety-nine percent of the children served by the organization come from single-parent backgrounds, live in lowincome families or have an incarcerated parent, according to Houser. Children are eligible for the program between the ages of 6 and 14, though their Big Brother or Big Sister partnerships can continue through high-school graduation.

“We provide quality one-to-one mentoring relationships for children in need, based on a proven model that includes careful matching and ongoing support for mentors, youth and parents/ guardians,” she says. The organization is always looking for volunteers (who must be at least 18 years old and willing to commit for at least one year), committee members and board members.

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The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society 3 Oakland Ave., Menands (518) 434-8128 · mohawkhumanesociety.org

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he Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is the largest animal-care facility in the Capital Region, and takes in nearly 6,000 animals a year. Besides ats, dogs, hamsters and bunnies, they also receive snakes, birds, fish, horses and, if you can believe it, llamas.

With satellite locations in Glenmont, Latham and Clifton Park, executive director Brad Shear says, “We’re constantly working on adoption.” They run spay, neuter and vaccination programs for low-income owners to ensure pets stay healthy and out of the cages of the animal shelter. The society — which has been saving pets since the late 19th century — also runs a program called STAR, or Steps To Adoption Readiness. With STAR, untrained dogs are brought to the Albany County Correctional Facility, where prisoners are taught to train them.

This is mutually beneficial to the dog and to the prisoner; studies have shown that working with animals facilitates rehabilitation, and a trained dog is ultimately a more-adoptable dog in the eyes of wary potential adopters who may worry about taking on an unruly shelter dog.

Mohawk also runs a Safe Haven program in cooperation with Unity House in Troy and Equinox in Albany, where they house pets of domestic violence victims. “When victims get away from their abuser,” Shear says, “they often want to protect their pets, too.” Safe Haven holds these pets until victims find a new home, “which can often take months,” Shear says.

When disaster strikes — such as a really bad storm — Shear says the Mohawk Hudson chapter sets up pet-friendly shelters so that people aren’t faced with the impossible decision of leaving their pets behind. “What we found is a lot of people won’t leave [their homes in times of crisis] unless they can bring their pets,” Shear says. “And then first responders have to go and rescue them.” That puts not just those people and their pets in danger, but first responders too.

You can help by donating or volunteering, or, of course, adopting your next pet from a shelter. The society is also always collecting redeemable bottles and cans for its Empties for Animals program, according to Shear. Last year Mohawk Hudson earned over $100,000 from bottle and can redemption thanks to volunteers and people who brought containers to the shelter.

Faith, 9 cystic fibrosis I wish to swim with dolphins

SHARE THE POWER OF A WISH

®

As a volunteer for Make-A-Wish® Northeast New York, you can help us in our mission to grant wishes for local children facing life-threatening medical conditions.

Our more than 200 volunteers, ranging from board members to wish granters, are key to the 90 wishes we grant each year to children and teens across the 15 counties of the 518 area code. We’ve granted nearly 1,400 local wishes since our founding in 1987, and each wish starts with a volunteer dedicated to helping make a positive impact on children and families with the Power of a Wish®.

Wish granters are trained to meet with a qualified child to discover, plan, and fulfill the child’s one true wish. Wish granters commit their time to make the wish as unique as each child and a lasting memorable experience for each wish family.

We have regular training sessions throughout our chapter territory, and we’re happy to talk with you about the rewards of being a Make-A-Wish volunteer wish granter.

Just call us at (518) 782-4673, or email cconley@neny.wish.org.

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Make-A-Wish Foundation 1 Mustang Dr., Cohoes · (518) 782-4673 · neny.wish.org

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he Make-A-Wish Foundation got its start with one little boy: In 1980, a 7-year-old with leukemia named Christopher James Greicius, from Arizona, expressed his desire to be a police officer when he grew up. To make his wish come true, a group of troopers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety brought him a police uniform and swore him in as “first honorary DPS patrolman in history,” the story goes.

They brought him for a ride on a helicopter and took him to a police training course before presenting him with his own DPS badge. He died three days later.

Since then, Make-A-Wish has granted nearly 300,000 wishes across the world; the Northeast New York chapter of Make-A-Wish has granted 1,450 wishes since it began formally in 1987, and 50 wishes in the last year alone. Chief Executive Officer William Trigg says Make-A-Wish’s mission is to find more wishes to grant this year.

“Make-A-Wish’s vision is to grant the wish of every eligible child,” Trigg says. “We would like to grant more than 100 wishes in 2014.” As it stands now, children who qualify must be under the age of 18 and over the age of 2 and a half. And — this is important — they must be facing a life-threatening illness. But Trigg says they’ve stricken terms such as “terminal illness” from the general Make-A-Wish vocabulary — about 80 percent of the children whose wishes they’ve granted over the past 27 years are still alive today.

“We’re looking to raise awareness about our mission so that we can grant more wishes,” Trigg says. “In simple terms that’s our business cycle: raise awareness, grant more wishes, then raise more money to grant those wishes.”

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Schenectady ARC 52 Market St., Scotia · (518) 372-1483 · arcschenectady.org

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ixty years ago, when a child was born with a developmental disability, a physician would often tell parents, ‘Your best choice is to put your son or daughter in an institution,’” says Schenectady ARC executive director Kirk Lewis.

For many of the generation that fought in World War II, Lewis says, that choice was not acceptable. So, in 1952, a group of families with developmentally-disabled children got together to form Schenectady ARC — “advocacy, resources, choices.” Schenectady ARC is part of NYSARC, Inc., a private, not-for-profit organization that is the largest organization of its type in the country. Today, Schenectady ARC supports hundreds of families, operating residences, work programs, respite programs, employment services and clinical services in Schenectady. Lewis says the ARC supports people in every aspect of their lives, from finding work after high school to dealing with their senior years and issues such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Lewis says the picture today is very different than it was 60 years ago: schools have special-education programs and people are more aware of developmental disabilities than they ever have been. But awareness is key to ensuring everyone gets fair treatment and access to resources. “Employment is the next big challenge,” Lewis says. “Increasing the number of people with developmental disabilities who are employed in the community will happen once employers learn the great potential that the people we support have as employees.”

Our mission is to end homelessness within Albany County and the Capital Region. We meet the immediate need for emergency shelter, food and clothing in addition to addressing the long-term need for affordable housing and employment assistance.

HATAS PROGRAMS INCLUDE: • 90 units of permanent housing for mentally ill households • 24/7 emergency homeless housing services • Mental health services • Homelessness prevention and rapid-re-housing services • Employment assistance • Back packs for hungry school children • Code blue • Veteran homeless housing assistance Last year HATAS assisted over 11,000 homeless, at-risk and low-income households with housing, employment and mental health services and since 1983 HATAS has assisted over 155,000 Capital Region households. www.hatas.org • info@hatas.org • (518) 463-2124 • 138 Central Avenue Albany, NY 12206 “HATAS is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit working to end homelessness within the Capital Region”

127 years matching pets with people who love them.

Animals

Advocacy

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Become a volunteer, walk dogs, socialize with cats, foster a homeless animal, help plan a special event, plan an adoption event or pet supply drive, hold an Empties for Animals bottle & can drive, help at off-site adoption clinics, adopt a pet and more.

Learn how you or your company can become involved and help homeless and abandoned animals by calling Nancy Laribee, Marketing & Development Director, at 518-434-8128 ext. 206 or nlaribee@mohawkhumame.org Mohawk Hudson Humane Society 3 Oakland Avenue, Menands, NY 12204 518-434-8128 mohawkhumane.org

You can help make a difference in the lives of homeless animals.

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

The Salvation Army 20 South Ferry St., Albany · (518) 229-2548 SalvationArmyEmpireState.org · twitter.com/SalArmyEmpire

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The Homeless and Travelers Aid Society 138 Central Ave., Albany · (518)-463-2124 · hatas.org

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he Homeless and Travelers Aid Society (HATAS) “is committed to ending homelessness within the Capital Region,” according to Liz Hitt, executive director. “HATAS provides access to shelter and food 24/7,” she says. “Ending homelessness, however, requires an affordable place to live, living-wage employment, and education.” HATAS has 89 units of affordable housing, an employment center and programs that help with mental illness.

Hitt quotes a formerly homeless woman in Albany named Joy, who describes her experience: “Last year, I lost my job and my apartment. After staying with friends for a couple of months I ended up here. HATAS helped me find a place to stay in the short term and also helped me find an apartment I could afford. I used the employment center at HATAS to find some job prospects online and, thankfully, I found a good job with one of the local hospitals.”

In addition to housing and employment, HATAS coordinates the Code Blue emergency winter homeless project. This past season Code Blue assisted 1,449 homeless people. Last year the program helped 279 people, said Hitt.

Annual events at HATAS include Katie’s Koats, the KeyBank Diaper Drive, a wooden toy drive and Home Sweet Gingerbread Home. “Our fundraising efforts are crucial to our success,” Hitt says. “Public funds support the rental subsidy for our 89 households while private funds established the employment center. … We can’t end homelessness without both housing and employment.”

HATAS photos by Colleen Ingerto.

he Salvation Army is much more than thrift stores and Red Kettles,” says Christine Gray, director of communications for The Salvation Army Empire State Division. The organization provides several services to those in need in the Capital Region: emergency shelter and disaster relief, after-school care, tutoring, clothing, summer camps and even music lessons.

The Salvation Army also meets critical hunger and housing needs in the region, providing over 250,000 meals annually through soup kitchens, food pantries, a mobile feeding unit, free food distribution and holiday meals, Gray says. She adds that “our two shelters in Schenectady and Albany offer more than 22,000 nights of respite, related to alcohol, drugs and physical, mental and emotional abuse.”

More than 200 children from the Capital Region also participate in a Salvation Army camping trip in the Finger Lakes, part of the many youth programs the S.A. offers, along with after-school activities, youth development and character-building.

The Salvation Army welcomes volunteers to lend a hand with its many programs and services. That includes everything from ringing the bell during the holidays to delivering food and packing groceries.

The 16th Annual Ronald McDonald House Charities

Saratoga Fashion Show

Presented by Natalie Sillery owner of Saratoga Trunk

Thursday, August 21st • 11am Saratoga Race Course, At the Rail Pavilion Tickets start at $155, tables of ten at $1,500 Event info can be found at

www.saratogafashionshow.com This event will sell out! Call Chris Turner today at 518-438-2655 to order your tickets.

Join our Honorary Chairperson Nancy Bambara and 500+ guests as we celebrate “the House that Love Built” and raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House of Albany.

Natalie Sillery will once again be presenting a dazzling fashion show featuring the latest styles from Saratoga Trunk. A number of world renowned designers including Don O’Neill, creative director for THEIA, will be in attendance.

www.rmhcofalbany.org

AN EMERGENCY SHELTER For Moms And Kids Who Are

WITHOUT A PLACE TO CALL HOME.

“Going to a shelter was scary… I’ve never been in a shelter before.” - Isis, age 11 “I didn’t like going at all, but still, I have a roof over my head. It got better after a while.

There are a bunch of other kids to play with.” - Kairi, age 7

To support our families and St. Paul’s Center’s efforts to address chronic homelessness, donate online at www.stpaulscenter.com If you prefer, write or call us at : 947 Third Street • P.O. Box 589 Rensselaer, NY 12144 • 518.434.2910

Welcome to the ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY & ART The mission of the Albany Institute is to collect, preserve, interpret, and promote interest in the history, art, and culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley from the 17th century to the present day.

Founded in 1791, the Albany Institute of History & Art has been collecting for over 200 years. Its collections document the Hudson Valley as a crossroads of cultures, influencing the art and history of the region, the state, and the nation. With more than 35,000 objects and one million documents in the library it is an important resource for the region, giving our community a sense of the part the Hudson Valley played in the American story, and their own place in history.

Small + Seductive: Contemporary Art from the Albany Institute’s Collection. Spring 2014.

Permanent and temporary exhibitions are open year round and create a sense of place, allowing visitors to meet the people who helped shape this region. 25,000 people visit the Institute every year, enjoying the collections, workshops, school programs, and lectures, helping to build an understanding of the history and culture of our region.

Among the museum’s best-known and most loved collections are the 19th century Hudson River School landscape paintings by artists like Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church, the 19 th century sculpture collections, and, of course, the famous Albany Mummies that came over from the Cairo Museum in 1909 and have been on view ever since.

Unconsciousness, by Launt Thompson (1833-1894), marble, c. 1881, gift of Latham G. Reed, 1940.8

JOIN THE ALBANY INSTITUTE The Albany Institute welcomes visitors and volunteers of all kinds! Consider stopping by, becoming a museum member, or joining one of our volunteer committees. Please feel free to call us at (518) 463-4478 or email us to learn more.

Barbara Collins General volunteering and museum docents ext 405, collinsb@albanyinstitute.org Nicole Peterson Corporate advisory committee ext 414, petersonn@albanyinstitute.org Aine Leader-Nagy Marketing and PR committee ext 408, leader.nagya@albanyinstitute.org Elizabeth Bechand Museum Shop ext 455, museumshop@albanyinstitute.org Elizabeth Reiss Special events committee ext 402, reisse@albanyinstitute.org

Ariantje Coeymans (Mrs. David) Verplank (1672-1743), attributed to Nehemiah Partridge (1683about 1737), oil on canvas, 1718 or 1722-1724, bequest of Miss Gertrude Watson, 1938.5 Believed to be the first life-size, full length likeness of a woman in colonial America.

125 WASHINGTON AVENUE, ALBANY, NEW YORK 12210 ● WWW.ALBANYINSTITUTE.ORG ● (518) 463-4478

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Double H Ranch 97 Hidden Valley Rd., Lake Luzerne (518)-696-5676 · doublehranch.org

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hen Charles R. Wood and Paul Newman founded the Double H Ranch in 1992, it was decided that Double H would never charge for services, says CEO Max Yurenda, who’s been with the program since its inception. The Double H provides specialized year-round programs and medical services for children and families dealing with life-threatening illnesses. Yurenda praises his staff for their work with kids who’ve had a wide variety of diagnoses. The Double H provides a safe and accepting environment where children can be creative, independent, and establish new friendships. Parents, meanwhile, get a little respite from full-time caregiving.

“The community has embraced our mission since its inception and has generously supported the program to ensure that the experiences are completely free of charge,” Yurenda says. The Double H Ranch hosts over 900 children in its summer residential camping program and a total of 2,200 children and family members participate in programs such as the adaptive winter sports program, family-based support programs and hospital outreach services.

Yurenda says that over 1,600 volunteers support the organization “on every level imaginable.” The organization’s focus in 2014 is to continue building awareness in the community, establish more corporate partnerships and build program capacity and sustainability.

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St. Paul’s Center 947 3rd St., Rensselaer · (518) 434-2910 · stpaulscenter.com

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t. Paul’s Center for homeless women and their children began in 2001, when St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Rensselaer merged with St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in North Greenbush. The church administrators weren’t sure what to do with their space so they looked into the community’s needs. They discovered that shelter beds for homeless women and children were the most critical need in the county and they provided 19 beds for local women in need.

In 2005, the St. Paul’s Center became its own (nonsectarian) entity and opened its doors to residents. (The organization does still receive support from several local churches, community service groups and local businesses.)

According to Tracy Pitcher, executive director at St. Paul’s, the shelter can serve up to 26 women and children, and that “unfortunately, we’re often quite full.” Those beds are in high demand for all kinds of reasons: women lose jobs and houses, have to leave an abusive relationship (though Pitcher notes St. Paul’s is not a domestic violence shelter, “many of the moms who come have been victims of domestic violence”). On average, women stay at the shelter for about a month. Counselors and advisers at the shelter help these women find permanent housing, which can be tricky especially in Rensselaer County, where low-income housing is becoming more scarce thanks to RPI student housing expansion. St. Paul’s doesn’t want to move these families into unsafe buildings that aren’t up to code or that can cost more than what the families can afford. They also connect them with community resources and social programs and GED classes to help mothers get back on their feet.

“We’re working to develop programs in-house and collaborating with other organizations to deliver educational programs,” Pitcher says. “We have a nutrition specialist who is delivering workshops around healthy eating and building nutritious meals on a budget. We’re also working with CAPCOM to deliver financial literacy programs. So we build the skills that are going to make a much stronger life going forward.”

sponsor a summer residential camper!

Here's your chance to make Double H Ranch history... it's bound to be the best year yet!

Each summer at the Double H Ranch, more than 900 kids dealing with life-threatening illnesses enjoy a carefree summer camp experience in the Adirondacks. Campers come FREE of charge, because it is your donation that makes it possible.

Gabe looks forward to going to the Double H Ranch every summer, Gabe says, “Buzz Light Year said to ‘infinity and beyond', I say Double H is better than infinity and beyond.”

ATE DONLIN E ON

MAKE A CAMPER HAPPY, BE A HAPPY CAMPER! www.doublehranch.org

The Double H Ranch

97 Hidden Valley Road, Lake Luzerne, NY 12846

518-696-5676

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Albany Institute of History and Art 125 Washington Ave, Albany (518) 463-4478 · albanyinstitute.org

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Ronald McDonald House 139 S Lake Ave, Albany · (518) 438-2655 · rmhcofalbany.org

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amilies of young children suffering from life-threatening illnesses have many hardships. Among them is being relegated to hospital waiting rooms and eating vendingmachine meals as they wait — often for hours — for their child’s many treatments and exams. In Philadelphia in 1974, Philadelphia Eagles player Fred Hill and his wife Fran found themselves in those waiting rooms as their daughter Kim was being tested for leukemia.

In the three years the Hills spent in and out of the hospital waiting room, they encountered many other parents who’d traveled long ways to wait in the same areas because they couldn’t afford hotel rooms. They started to organize and raise funds and enlist Eagles connections and then support from McDonald’s to help them open the first Ronald McDonald House — a “home away from home for families of ill children.” Today, more than 250 houses are in 26 countries. They’ve provided support to more than 10 million families since 1974.

The Albany Ronald McDonald House opened in 1982 and in 2001 the Albany Medical Center opened a family room in the hospital itself. Now, Jeff Yule, executive director of the Albany Ronald McDonald House, says they’re expanding. They’ve just bought another house on South Lake Avenue and have added rooms and renovated the houses to be more accommodating and up to date. Yule says they’ll be finished this summer.

“We have volunteers who come in and cook dinner every night, helping families with whatever they need,” he says.

“Our philosophy is we don’t ask families to pay for any of the services we provide.” Which means they rely heavily on donors and volunteers to keep the houses in operation.

Another service the organization provides is the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, which drives to schools to provide dental services to underserved kids in Albany. (That service is provided by St. Peter’s.)

Yule says Ronald McDonald House is always looking for volunteers to cook and help families in the house.

Albany Institute photo by Aine Leader-Nagy.

he Albany Institute of History & Art is one of the oldest museums in the U.S. It was founded in 1791 and from 1998 to 2001 was completely renovated and expanded to bring the galleries and facilities up to 21st-century standards.

Tammis Groft, executive director of the Institute, started as an intern in 1978, so she’s seen the huge transition. This summer another transition will be made as the long-running Mystery of the Albany Mummies exhibit ends. In its place will be a contemporary photography exhibition featuring works by five local photographers. Also famously on view at the Institute are the Hudson River School Paintings. You can also see a new exhibit in September, Under Cover, which explores decorative motifs found on quilts, coverlets and bed covers. And look for a new exhibit this summer called Small + Seductive — a collection of works by local artists who’ve been challenged with creating art that conforms to a certain dimension.

The Institute provides artist talks and gallery receptions, summer art programs for kids and lectures on art and culture. And though the Egypt exhibit is closing, the permanent Ancient Egyptian Gallery will reopen in early September and include rare pieces from all over the world.

Groft says the museum relies on donations to help them acquire new technologies “to broadcast educational lessons from museums galleries.” Donations also fund free admissions.

GIVE BACK MAKE A DIFFERENCE BE A ROLE MODEL NO NEED TO CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE Become a Girl Scout Volunteer Today!

Being a volunteer is designed to be FLEXIBLE and able to work with your schedule. With more than 30 roles, you can volunteer weekly, monthly, afterschool, in the evenings or on weekends.

Volunteers guide girls as they make Being a volunteer is a REWARDING EXPERIENCE.

It’s a great resume builder, an opportunity to be a role model to girls in your community, and a chance to see girls grow into confident young women.

a difference in their community and explore their leadership potential through Girl Scouts.

To learn more, please contact: Email: volunteering@gsneny.org Phone: 518-489-8110

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York 8 Mountain View Ave., Albany · (518) 489-8110 · gsneny.org

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89 Warren St., Glens Falls (518) 793-2773 · worldchildrensmuseum.org

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s globalization becomes our new normal, it’s more important than ever that children (and adults!) today understand the ways other cultures are both different from and similar to ours. The World Awareness Children’s Museum opened in Glens Falls in 1995 with a mission “to inspire curiosity and foster understanding and appreciation of worldwide cultural diversity.”

Heather Hickland, director of the museum, says the facility has four basic parts: an interactive space where kids can create travel adventures, design crafts, play games, hear stories and make puppet shows; an international youth art exchange, where more than 7,000 pieces of original art made by children from more than 81 countries is on display; and an outreach program that comes to schools or sites to teach entertaining and educational lessons and themes from around the world; and tailored art exhibits culled from the museum’s collection to suit your space’s needs. (The art is also for sale.)

Hickland says this September the museum will unveil its first museum-wide installation, Kaleidoscopes: Mirrored Views of the World. “We’re really excited,” Hickland says. “There’s going to be a kaleidoscope in every part of the museum.”

The kaleidoscopes come from a Capital Region donor who has a robust collection of the toys.

The museum is open six days a week and has daily programming and workshops for kids throughout the summer.

“We are looking for anyone interested in educating children about global awareness, promoting worldwide cultural appreciation and embracing diversity to join our Kaleidoscope Club,” Hickland says. Funds raised from this program will help create and support the kaleidoscope exhibit.

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World Awareness Museum photo courtesy of Sheileen Landrey, Museum Educator.

World Awareness Children’s Museum

e often associate the Girl Scouts with cookies. But Chief Development and Brand Marketing Officer Nancy Bielawa says the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York organization has plenty more going on. “Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York provides adult volunteers with the opportunity to be role models for girls grades K-12,” she writes in an email. “All it takes is enthusiasm and dedication and volunteers can guide girls as they make a difference in their community and explore their leadership potential through Girl Scouts.”

Today, the Greater Capital Region is home to close to 11,000 Girl Scouts across 15 counties. Each has the opportunity to earn enough merit badges in various categories of study and activism — environmental issues, healthy living, global leadership, for instance — to win a “gold award,” presented to a handful of top-performing Girl Scouts in the country.

So why should you become a troop leader? To pay it forward. “You can probably point to at least one woman who along the way was a role model or a source of advice that gave you the self-confidence, character and conviction to shape the adult you are today,” says Mary Buszuwski, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. “It could have been your mother, grandmother, teacher or a Girl Scout troop leader who took the time to share her knowledge and wisdom with you. … Girl Scouting gives girls the chance to explore who they are and find what may lie ahead.” Being a leader can help these girls answer some of those questions. W

Two culinary competitions, one culinary treat for all!

Our 2013 Chef ’s Challenge Champion, John Ireland of Saratoga Golf and Polo Club will cook head to head against our 2013 People’s Choice Champion, Joe Mazza of Prime at Saratoga National with our secret ingredient for the 2014 title!

Our head to head competition will be judged by international blogger, Jon “Doc” Sconzo, Steve Barnes, Times Union blogger, and Patricia Novo, owner of Crush & Cask in Saratoga. The fourth judge’s seat will be auctioned off at the event!

CHEF’S CHALLENGE JULY 31, 2014 6-9PM Excelsior Springs Saratoga Springs, NY

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region’s 3rd Annual Chef ’s Challenge $60 for GA $110 for Honorary Committee Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region

The following restaurants will sample their signature dish or drink for YOU, our guests, to vote on our 2014 ‘People’s Choice’ Champion: FOOD COMPETITORS: DUO, Saratoga Springs Cafe Calabria, Guilderland Carney’s Tavern, Ballston Lake Lucas Confectionery, Troy Carmen’s Cafe, Troy Capital City Gastro Pub, Albany Excelsior Springs, adjacent to the Marriott, Saratoga Springs Reel Seafood Co., Albany COCKTAIL COMPETITORS: Brown’s Malt Room, Troy NEW TO 2014! We have expanded our People’s Choice competition with a cocktail portion! Also new in 2014, we will be offering a VIP happy hour for our Honorary Committee members, including light hor dourves, wine, and the first tastes of our cocktail competition.

To purchase tickets and more info visit:

www.chefschallenge14.eventbrite.com Contact erica@bbbscr.org to RSVP T HA N K YO U T O OU R G OL D, P R E SE N T I N G SP ON S O R :

A N D T O OU R SI LV E R SP ON S OR S :

BIGS! Buy one General Admission ticket, get a second 50% off. Purchase one Honorary Committee ticket, get one free.

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Working to Make a Difference Join us for our Women@Work Connect event “Working to Make a Difference” on Tuesday, June 24 from 5:30pm to 7pm at the Desmond to meet some local nonprofits and network with Capital Region professionals.

Participating organizations include: Albany Institute of History and Art

Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

albanyinstitute.org

mohawkhumane.org

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region

Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region

bbbscr.org

rmhcofalbany.org

Catholic Charities Disabilities Services

Schenectady ARC

ccdservices.org

arcschenectady.org

Double H Ranch

St. Paul’s Center, Inc.

doublehranch.org

stpaulscenter.com

Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York

The Salvation Army salvationarmyusa.org

gsneny.org

Homeless and Travelers Aid Society (HATAS)

World Awareness Children’s Museum worldchildrensmuseum.org

hatas.org

Whiskers Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeastern New York

ewhiskers.com

neny.wish.org

Nosh. Network. Make a Difference.

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Welcome to Whiskers Here at Whiskers we believe every life is meaningful and worth saving.

We go the extra mile to do whatever it takes to make each cat and kitten’s life we commit to the best it can be. Every cat or kitten we take in gets Whiskers lifetime pledge to be there for them for their entire lives if need be.

Over the years, Whiskers has been, and continues to be, unique among other cat shelters in the region.

First of all, we are an all-volunteer group: every penny donated to our organization is directed to the welfare of our cats and kittens. As a private shelter, we do not receive government funding, and rely on our friends and supporters to help us advance our work.

Second, as a strictly no-kill shelter, Whiskers provides a safe, loving, sanctuary for cats who are chronically ill, diagnosed with FIV or FeLV, feral, very old, abused, or otherwise not considered easily adoptable to the general public. While we believe that virtually all of our cats are adoptable to the right person, the fact of the matter is that some of our cats will live out their entire lives in safety and comfort in our shelter.

Third, unlike many other shelters, Whiskers is a free-roaming facility, with almost all of our cats loose and uncaged, unless they are ill or new to the shelter.

As Whiskers Animal Benevolent League enters its fourth decade of providing care and aid for homeless cats and kittens throughout the Capital District, we are grateful for the dedication of our volunteers, those who support us with their generous donations, and many others who assist us in continuing our important mission day by day, and we are looking forward to the years to come, and the kitties to come!

Making a Difference for Over 30 Years!

The gift of life is wrapped in your support...

Thank you from all of us.

Whiskers Animal Benevolent League PO Box 11190, Albany, NY 12211 • (518)458-CATS (2287) www.ewhiskers.com • admin@ewhiskers.com