Various not-for-profit organizations benefited again Friday from the continued effort that is Community Caring Week.
The Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Chautauqua Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counseling center and SUNY Fredonia Campus and Community Children's Center all received helping hands Friday.
"We had four volunteers: Karen Porpiglia (Associate Vice President Administrative Assistant at SUNY Fredonia) and Denise Szalkowski (SUNY Fredonia Assistant to the President) with her children Mathew and Ashley, at the after school program assisting us with disinfecting the cupboards and getting us set up for this years before and after school program at the Wheelock School," said SUNY Campus and Community Children's Center Director, Judy Metzger. "We are very appreciative of the extra help. These are jobs, kind of like spring cleaning, that are really hard to get to in the middle of your program."
Article Photos
OBSERVER Photo by Frank Besse
Karen Makuch, Matt Szalkowski, Karen Porpiglia, Denise Szalkowski and Ashley Szalkowski at Wheelock School during Community Caring Week.
Like many organizations receiving extra help, the timing couldn't have been better.
"They've been diligent about their work," Metzger said. "We're so lucky, and it's a good time of year because it's just before the start of our school age program and some of the jobs are things we're not able to get to during the year are being taken care of now and it's wonderful."
The CASAC office in Dunkirk, which has a large day-to-day routine of alcohol and substance abuse prevention, received one volunteer to aid in their efforts Friday.
"The Dunkirk office has one volunteer for three hours, Susan Hammond, the principal at Ripley Central, and she's assisting the office manager in clerical work and general office duties," said Kathleen Colby, training coordinator at the Jamestown CASCA office.
"CASAC provides programs for school systems - prevention not treatment - life skills, and we do everything we can to delay the onset of risky behavior and drinking and drugging. We also offer training to the community and those in the field in credential hours, for people who need their Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor."
Colby said CASAC does not normally get a lot of volunteers on a day-to-day basis, but could definitely use them.
Volunteer efforts also continued Friday for ongoing projects throughout the week at the Rural Ministry and CASA, Mayville.
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