Hinchey makes re-election bid in 41st Senate Districtby Melanie Lekocevic / October 31, 2022Related Posts
Rotary 5K raising funds for pickleball court
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
GREENVILLE — The Greenville Rotary is planning its second annual 5K race for next month.
The Greenville Rotary Responds 5K received approval from the Greenville Town Council at the board’s March 20 meeting and will be held May 20.
This will be the event’s second year.
“They did it last year and it was a great fundraiser for the community,” Town Supervisor Paul Macko said. “Everything will be staged at the North Barn [at George V. Vanderbilt Town Park]. They had a very good crowd last year and it was a very good fundraiser for the Rotary. The vast majority of that fundraising money went back into the community.”
Rotarian Maggie Cunningham told the board the Rotary was working with the county and the state on road closures for the day of the race but said disruptions to traffic would be minimal.
“I think the last time they only had the road closed at [Route 32] and Irving [Road] for a few minutes and we had people stationed there to help,” Cunningham said.
The race is a fundraiser for local groups and projects.
“The last time we did it the proceeds went to signage for the park,” Cunningham said.
Proceeds from this year’s race will go towards a fund to build one or more pickleball courts at the town park, with Rotary working in conjunction with the town of Greenville and the non-profit group Community Partners of Greenville.
Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Membership in USA Pickleball, the sport’s governing body, reached 70,000 in February of this year, nearly a 30% increase compared to 2022, according to the USA Pickleball website.
The sport is played with two or four players, using a perforated hollow plastic ball and a racket, and resembles tennis, but is played on a smaller court.
Registration to participate in the 5K run/walk is ongoing. Each participant will receive a T-shirt, a participation medal and a goodie bag. There will be no age-level prizes or trophies.
The race route will begin at George V. Vanderbilt Town Park, head onto Route 32 for a brief distance before turning onto Irving Road, Newry Lane, Devan Road and then back to the park.
After the race, participants are invited to take part in a free yoga session at the park. The yoga session will be provided by the Bhakti Room; participants must bring their own yoga mat or blanket.
The cost to sign up is $30 between now and May 19, with a $35 registration fee on the day of the race. Children ages 10 and under may register for $5 at any time up to the day of the race. Children in strollers do not need to register, but in order to receive a T-shirt, registration will be needed.
The Greenville Rotary Responds 5K Run/Walk will be held on May 20 and will be from 9-11 a.m., beginning at the town park on Route 32. The race is sanctioned by USA Track & Field. The Greenville Pioneer is one of the race’s sponsors.
The 5K is part of the Rotary Day of Service, a larger Rotary event taking place in 10 states throughout the Northeast, with Rotary Clubs providing community service in a variety of ways.
GOOD NEWS!: CROP Walk raises thousands for local, global hunger
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
RAVENA — About 70 church parishioners walked through the village last Sunday raising money and awareness of hunger on both the local and global levels.
The annual CROP Walk started out at Mosher Park, traveled through the village making several stops for prayer and reflection along the way, and then concluded back at the park.
The event, hosted locally by the RCS Association of Churches, has been held for about 40 years.
“We want to let people see what the churches are doing, that we are concerned about the world and that we are not just locked into our buildings,” said the Rev. Antonio Booth, one of the event’s organizers. “And we also have a concern about people who are hungry — this is a good way to raise money, build fellowship and make people aware of some of the things that we do for the community. That’s why we stop at the churches, the food pantries, we go to Senior Projects and the backpack program, so people can see what we are doing locally.”
About $4,000 was raised as of Sunday, with one-quarter of those funds staying local and distributed by the RCS Association of Churches and the rest distributed globally by Church World Service.
“[Church World Service] does a lot of training related to agriculture, training people so they can feed themselves. Some people start small businesses so they can raise an income for themselves,” Booth said. “They work in refugee camps, like in Tanzania, and show them how to raise sustainable vegetables so they can feed themselves during food shortages. It’s not just giving out food but training people so they can be more sustainable.”
Locally, participating churches included Grace United Methodist, Trinity United Methodist, Riverview Missionary Baptist, Congregational Christian, St. Patrick’s, New Baltimore Reformed, and First Reformed and United Methodist churches in South Bethlehem.
In addition to raising money through sponsors for walkers and donations from participating churches, local residents who live along the walk route were asked to donate bags of nonperishable foods that walkers picked up and carried along the route in small red wagons.
“I think the CROP Walk is important to the community — some of the funds come back to the community so it’s good for us to be involved and it’s also good for us to get together and do something with members of all the different churches,” said Fran Lobdell, the walk’s treasurer.
In 2022, the walk raised $3,500, and the year before it was $5,400, Lobdell said.
Eileen Vosburgh, the team captain for St. Patrick’s Church walkers, has been participating in the annual event for a long time.
“I have been doing this for many years, since my daughter was young,” Vosburgh said. “It brings the community and the churches together. It’s a great event — it really helps the local food pantries and people all over the world.”
Christa Desrosiers, also from St. Patrick’s Church, said events like the walk help create empathy.
“Our youth helped collect change at what we call the ‘Super Bowl’ event, where we collect change for the CROP Walk,” Desrosiers said. “I have never been hungry and my children have never been hungry, and I wanted to make sure people know there are a lot of people who are hungry and we can do something about it.”
The statistics in both the United States and around the world are sobering. Signs posted around Mosher Park during the event stated that about 3 million children in Sudan are malnourished, and 47% of kids under 5 years old in Guatemala suffer from malnutrition — among the highest in the world, according to Church World Service.
In the U.S., nearly 13 million children, or 18%, live in poverty.
Phyllis Shook from Grace United Methodist Church said she has been participating in the walk for years.
“It’s something I have always done,” Shook said. “I just believe in the cause. I love the fact that a lot of the money stays local, plus we have families here that I know need the help.”
After a prayer by Booth, walkers took off from the park to travel along the designated route through the village.
Pastor Reginald Graham from Riverview Missionary Baptist Church pushed parishioner Iris Table in her wheelchair.
“We are here to support the CROP Walk,” Graham said. “We want to support our communities and any efforts that are being done that are positive and helpful. That is what the church is all about — helping people. Secondly, we don’t think anyone should be hungry. In a society with so much abundance, we all have so much to give so hopefully by all of us gathering together and walking, we will encourage others to take part and help.”
Deja Ross and her young son Hakeem Mason from Riverview also participated, and Ross said it is all about helping others.
“We are here to support Riverview and we are here to fulfill God’s promises and to help those who are less fortunate than us,” Ross said.
