3/21/2016

Fulton, NY ? United Way of Greater Oswego County will hold its 8^th Annual Stone Soup Too Luncheon on April 14^th at Holy Trinity Parish located at 309 Buffalo Street in Fulton.? To date a number of caring local restaurants and businesses have come forward to donate the food and beverages necessary for the Stone Soup Too Luncheon.

?We?re putting together a great menu with plenty of delicious soups,? said United Way Resource Development Director Ali McGrath.? ?Blue Moon Grill, Tavern on the Lock, The Foursome Diner, and Mimi?s Drive will be providing a variety of homemade soups for our luncheon.? Other menu items are being donated by C?s Farm Market and Beverage Center, Kathy?s Cakes and Specialty Treats, Joe?s Corner Market, Davis? Brothers Meats, Springside at Seneca Hill, Dunkin Donuts (Fulton), Red Baron Pizza and Hudson Dairy.? In addition, a donation from Tops Friendly Markets in Fulton will provide for centerpieces featuring cans of soup at each table.?

United Way?s Stone Soup Too luncheon serves as an important awareness drive of United Way?s impact area of ending hunger in Oswego County.? ?Our community food pantries are feeling the strain of trying to meet the need for food subsidy in Oswego County.? The Stone Soup Too luncheon will have a positive effect on their efforts as well as our impact area of ending hunger in Oswego County,? added McGrath.

United Way?s Stone Soup Too Luncheon is open to the public and will be held Thursday, April 14^th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Parish, 309 Buffalo Street in Fulton.? United Way will be accepting donations of $5 per person at the door and attendees are encouraged to please bring a donation of non-perishable food items. All proceeds and food donations from the luncheon will be used to support area food pantries including Catholic Charities of Oswego County, the Salvation Army of Oswego County, and the Hannibal Resource Center Food Pantry.

Those unable to attend the luncheon but would like to donate food items may contact Tim Archer at Catholic Charities of Oswego County, 315-598-3980 ?for information on where to drop off non-perishable food donations throughout Oswego County.

For more information on the United Way?s Stone Soup Too luncheon contact your United Way office at 315-593-1900 or visit oswegounitedway.org.?

Cut line for photo: Resource Development Director for the United Way of Greater Oswego County Ali McGrath accepts a gift card from Sean Grant, manager of Tops Friendly Markets in Fulton for the agency?s 8^th Annual Stone Soup Too luncheon.? The donation will be used to purchase centerpieces including cans of soup for each table.? United Way?s Stone Soup Too luncheon is provided by local area restaurants and small businesses all in effort to raise awareness to end hunger in Oswego County.? A variety of soups will be provided by Blue Moon Grill, Tavern on the Lock, The Foursome Diner, and Mimi?s Drive.? To be held April 14^th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Parish, 309 Buffalo Street in Fulton the luncheon is an important awareness drive of United Way?s impact area of ending hunger in Oswego County.

3/11/2016

Fulton, NY ? The United Way of Greater Oswego County would like to invite community members to be part of the agency?s program funding process by participating as a volunteer member of the United Way?s Community Investment Committee.? Comprised entirely of concerned community members, the United Way?s Community Investment Committee is responsible for evaluating various agency programs that are available in Oswego County and recommending to the United Way Board of Directors the funding support that these programs should receive.

Participation in the United Way?s Community Investment Committee provides volunteers with a unique opportunity to learn more about their community and make critical decisions on how the money raised during the United Way?s Annual Campaign will be distributed to the county?s human services providers.

?The United Way addresses human service needs throughout Oswego County. It is of the utmost importance that the community is involved in this process.? Having volunteers from a broad cross section of the community is beneficial as each brings different skills and perspectives to the process,? said Bill Crist, president of the United Way?s Board of Directors.

Volunteers will be asked to serve on one of five panels, each of which deals with a specific field of service: Emergency Services, Children and Family Services, Health and Special Needs, Senior Services, and Youth Development.? Panel members will visit agencies that offer programs related to their specific field of service where they will receive a tour of the agency.

While the United Way?s program funding process does not begin until April, the United Way is currently recruiting volunteers now so that the Community Investment Committee and the individual panels can be established and the volunteers can receive the training they need.

As a custodian of community contributions, United Way ensures that those dollars are used in a cost efficient manner to fund effective, meaningful, unduplicated services.? ?We provide our Community Investment Committee volunteers with a thorough overview of the principles and polices that are a part of our program funding process.? With those parameters in mind, their objective study and review of agency programs will help ensure that there will be an effective and well-balanced array of community services available in Oswego County,? said Executive Director of the United Way of Greater Oswego County Patrick Dewine.

Members are asked to invest approximately 15 hours of their time as they meet in April for training and then conduct agency tours and budget reviews throughout May.? ?Volunteers learn about the many human services programs available in Oswego County. They work together to make informed decisions, knowing that their input is important to the process.? It is a process that takes little time, but produces big results and provides volunteers with a real sense of accomplishment that many have found very rewarding,? said Crist.

United Way Board of Directors member, Shawn Seale of Key Bank, who along with Debra Braden of Fulton Savings Bank is co-chairperson of the United Way?s Community Investment Committee and has previously served on the Children and Family Services panel, found his experience with the program funding process a worthwhile one.

?The work that the panels do is very effective in evaluating the various agency programs and assessing the impact that these programs have on those they serve,” said Seale.? ?The program funding process is very important as it allows community members who have no ties with the agencies and / or programs to take an objective look at what the programs do and how they impact the community.”?

“It also allows these same people the opportunity to see how United Way dollars are being used in our community and realize that the United Way ensures that their dollars are used wisely by holding its member agencies accountable and measuring their programs outcomes.? While it can be difficult deciding what programs receive funding it is also very rewarding to be able to award agencies what they need monetarily to continue their programs.?

?We are proud of our program funding process and very appreciative of the concerned community members who volunteer their time to serve on our Community Investment Committee and choose to make a difference in our community,? added Dewine.

For more information on the United Way?s program funding process, or to volunteer as an Allocations Committee member, you may contact your United Way office at 315-593-1900.

Cut line for photo: Debra Braden (r) manager of Fulton Savings Bank?s Central Square branch and Shawn Seale (l) branch manager with Key Bank in Oswego, co-chairpersons for the United Way of Greater Oswego County?s Community Investment Committee, meet with United Way Executive Director Patrick Dewine to discuss this year?s allocation process.? The United Way is currently inviting community members to become an active part of the United Way?s funding process by volunteering to serve on one of five panels that access a specific field of service: Emergency Services, Children and Family Services, Health and Special Needs, Senior Services, and Youth Development.? Panel members visit agencies that offer programs related to their specific field of service where they will receive a tour of the agency.?? For more information, or to volunteer, contact your United Way office at 315-593-1900, ext. 201, or visit oswegounitedway.org

3/3/2016

Fulton, NY ??United Way of Greater Oswego County is hosting its 8th Annual community luncheon provided by local area restaurants and small businesses all in effort to raise awareness to end hunger in Oswego County. Committee members for the Stone Soup Too Luncheon meet to plan the menu for this year?s event. Scheduled for Thursday, April 14th the luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Parish, 309 Buffalo Street in Fulton. The luncheon is an important awareness drive of United Way?s impact area of ending hunger in Oswego County.

The Stone Soup Too Luncheon is open to the public. United Way will be accepting donations of $5 per person at the door and attendees are encouraged to please bring a donation of non-perishable food items. All proceeds and food donations from the luncheon will be used to support area food pantries including Catholic Charities of Oswego County, Salvation Army of Oswego County, and the Hannibal Resource Center Food Pantry. Seated from left are: United Way Intern Kalyn Duguay, Tim Archer and Helen Hoefer of Catholic Charities of Oswego County, Karen Hubel of Blue Moon Grill, Steve Chirello of Chirello Advertising, and Kathy Pipher of Oswego County Opportunities (OCO). Absent from photo are committee members Cathy Trowbridge of the City of Fulton and Janet Rebeor, community volunteer.