Trying to make a difference in this time of COVID-19

The Masked Warriors need you!

If you’re wondering how you can help fill a need during this unprecedented corona virus pandemic, you need to go no further than the Facebook page called The Masked Warriors of Orange County.

The group, formed by Jennifer Rescigno of New Windsor, serves as a centralized location for anyone who can help sew and/or supply masks to local people in need.

Within they first week of the group’s formation, its 170 members have already donated more than 500 masks. That might sound like a lot, but requests for masks keep coming in and the group is struggling to meet the needs of the community.

“We are looking for people who can sew or deliver masks or repair sewing machines or donate fabric,” said Rescigno.

If you’d like to volunteer, contact Rescigno through the group’s Facebook page.

Mount donates thousands of disposable gloves, other equipment to fight COVID-19

Mount Saint Mary College has donated personal protective equipment including more than 7,000 disposable gloves and hundreds of masks and gowns to local hospitals, retirement homes, and the temporary hospital at the Javits Center in Manhattan.

Among the donations to other facilities in the area, the Mount’s School of Nursing sent about 5,000 disposable gloves to Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, 1,500 to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, and about 500 to Four Winds Hospital in Cross River. All of the equipment came from the college’s School of Nursing supplies.

The donations were coordinated by Susan LaRocco, dean of the Mount’s School of Nursing.

The college’s Health Services office donated supplies to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, which was recently converted into a 1,200-bed hospital. New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently requested that area colleges donate protective equipment to the Javits Center. In response, the Mount donated two large cases of surgical masks and two other large boxes that included N95 masks, disposable gloves, face shields, and impermeable gowns.

Community health centers awarded more than $2 million in coronavirus emergency grants

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) announced this week that Cornerstone Family Healthcare in Newburgh and the Ezras Choilim Health Center in Kiryas Joel have received a combined $2.1 million in COVID-19 emergency relief grant funds through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The grants were made possible through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Both community health centers are non-profit organizations that provide quality, low-cost health-care services for New Yorkers in the Hudson Valley. Cornerstone Family Health Care will receive $1,285,325 in grants. The Ezras Choilim Health Center will receive $890,615.

SUNY Orange delays 2020 commencement

SUNY Orange President Dr. Kristine Young announced this week that the college’s 70th commencement ceremony, planned for May 21, will be delayed in response to existing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The college is looking at a suitable way to virtually recognize the Class of 2020 in late May while investigating the potential timing of an in-person ceremony later in the year. Additional details will be shared as they are finalized.

Graduates will receive their degrees in the mail later in the summer, independent of the timing of any rescheduled in-person celebration.

Orange County 4-H lends a hand

“Lending hands to larger service” is a part of the 4-H pledge, and it has taken on new meaning during the Covid-19 pandemic for the Orange County 4-H team at Cornell Cooperative Extension. The 4-Hers are making masks for essential employees and volunteers.

DeAnna Sardella-Matthews, Orange County 4-H resource educator, said the project came about when her own sister, who works in the health-care field, told her that she was in need of a mask. That was all it took for the 4-H team to begin making masks for health-care workers and others in need due to an essential job or volunteer work that might expose them to the virus.

Sardella-Matthews gathered fabric, learned how to make a mask, printed out instructions, put together kits for the 4-H members, and the sewing took off. The project has just begun, but the group has already completed more than 100 masks.

Community Home Health Care of Middletown and the Cornell Cooperative Extension gleaning program team were among the first to receive the masks. Others will soon go to local churches, food pantries and soup kitchens through a safe distribution process.

If you would like to learn how to make a mask, instructions can be found at www.CCEOrangeCounty.org/COVID-19. For more information, call 845-344-1234.

SUNY Orange scholarship application deadline extended

Because the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for many students meet the April 1 scholarship application deadline, the SUNY Orange Foundation has extended the deadline to May 1.

“Because school districts are currently closed and our own SUNY Orange students are just returning from an extended spring break, many students are unable to get the information they need,” said Dawn Ansbro, executive director of the SUNY Orange Foundation. “We have extended the deadline to May 1 to ensure that all students are able to apply.”

The SUNY Orange Foundation offers more than 230 scholarships, totaling approximately $400,000. The scholarships are available to students just entering SUNY Orange, returning students, and those who are graduating from SUNY Orange and transferring to a four-year institution.

A full list of scholarships offered by SUNY Orange, as well as the application itself, can be found at http://www.sunyorange.academicworks.com. To be considered for a scholarship, students must be accepted or enrolled at SUNY Orange.

For more information, call the Foundation office at 845-341-4337.

Gleaning team delivers food during COVID-19 pandemic

For the past 16 years, the mission of Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County’s Gleaning Program has been to deliver donated fresh foods to community organizations, food pantries, emergency shelters and soup kitchens.

And now more than ever, that service is needed. The COVID-19 pandemic has created more barriers and struggles for many people, and the population of those in need of food is growing. It was became instantly clear that Cornell Cooperative Extension had to quickly and safely adapt their food distribution program to our new reality.

Stiles Najac, food security community liaison at Cornell Cooperative, adapted the gleaning program to enlist volunteers to deliver bags of food directly to individuals and families sheltering at home. On April 3, she and two other staff members completed the first deliveries. Najac, Rachel Moody and Daniel Foss put on their masks and gloves, and then split up to make the deliveries safely. Their masks were made by the Orange County 4H team.

Food was donated by TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal, Inc.), an agency serving Rockland and Orange counties. They put together 16 bags of food designed for any kitchen, including ones that only have access to hot plates.

Volunteers are key to supporting this vital work of getting food to those without. If you are interested in volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic, call 845-291-4000. If you are interested in assisting with field gleaning (collecting food from farms), contact Najac at srn28@cornell.edu.

It is Cornell Cooperative Extension’s mission to provide reliable information and to continue serving our communities. Our office is closed but we are still here for you. Call 845-344-1234 or email orange@cornell.edu with any questions or concerns we may be able to help with. Check our website www.CCEOrangeCounty.org/COVID-19 for resources that may help you, your family and others during this time.

Hospice of Orange and Sullivan receives COVID-19 response grant

Less than a week after a response fund was launched by the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, the group awarded a $5,000 grant to the local Hospice organization.

Hospice provides front-line services to some of the most vulnerable populations, patients and families dealing with end of life. The need for Hospice services has stepped up as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We care for patients and families across our two counties and at our Kaplan Family Hospice Residence,” said Dan Grady, president and CEO. “These funds will help us to continue this care and protect our staff as they continue providing our much-needed services.”

Hospice has been a leading community resource for more than 30 years, providing patients and families with compassionate physical, emotional and spiritual end of life care.