Faces of Resilience in 2020 Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County
USPS-525-100
EXTENSION CONNECTION
VOLUME XCII No. 1
JANUARY 2021
Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County’s Annual Report to the Community 2020 celebrates Faces of o Resilience, individuals and partners who joined together to face the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. From sowing seeds to sewing masks, CCE Sullivan put knowledge to work and boots on the ground: delivering food to local folks through the Sullivan Fresh Community Cupboard, ensuring open markets for farmers with the Sullivan Fresh Farmers’ Market-on-the-Move, and ShopTasteNY.com, hosting food businesses in the Catskillss Kitchen, connecting caregivers in virtual classes and support groups, moving the Sullivan County Youth Fair online to showcase our talented youth, introducing the first online Plant Sale with all plants grown from seed in our on-site greenhouse, and hosting online forums to answer questions about the “new normal” at home and in the community. This upcoming issue features photos of our friends and Sullivan As always, always we’ll pair features neighbors, with testimonials about their experiences with CCE Sullivan. with metrics and important acknowledgements, plus a word from our board of directors. Happy New Year!
“Comfort in Uncertainty” “Gratifying”
“Very Special Effort” “What does it take to make something from nothing? The blood, sweat, and tears that are shed in order to serve, and the toll they take are worthwhile because of teamwork. Having the collective buy-in from CCE and the community makes this a very special effort for all involved. I am proud to be associated with all who stood shoulderto-shoulder and made something from nothing.”
“All we knew in the early days of the pandemic was that life as it was came to a screeching halt. Growing plants in the greenhouse for our online plant sale, it was just me and the plants. Yet I felt the presence of everyone who would order, grow, enjoy, and be nourished by them. It was an honor and great comfort in uncertainty to serve with my heroic CCE coworkers and spend my time nurturing your plants.”
M A R T I N C O L AV I T O
BRENDA MILLER
Program Manager Sullivan Fresh Community Cupboard
Program Manager CCE Environment & Natural Resources
“The community support in transitioning from in-person Youth Fair to a virtual, distanced evaluation/exhibition experience was gratifying. Still projects were judged remotely and featured via public slideshow. Small animal showmanship were undertaken both distanced and by Zoom, and large livestock classes by video submissions. The 2020 Sullivan County Youth Expo demonstrated great multi-generational efforts by members and volunteers to learn new technology and processes while maintaining health guidelines.”
M a ry l i n J o n e s Program Coordinator Sullivan County 4-H Youth Development Program