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
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LET TER FROM THE CCE SULLIVAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Greetings! We had such a heavy year, we thought we’d lighten things up a bit with our 2020 Annual Report Teaser. In the spirit of the theme of our 2020 Annual Meeting: Resilience, I encourage you to take a bit of time for yourself, grab a cup of tea or hot cocoa, and peruse this light edition of the Extension Connection. If you missed our 106th Annual Meeting, visit http://sullivancce.org/about-us/board-governance. In just under 55 minutes our keynote speaker, Family and Community Resilience Educator Julika von Stackelberg from CCE Orange, led us through an engaging and concise presentation reminding us that we are resilient and supported by each other and our community. We welcomed our newest board and Program Advisory Committee members, recognized this year’s Friends of Extension Awards recipients, reflected on the hardships of 2020, and yes, celebrated our program participants and partnerships. I invite and encourage you to take a peek. Congratulations to CCE Sullivan’s 2020 Friends of Extension: • • • • •
The Callicoon Pantry The Early Bird Cookery Monticello Central School District Sullivan County Division of Planning, Community Development, and Real Property Brey’s Egg Farm
To close out the year, CCE Sullivan led several fundraising campaigns. With your help we brought in nearly $20,000 in December! With New York State grant reimbursements frozen, the waiving of all program fees for the last 10 months, and limits on the amount of Catskills Kitchen rentals we can have in the building, cash flow around here is sparse to say the least. I can’t tell you what a relief your support has been as we enter a new year.
Thank you...Thank you...Thank you!!! As for 2021, I imagine the Extension Education Center will continue to be closed for public walk-ins and in-person programs through the first half of the year. In the meantime, folks can still call or email to set up individual technical assistance appointments (at the office following physical distancing and masking protocols, by phone, or via Zoom), ask general inquiries across all five program areas, or just check in for a chat. Our staff is still working full time and will use the cold months to continue to address food security issues across the county, offer virtual learning opportunities, upgrade our website and databases, and to be prepared to offer in-person, outdoor programs and volunteer activities for the summer season if we are able to do so safely. Until next month, please, stay vigilant in following physical distancing and masking guidance, be well, and check other by phone, email, and text messages. Happy new year! eck in on each oth he err b yp
Colleen Monaghan, Executive Director | cm638@cornell.edu