REST ASSURED WE ARE PROUD TO IMPLEMENT COVID-19 PRECAUTIONARY PPE SAFETY MEASURES ON EVERY SERVICE CALL AND INSTALL
Suburban News
Hamlin-Clarkson Herald
Westside News Established 1953 Serving the communities of Spencerport-Ogden, Churchville-Riga, North Chili, Hilton-Parma, Hamlin, Clarkson, Kendall, Bergen, Clarendon, Holley-Murray, Brockport-Sweden
May 31, 2020
Issue No. 21
westsidenewsny.com
Angels providing meals and love to community children during crisis by Tami Raco When the state required all schools to close due to the pandemic, it left many local families who were dependent on school meals in a crisis. According to the Brockport Transportation Director Matt Schultz, “With no advance notice many school aged children lost their breakfasts and lunches.” The district quickly organized an outreach to provide Brockport Central School District students two meals, five days a week.
Lisa hands meals and milk to a Brockport family with elementary age children. Photo by Julia Mungenast.
The Food Services Department under the direction of Steven Small, Transportation Department under the direction of Matt Schultz, and many employees volunteering were able to prepare meals, set up stations, deliver meals with district volunteers to provide the meals to each child who was in need. The district set up six locations throughout Brockport, Clarkson, and Hamlin where social distancing and safety measures were in place. “We give out over 1,200 meals a day to more than 600 community children,” said Schultz. The district provides these meals at no charge and plans to continue throughout the remainder of the school year. Each site has several volunteers every weekday handing out the meals to students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. They receive a breakfast, a lunch, two milks, and any special dietary requests or allergies are accommodated. “It’s been great seeing the community pull together to make this happen. Both the meals and the friendly faces of the volunteers from the district have been
Lorie helps children select books to read at home while providng them breakfast and lunch for the day. Photo by Julia Mungenast.
Westbound lanes of LOSP in Kendall closed for a month The westbound lanes of the Lake Ontario State Parkway between Route 237 and Route 98 in Kendall closed after Memorial Day. They will remain closed for approximately one month, according to the New York State Department of Transportation. The closure is necessary to accommodate repairs being made to the Lake Ontario shoreline, just north of the parkway, by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.
Westbound traffic along the parkway will be detoured at the Route 237 exit and use Route 18 to continue west. The road is expected to re-open to vehicular traffic by the end of June, though work is weather dependent and subject to change. For real-time travel information, motorists should call 511 or visit www.511NY.org, New York State’s official traffic and travel information source. Provided information
Lisa Kennedy, Tanya Grugnale, Lorie Dennis, and Diane Rood (shown l-r) volunteer distributing meals and more to Brockport CSD students. Photo by Julia Mungenast. greatly appreciated by the families. The response has been awesome. We have been getting emails from parents expressing their gratitude. It not only provides nutrition to these children, but it’s been good to get them out, walking and interacting with the volunteers. Something they are looking forward to,” said Schultz. The volunteers are district employees. Lorie Dennis and Diane Rood are both district bus drivers and, from the start of the program, they have worked every single day at the Seldon Square location on West Avenue. Both ladies have gone the extra mile in showering the children with love and often extra goodies by providing books, clothing, stuffed animals, face masks and treats to the children. Many of the books and animals were donated but Lorie and Diane have even purchased books with their own money, that they knew the kids would enjoy. “There was a boy here who loved dragons, so Lorie ordered him some dragon books and surprised him with them,” said Diane. Lorie and her sister, Cherie, also made 1,000 face masks. Many of them were given for free to the children and their families. “It helps keep us busy,” said Lorie.
Diane has been driving buses for Brockport for almost four years as her retirement job. “Driving a school bus has been the most rewarding job ever,” said Diane. “We know these children by name and love being here to make them smile.” Tanya Grugnale and Lisa Kennedy are both teacher aides in the district and volunteer at the West Avenue site with Diane and Lorie. The Seldon Square/West Avenue location feeds 100 children a day, providing 1,000 meals every week. In this unprecedented time of social distancing, schools being closed, public libraries being closed, and lack of social and recreational interaction, this program is providing far more than meals to the community. Kids and their parents can get out of the house, get some fresh air, pick from a selection of food choices for breakfast and lunch, get a new book to read or a stuffed animal to snuggle and, most importantly, feel the love from their school district and its angels. Food site locations and times are found at https://bcs1.org/news/what_s_ new/bcsd_covid-19/student_meals_program.
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