SUNY Geneseo recognized individual students and student organizations, a faculty member and community partners with 2015 Volunteer and Service Awards recently during the college’s annual volunteer and service awards dinner. The college’s Advisory Committee on Volunteer and Service Programs created the awards in 2011 to recognize the awardees for their high level of commitment to service with the college’s community partners.
In 2013-14 school year, an estimated 3,678 students engaged in 262,706 hours of community service and academic service-learning, according to Tom Matthews, Geneseo’s associate dean for leadership and service.
The keynote speaker was 1981 Geneseo graduate Jennifer Dunlap, a board member of the Geneseo Foundation and owner of Development Resources Inc., who shared a moving and powerful account her experiences in volunteerism and service to others that have helped guide her life.
Individual students receiving awards were:
Nicholas Brancato, from Stockton, N.Y., who has been a dedicated volunteer firefighter and EMT with the Geneseo Fire Department throughout his entire college career. He has grown with the department and now holds the rank of lieutenant through which he contributes time and energy to assist in improving the community. In addition, he maintains the position of First Assistant Chief for SUNY Geneseo First Response and is a volunteer first responder in his hometown.
Tyler Brickler, from Cohocton, N.Y., who has made a concentrated effort to make an outstanding impact during his senior year by dedicating his free time to Down Syndrome Awareness causes. He assisted in organizing the “I Believe in Jack – Down Syndrome Awareness” campaign, which raised thousands of dollars for the Arc of Livingston-Wyoming. Specifically, he attracted the attention of the local media and community with his successful Down Syndrome Awareness hockey game.
David Ernst, from Delmar, N.Y., who has been involved in community service throughout his undergraduate career. He has volunteered with Alpha Phi Omega for eight semesters and served as the vice president for service in 2013. He has been a resource and mentor for brothers in terms of service programs and opportunities. In the past year he has increased relationships between Alpha Phi Omega and Morgan Estates. He has also planned the rush service opportunities during the spring semester. Ernst also volunteers with the Office of Admissions, has been a tour guide for seven semesters and is an active member of National Residence Hall Honorary.
Jennifer Grom, from Pleasantville, N.Y., who has been committed to community service both locally and internationally. Locally, she has served as a Geneseo class treasurer for four years, a presidential scholar, an ambassador of philanthropy, and a social justice chair of EcoHouse. Internationally, she was a youth delegate at the 2014 World Conference on Youth, worked collaboratively on the Colombo Declaration, and directed both an orphan relief program, HOPE, and an international pen pal program, Stamping Out Prejudice One Letter At A Time. In addition, she cofounded an international scholarship program, Save A Future with Education (SAFE), that has funded over 500 scholarships.
John Saugy, from Bethpage, N.Y., who has been a dedicated volunteer in many capacities such as volunteering on Livingston County CARES’ service trip to Biloxi, Miss., and serving as the philanthropy chair for Sigma Nu Chi fraternity. As philanthropy chair, he organized a school supply drive for the Livingston County Backpack Lunches for Kids Program, a car wash benefitting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a toy drive for the Golisano Children’s Hospital, the “Greek Olympics” for the American Cancer Society, and led his fraternity in the National Order of Omega Greek Competition. Currently, he is a Relay for Life team captain and the treasurer on the Inter-Greek Council executive board.
Organizations receiving awards were Hippies for Hope, a charitable organization working to support both local and global communities. The organization tie-dyes items, which are donated to local children hospitals such as Strong Memorial Hospital or are sold on campus and in the local community. The money raised from each item sold is donated to a global organization. This year Hippies for Hope is collecting money to sponsor a young Nicaraguan woman’s college education. Their motto and message for the world is “Wear a Shirt. Give a Smile. Spread Hope.”
The National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), an honor society for one percent of Geneseo’s active student leaders. The Geneseo NRHH prides itself on its dedication to on-campus promotion of recognition and service, two values established by the national organization. Over the past decade, NRHH has participated in promoting Geneseo’s Alzheimer’s Walk. Last year, NRHH hosted a bone marrow registration drive during Geneseo’s Relay for Life and registered over 100 new bone marrow donors.
Sigma Nu Chi, a local fraternity founded at SUNY Geneseo in 1985. This year, the organization won the Make Your Mark Greek Challenge, the National Order of Omega Greek Competition, and the Livingston County Office for the Aging Community Service Award. Sigma Nu Chi has raised hundreds of dollars for charitable organizations including the American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the American Cancer Society through fundraising initiatives such as a talent show, a car wash, and the first “Greek Olympics.”
The Livingston County Office for the Aging (Kaaren Smith, Director), which coordinates and delivers various services for senior citizens in the local area. The Office for the Aging strives to improve the quality of life for senior citizens by assisting them to remain independent and in the comfort of their homes for as long as safely possible. Smith has been with the organization since its inception in December 1979 and has gone above and beyond the call of duty to educate the community on the importance of caring and advocating for the senior citizen population. She received special recognition during the ceremony.
The advisory committee for the second year recognized a faculty member for commitment to volunteerism and service. Gary Towsley, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics at SUNY Geneseo, has been devoted to charitable causes for over 30 years. He joined a team of Geneseo professors, alumni and townspeople in 1984 to support Distinguished Teaching Professor Bill Cook’s effort to use good food to raise money for homeless teens in New York City. Since that time, the program, under Towsley’s quiet leadership, has produced a diverse menu of successful meals that raise money for causes, including Hispanic scholarships and local charities and organizations, including the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts. The group serves an average of 900 meals each year and has raised approximately $250,000 since it began. It has become so successful that this culinary team was given a name, “The Philanthropic Chefs.” Livingston CARES’ semi-annual fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina relief, “Gumbo-to-Go,” would not have been imagined without the steady, backstage work of Towsley.
Matthews thanked Wegmans for a generous gift made to create the awards for the recipients. Other sponsors of the event were the college’s GOLD Program (Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development), the Volunteer Center, Center for Community and the Division of Student and Campus Life.