BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County has launched its annual Yellow Ribbon Day donation collection drive to benefit Blue Star Mothers of America – NY 2, Saratoga County Clerk Craig Hayner announced March 12. 

Donation collection boxes are at participating Hannaford stores throughout Saratoga County now through April 8.  The collection will culminate on Yellow Ribbon Day, Friday, April 9 with a drive-thru donation drive from 9 to 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Halfmoon. The public is encouraged to visit their local participating Hannaford store or attend the drive-thru event to donate goods.

The Blue Star Mothers – NY2 will use the donations to make “Freedom Boxes” to ship to deployed troops who call the Capital Region home.

Snack and personal care donations requested include individual and travel size packages of crackers, microwavable cup of soup, fruit snacks, granola bars, and beef jerky, as well as personal care items such as insect repellent wipes, toothbrushes, body wash, deodorant, lip balm, puzzle books, and more. A full list of donation requests is on the Saratoga County Clerk webpage on the County website at www.saratogacountyny.gov and its Facebook page,
@saratogacountyclerk.

Monetary donations are also accepted to help ship and fill “Freedom Boxes.” Those interested can donate to “Blue Star Mothers of America – NY2” through the PayPal Giving Fund (www.paypal.com/fundraiser/hub). Alternatively, checks can be made payable to Blue Star Mothers of America – NY2 and sent to PO Box 243, Delmar, NY 12054. Suggested donations include $13 to ship a box; $30 to fill a box; $43 to ship and fill a box; any donation amount is welcome. More information is available on the Blue Star Mothers of America – NY2 Facebook page, @NY2BlueStarMoms. 

For more information, go to: saratogacountyny.gov/saratoga-county-clerk. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County (CCE) and Saratoga PLAN have collaborated to bring a series of three Farmland Access Workshops. Designed for farmland owners and those looking to purchase farmland or diversify their farming operation, the virtual classes will be held 6:30–8:30 p.m. on March 22, March 29, and April 7. 

The series will kick off with Farmland Leasing presented by Nicole Tommell, Agricultural Business Management Specialist of CCE. Learn how to craft agricultural leases that work for both landowners and tenants. 

The second class is Welcoming the Public with Sarah Miller, Attorney at Hodgeson & Russ LLP. This hour and a half will focus on legal considerations to explore when welcoming the public onto your farm. To close the series Dustin Lewis of Saratoga County Soil and Water Conservation District along with Jessica Holmes and Nicolina Foti of CCE present Farmland Evaluation. In this workshop, participants will learn how to find the best fit between agricultural land and farm operation.

The workshops are free and open to the public. To register, contact Nicolina Foti at nvf5@cornell.edu or call the office 518-885-8995. To learn more about other events offered by CCE go to: ccesaratoga.org, and for more information on Saratoga PLAN, visit: saratogaplan.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — After a tough year for many, Stewart’s Shops is delivering some good news to nonprofits in need. Holiday Match had another successful season, and checks are now in the mail to local children’s charities. Funding has now been allocated to 1,715 organizations across the communities where Stewart’s Shops are located. 

From Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Day, customers donated over $940,000 to the program, which was doubled to over $1.88 million with the Stewart’s Shops match. There are no administrative costs with this program, meaning 100% of the funds collected and matched benefit these organizations.

The Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match program has now allocated more than $32 million since the program’s inception in 1986. 

Stewart’s Shops is committed to giving back to the communities in which they are located, donating approximately $2.5 million a year to local non-profits with The Dake Family Foundation contributing an additional $5 million. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Youth2: Youth Helping Youth is partnering with SNACpack for their first “Pop-UP” to light a beacon of hope in Saratoga Springs. 

The Pop-UP will provide warm socks and toothbrushes for children and teens ages 6-18. The drop off location is St. Clement’s Church Parking Lot, 231 Lake Ave, Saratoga Springs – look for the sign. The Pop-UP will continue, rain or shine, and will take place on Thursday, March 25, from 3-5 p.m. The drop off is completely COVID-safe – you don’t need to leave your car. 

In response to the necessities of the changing times, Youth2 hopes to create pop-ups that will provide the community in need with warm socks, toothbrushes, bus passes and more. Youth2 is reaching out to community organizations in and around Saratoga Springs who might want a Community Care Pop UP for their own. 

Youth2 is an organization based in Saratoga Springs (under the care of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region) that consists of youth and adults coming together to work towards a brighter future in their community and beyond. 

SNACpack started six years ago to provide children living in food-insecure homes with meals to sustain them over weekends and throughout the summer. The program is currently helping 260 K-12 students in the Saratoga Springs School District, weekly. 

These Pop-UP events are hands-on ways to help our community. By caring for our community and having a sense of responsibility towards one another, we can all put our hands together and make an impact.

For more information on Youth2 or to donate visit www.cfgcr.org/secure-donations/youth2. 

For more on SNACpack or to donate visit snacpackprogram.com

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “I pledge my hands to larger service” is a phrase that all 4-H members are very familiar with. Saratoga County 4-H Teen Council has been putting these words into action through recent community service activities. 

At their February meeting, Teen Council members made fleece “tie blankets,” that were recently donated to local service organizations including Wellspring in Saratoga Springs, and the Veteran and Community Housing Coalition in Ballston Spa. In addition to making blankets, members also brought food and toiletry items to their meeting, and these items were donated to LifeWorks Community Action in Ballston Spa. 

Community Service opportunities such as these are just one way that Saratoga County 4-H is working to achieve its mission of “creating caring, competent and contributing members of society.” 

Saratoga County 4-H Youth Development is open to all youth in Saratoga County ages 5-18. Saratoga County 4-H offers a diverse range of programming opportunities that allow youth to “learn by doing.”  If you would like more information about Saratoga County 4-H you can visit their website at ccesaratoga.org/4-H, or call the CCE Saratoga office at 51-885-8995. 

UPSTATE NEW YORK — Follow the rainbow to your local Stewart’s Shops on Wednesday, March 17, and enjoy a single scoop ice cream cone for only 50¢ in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. This deal is available to all ages from open to close at any Stewart’s Shops location.

2021 Seasonal Ice Cream Flavor Spring Roll Out: Stewart’s Shops has announced their new seasonal ice cream flavors.

Marionberry Cookie: This marionberry ice cream has a blackberry base with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl and is available now.

Campfire S’Moreo: Available March 29. Toasted Marshmallow ice cream with a graham cracker swirl and Oreo® pieces.

Chocolate Sea Turtle: Available April 5. Chocolate ice cream with sea salt caramel swirl and chocolate fudge pecans.

Raspberry Cheesecake: Available April 12. Cheesecake ice cream with raspberry swirl and pie crust pieces.

Just Peachy: Available April 19. Peach ice cream with a honey swirl and peach pieces.

Piece of Cake: Available April 26. Butter cookie ice cream with a milk chocolate icing swirl and yellow cake pieces

Founded in 1945, Stewart’s Shops is an employee and family-owned convenience store chain based in Saratoga Springs. Stewart’s is known for offering milk, ice cream, coffee, easy food, gasoline, and other convenience items. Today there are over 345 Stewart’s Shops located in 31 counties across upstate New York and southern Vermont.

CAPITAL REGION — A month-long campaign to raise awareness and funds for Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month has been launched by way of a Cerebral Palsy walk event.

The event – announced by family-owned and operated Thomas Pest Services owners Bill Clark and Sarah Thomas-Clark – is the first event of its kind in the Capital Region specific to Cerebral Palsy.

The walk will be virtual, and supporters are asked to join the Thomas Walks for CP Facebook event page, and walk 3.25 miles throughout the month of March, in honor of March 25, which is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. 

Anyone who wishes to donate may do so as well through the event page, with proceeds going to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Walkers are encouraged to wear green, take a selfie or a group picture, and post it on social media using the hashtags #ThomasWalks4CP and #GoGreen4CP

Thomas Pest Services will show support all month long with team members wearing green attire and donating 10% of sales from March 1-31 to the fundraiser.

The Clarks hold this cause near and dear to their hearts because of their young daughter Riley, who was diagnosed with right side spastic hemiplegia when she was 1-1/2 years old. While Riley has suffered impairment to her coordination and fine motor skills, Riley is a fighter, and has been attending weekly occupational and physical therapy to help with her condition.

To learn more about Riley’s story go to: thomaspestservices.com/cerebral-palsy-awareness.

Week One February 26 – March 4:
Photo by Al Marlin

Week Two March 5 – 11:
Photo by Craig Horneck

Week Three March 12 – 18:
Photo by Tina Marie DiVincenzo

Week Four March 19 – 25:
Photo by Thomas Auer

Week Five March 26 – April 2:
Photo by Susan Kimble

Contest runs for 5 weeks.

MIDDLE GROVE — Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York (GSNENY) congratulates RuthAnne Flint for becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout, a designation she earned by creating a waste disposal unit at the Galway Public Library for waste and recyclables.

The Gold Award is earned by a Girl Scout who works to address an issue she’s passionate about in a way that produces meaningful and lasting change. Whether it is on a local, national, or global level, Gold Award Girl Scouts provide innovative solutions to significant challenges.

The waste disposal unit is decorated with environmentally friendly literary characters to appeal to children and adults. Flint also started a program for children at the library to raise awareness about environmental issues and involve the community.

The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national, and global challenges. Since 1916, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change.

Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York (GSNENY), established in June 2007 from the union of four Girl Scout Councils (Hudson Valley, Mohawk Pathways, Adirondack and North Country), represents almost 8,500 Girl Scouts in 15 counties including Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Greene, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Montgomery, Hamilton, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington. For more information, visit girlscoutsneny.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Northeast Woodworkers Association annual Showcase presentation, and the associated Totally Turning symposium normally held during the last weekend of March at the Saratoga Springs City Center has been cancelled again for the second year in a row, due to the ongoing carona virus pandemic.

Showcase, which has been an annual event for 27 years,   normally features hundreds of exhibits ranging from furniture to all other facets of woodworking, along with many vendors, and has attracted thousands of woodworking enthusiasts in the past.

Chairman Wally Carpenter said, “It is with great sadness that we must disappoint the thousands of woodworkers in the Capital District who attend our annual event, however, we are optimistically looking forward to bringing Showcase back next year.”

Assuming the pandemic will have subsided by then,  Showcase has been scheduled to be held at the City Center on the dates of March 26-27, 2022.  For further information, see www.woodworker.org.