Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (18): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Pat Bailey, Ron Annis, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Bill Dowd, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Carol Orvis, Becky Raymond, Roberto Martinez, Jeff Simons.

Guests (2): Brad DiPietro, NYS Mentoring Program; Amy Lent.

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We’re near the time for our latest social event — the annual Holiday Party & Themed Gift Basket Silent Auction, set for 6 p.m. next Thursday at Quigley’s. Event coordinator Debbie Brown is accepting reservations until Monday evening via email to mdbrown@nycap.rr.com. Please note, that is a day earlier than usual. The price is just $25 each for a loaded buffet — roast beef and eggplant parm entrees, chef’s choice of side dishes, mashed potatoes, antipasto salad, bread, an assortment of desserts, and a surprise appetizer — PLUS a self-serve bar with wine, beer, and soft drinks. Guests are welcome as always, but an RSVP is necessary. … Phil Kellerman continues to sell three different kinds of specialty coffees for the holidays as a fundraiser for the Capital Region Nordic Alliance which offers adaptive sports for disabled vets and others. …

… Bill Dowd thanked all who contributed to our annual Adopt-a-Family project in conjunction with Circles of Mercy. He reported that even though only about a third of SRC members got involved, with the assistance of some non-members we managhed to exceed  both the family’s wish list and our target number of 50 personal hygiene kits for Circles of Mercy to distribute during the holiday period. … President Andy Leyhane said we are considering holding another raffle for a private wine dinner for 10 at Cafe Capriccio in Albany in the winter. The initial raffle this fall grossed more than $4,000 in sales, with a net to the club of about $2,700. The consensus of those present was that it would be good to proceed, and Andy said we would do so, with Pat Bailey and Debbie Brown working on obtaining items for additional drawing prizes. …

… Calendar: Because of the busy holiday period, this was our final regular meeting of 2018. We will, of course, have our holiday dinner event, but there will be no December breakfast meeting, and no dinner meetings during the Christmas and New Year’s weeks.

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Brad DiPietro, eastern director of the New York State Mentoring Program, was our guest speaker. He described the program and his efforts to recruit and retain more adult mentors for the East Greenbush Central School District.

As the Mentoring Program explains it, children who succeed despite overwhelming personal, economic and social obstacles often do so because of a caring adult in their lives. Mentoring outcomes include greater participation in school, improved attendance, higher graduation and college admission rates, and better overall performance.

The program creates supportive mentor relationships for students at risk of dropping out of school or having difficulty succeeding. This unique program takes place in a school-based setting, one-to-one between the mentor and mentee with a school coordinator present who is selected by the principal. The current aim is to find mentors for Bell Top Elementary.

The program provides background checks and training for volunteer mentors and mentees. Brad said once past the training period, mentors contribute about 45 minutes to an hour once a week from October through May at the school. The program also supports the mentors with activity ideas and materials to help generate relationships with the children.

Anyone interested in being a mentor can begin the process by filling out an online application or calling 844-337-6304.

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