HIGH NOTES: Ambulance for Haiti, BBQ for nursery, planting bulbs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Gazette Editorial Board

In Schenectady, Zion Lutheran Church recently hosted a chicken barbecue in its Nott Terrace parking lot to benefit Schenectady Day Nursery’s Nutrition Program. Children enrolled at the day nursery enjoy a nutritious breakfast and a hot lunch each day. The Nutrition Program, which teaches healthy food choices and nutritious practices, represents a significant item in the nursery’s annual budget. Zion Lutheran Church collaborates with Schenectady Day Nursery as part of its “Beyond Our Walls” initiative, which is designed for Zion Lutheran Church congregants to reach out to the nearby community. Day Nursery board members volunteered at the event. Extra chicken dinners were donated to the “Men’s Shelter” at the City Mission in Schenectady. M&T Bank sponsored the fund-raising event.

In Amsterdam, 11 Amsterdam High School students and Fulton-Montgomery County Master Gardener Jan Duchessi on a recent Saturday morning planted 220 daffodil and tulip bulbs in the front flower beds of the Amsterdam Free Library. The bulbs were donated by Home Depot and Lowes.

In Schenectady, the Schenectady Rotary, Mohawk Ambulance and the Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service teamed up to donate a fully supplied ambulance to serve the Haitian community of Carrefour, a bedroom community of 511,000 residents located just west of Port-Au-Prince. The community is beset by water and health problems, as well as civil turmoil that plagues the rest of the country. Led by longtime Rotary member Brian Merriam, the effort to provide the community with an ambulance began three years go with a request from the community’s mayor. After making numerous attempts to find an ambulance, Merriam got a call from the Mayo Clinic, which offered to donate one of its old vehicles. Late last month, the 2009 Ford E350 ambulance began making its way to the Port of Baltimore, with the goal of having it arrive in Haiti early next month. Mohawk Ambulance donated some supplies to help stock the ambulance.

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High Notes is a Monday feature of The Gazette Opinion section spotlighting the good being done in our communities by individuals, charitable organizations, schools, colleges and businesses. Send your suggestions for High Notes to Editorial Page Editor Mark Mahoney at [email protected]