Oneida County Children Care Initiative Completes Another Successful Year

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. announced today that the Oneida County Children Care Initiative, an Oneida County Youth Bureau initiative of civic engagement implemented in 2009, recently completed a very successful second year. The initiative is collaboration between the Youth Bureau and community agencies who receive funding from the Youth Bureau to provide programming for youth.

“The youth of our County are provided daily with invaluable life lessons through their service with these agencies,” Picente said. He added, “The intent of Oneida County Children Care was to teach our children the importance of community service through volunteerism. The services these youth volunteers delivered to the residents of Oneida County were truly remarkable.”

 

In 2010, 618 youth volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club of the Mohawk Valley, Compeer of the Mohawk Valley, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Family Services of the Mohawk Valley, Sergeant Eli Parker Youth Center, The Neighborhood Center, Thea Bowman House, Utica Municipal Housing Authority, Utica Safe Schools/Healthy Students/The Underground Café, YMCA of the Greater Tri-Valley and the YWCA of the Mohawk Valley gave residents of Oneida County 546 hours of volunteer service. That service included preparing and serving Thanksgiving dinners to 300 people in Rome, providing 350 Camden school-aged children with book bags filled with school supplies, collecting, tagging, assisting mechanics and fitting helmets on children to give 359 repaired bicycles and new helmets free of charge to the youth of Utica, collecting and distributing 175 coats, hats and mittens to children residents that reside in Utica’s Municipal Housing locations, writing letters, making cards and drawing pictures for Operation Gratitude, an initiative that sends care packages to military men and women overseas, making and sending holiday cards, socializing with and planning and working events for senior citizens, preparing and serving meals at Hope House, raising money and participating in America’s Greatest Heart Run and Walk and Aids Hike For Life, growing vegetables for food pantries, cleaning neighborhoods and playgrounds and the list goes on and on!

 

“Oneida County Children Care began in 2009, grew bigger and better in 2010, and we hope will continue to grow by teaching our children the benefits of being involved, community conscious citizens,” Youth Bureau Director Bob Roth said. Roth added, “If the efforts, results and positive comments from our youth volunteers are any indication, Oneida County residents will be benefitting from the wonderful life lessons our youth learn at our Oneida County youth serving agencies for years to come.”