Paul Szmal: Time to bring in Rhonda Jasper from the Seneca County United Way for our monthly visit. Happy July, Rhonda. How are you?
Guest: I'm good. How are you?
Paul Szmal: Good, good. And we want to start with the July value of the month. Always. So July's value this month is citizenship. So service to others makes a difference at home and in the community. Yeah, it has a little bit of a different definition from what people would think in this case.
Guest: Absolutely. I think it really shows and points towards our piece and what we can do. I know we talk about, you know, you can't change everything around you, but you certainly are in control of what you do. So being able to treat everyone around you with respect, you know, the random acts of kindness, staying involved with your community, you know, as well as staying informed and knowing your history and doing all those pieces. And, you know, and sometimes for an adult, this can be as simple as, all right, you're pulling up to an intersection, somebody's trying to get out of the gas station and letting them in.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's just that one little thing sometimes can actually make some people's day, believe it or not.
Guest: It does, and a wave back to the person who let you in.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, exactly. That too, that too. As far as kids go, how does the citizenship value on the month apply for them?
Guest: Well, I think a lot of it involves the adults around them really encouraging them, you know, that good citizenship and being a good part of the community starts at home with the choices you make, you know, giving them opportunities to learn about history and things around us, but definitely encouraging them to respect community property and stay involved, you know, not only by volunteering or, you know, participating in activities in the community, but even by knowing what's going on locally.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. If you start kids early being involved in their community, it kind of takes root and translates to them being involved with the community when they become adults.
Guest: Oh, absolutely. It just becomes part of what they do. It's part of their routine.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. All right. Let's talk about some of the events that you have coming up because we're kind of in the busy time of year here, Rhonda, where there's a lot going on. And the first of these activities is actually tomorrow.
Guest: Yeah, it's actually one of our partners. The senior center is doing their open house celebration. They have their new space up and ready to go over at the county office building in Waterloo. So one to three tomorrow, they're going to have food and music and games. You know, we'll be doing some kids activities, but mostly we're there to support our our partners over there.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. The senior center does a lot of great work and has for a number of years. And it's cool that they have some new space now in that county office building.
Guest: It is it is. And, you know, we've been fortunate to be able to work with them as as a funding partner for a very long time. But most recently, we've really been able to get into some program work and work with the seniors there, you know, really bringing some opportunities, some learning opportunities and everything. You know, Elizabeth, one of our workers here, has started a senior ambassador program to get, you know, some of the seniors more involved in their community, speaking of citizenship and more aware of what's going on. So it's been really exciting.
Paul Szmal: And speaking of exciting, a bicentennial celebration in Lodi kicks off August right on the first.
Guest: Absolutely. They've got all sorts of exciting stuff planned. We are only a small part of it doing some kids activities and, of course, supporting the community. Definitely Google and get all their details. I don't want to give anything incorrectly. And I don't know that one as well as the others. But certainly it's going to be exciting. Go down, check it out. They've been planning it for well over a year. So I would say it's definitely going to be worth the drive if you're driving from the north end.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Rhonda Jasper from the Seneca County United Way here on AFL-X Morning. August 4th. We've been talking about this for the past couple of months because this is not only a local event, but it's a national event.
Guest: It is. It's one of our biggest events of the year. We work with all the local law enforcement partners. And it's I mean, the national part is that there's a bunch of them happening across the nation all on the same day. And it's really an opportunity for the youth in the community, the community as a whole, to get to know our law enforcement in a different way, to see them in a different light, to learn about what they do, you know, to really get rid of some of that stigma between it and show that that there is a community connection. We know a lot of times law enforcement, we only run into them on our worst days. So, you know, that's not always the best time to get to know someone. But we have fantastic law enforcement in Seneca County. We are very fortunate for how community minded they are and how much they participate with our youth and are part of all of our efforts here, you know, to build a stronger community. So it's a great day to be able to celebrate them and the work they do and really just get out there and have some fun.
Paul Szmal: And here's something fun that's going along with the National Night Out. You are doing a Nerf gun collection drive.
Guest: We are. So this year, new this year, we're going to do a kids versus cop Nerf blaster battle. That's tough to say. But we're definitely going to need some Nerf blasters to be able to fill it. Based on the past years of the water balloon toss, we know there are a ton, ton of kids and a ton of law enforcement officers who want to be involved. So the more Nerf blasters we get donated, gently used, clean and working order, the more we can have out there working at once.
Paul Szmal: And where can people drop those off?
Guest: They can drop them right here at the right. They could drop them to our office. But at Seneca Falls Police Department, they've got a collection site set up right there.
Paul Szmal: Excellent. Excellent. I hope somebody gets video of that.
Guest: Oh, absolutely. Yes, there are always some wonderful photos and videos from the day.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that sounds like an absolute riot for the kids. So and then the officers.
Guest: Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure they're having fun with it, too.
Paul Szmal: And as you said, that's a whole part of this National Night Out program is to kind of take some of that stigma away and get kids comfortable with folks from law enforcement and even adults to a degree, because, hey, law enforcement people are people, too. So, you know, you get to know the person behind the badge.
Guest: Absolutely. And again, the way adults interact and the beliefs and thoughts adults have really affect the kids around us, even if they're not your kids in your house, how you interact and how you treat others really does affect those and shape that. So certainly any adults, families, kids are welcome to come check it out. You get, you know, a chance to meet and ask questions. And of course, there's there's food and snacks and all sorts of fun stuff. And all our partners are set up with freebies at their table. So definitely worth it.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. Just from especially younger kids, they watch and they listen to everything.
Guest: Well, they don't miss a thing.
Paul Szmal: Exactly. Their sponges. There's one other event coming up at the end of August that we want to give a call out for here early. It's another free event that is going to happen on Oak Island in Waterloo. It's called Painting the Picture to Wellness Through Awareness.
Guest: Yeah, this is a great again, this is a huge a community effort with the Suicide Prevention Coalition and obviously our office with that Council on Alcoholism, Seneca County Public Health Rotary from Waterloo, all working together. A great family event. We're going to have snow cones, face painting, maybe the most fun thing at seven o'clock. We'll do the kids color run. So you get the white T-shirts and all the chalk and we get to really have fun and make a rainbow of it, a spinner and all sorts of stuff for the family to do. And again, that is Monday, August 31st, 6 till 8 p.m. at Oak Island in Waterloo. And that is another free event from the Seneca County United Way.
Paul Szmal: The SCOOP program, which is the Opioid Overdose Prevention Coalition. That's another one that try saying that three times fast. They're working on a community outreach day and a canvassing event. What can you tell us about that, Rhonda?
Guest: So what we know is that, you know, a lot of the work we do across all of the coalitions under Coalitions United, a lot of the risk factors are the same, whether we're looking at substance use or, you know, problem gambling, whatever it is, the risks are the same. And what we know is social isolation is a huge one. And we have a lot of people who, you know, we say we get all this stuff out, we put it on Facebook, but there's a lot of people who that doesn't reach. And sometimes the only way to get to that is to really reach out to these people where they're at and in their homes. So we're going to start in Interlaken, a smaller community, and we hope to be able to bring it across the county, but really bring some information, talk about not only the programs in the area, get some feedback from people and really reach the people who we might not necessarily be reaching through our normal methods at this point.
Paul Szmal: And if people want to find out more information about some of the events that the United Way is being involved in and some of the partner agencies, or they just want information on maybe making a donation, how do they do that?
Guest: Absolutely. The best way would probably be to follow us on Facebook. Not only is all our information up there, but we do pretty good at sharing partners and other things going on in the area. So if you're looking for something to do, especially family-based, check it out. You can always check out our website uwsenica.org. We've got all sorts of information. Or give us a call 315-539-1135. We love talking about our programs. We'll answer any questions you've got. And again, that Seneca Senior Center Open House Celebration, that is happening tomorrow. And that is from 1 till 3 at their new space in the county office building.
Paul Szmal: Rhonda, as always, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Guest: Oh, thank you.
