THE CEO’S CORNER
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The
summer is sizzling at STRIDE! The heat is on…and
so are our programs! The golf program was in full
swing, adaptive shooting, camping trips are in
full gear, and sailing should be full steam ahead
as we head through August. With a successful run
of events behind us, including our Annual Meeting,
Volunteer Party and Stride 4 STRIDE 5K, we look
forward to some of our tried and true upcoming
events: the STRIDE Cup Siling Regatta, the Wounded
Warrior Adirondack Camping Retreat and our Annual
Fall Gala. But for the moment, let’s sit back,
relax and enjoy the sunshine!
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5K RAISES $13G!
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| STRIDE
athlete, families, Wounded Warriors and
supporters come out to show their skills in the
second annual 5K
| The
2nd Annual 'STRIDE 4 STRIDE' 5K Run/2.5 Community
Walk and Wheelchair Roll was held on Saturday,
June 25th, at Albany’s Riverfront Corning
Preserve. Despite morning raindrops, we had more
than 200 walkers & runners come out in support
of our organization, which helped us raise MORE
THAN $13,000!
This event, in conjunction
with Olympic Week, embodies STRIDE’s mission: to
educate and empower individuals with special needs
in life-changing sport and recreation programs to
sustain healthy, active and fun lifestyles. With
your help, we continue to move towards our vision:
to have a community with equal opportunity and
access for sport and recreational
activities.
Special thanks to our corporate
sponsors: Phillips Hardware, Capital Region Urology, HVCC, Tri-City Rentals, Englisbe & Associates, Chobani Yogurt, Hannaford Supermarkets, Freihofers, Sam Wilson’s Ice Cream, ARE Event Productions, Bounce-A-Lot, Emily Bowers
Massages, the Albany Devils Street Team, and
the Albany Dutchmen Baseball Team
for their support.
Check out some great
Race Day Photos! http://stride.zenfolio.com/p1046520195
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DESPERATELY SEEKING CAMP
VOLUNTEERS!
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Do
you enjoy the outdoors? Do you like kayaking and
canoeing? Would you be willing to sing songs
around a campfire and make s’mores? Then becoming
a Camp Volunteer is right up your alley! STRIDE
still needs volunteers for the following camping
trips: August
19-21: Thompson’s Lake (Orientation/Training on
Thurs, 8/18 6:30 pm) September
9-11: Taghkanic Lake State Park
(Orientation/Training on Wed, 9/7 6:30
pm) You
must complete a Volunteer Form
and
attend an Orientation Training Session prior to
the camping trip. Click
the Volunteer Form button to complete the
volunteer form and get started. If interested,
contact Mark Moran at mmoran@stride.org
or
(518)
598-1279.
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| UPCOMING
FALL PROGRAMS & EVENTS: MARK YOUR
CALENDARS! |
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| Join
STRIDE's Bowling Leagues at either of our two
locations in East Greenbush or Latham.
| Register
now to secure your spot…programs fill up fast! You
must have a current application including a
current credit card number on file. An Application
can be downloaded from our
website.
ADAPTIVE
TARGET SHOOTING RPI Riffle Range
(Basement of the Robinson Sports Center/Mueller
Bldg. RPI campus, Troy) Saturdays, September 10
through Dec 17 9:30 am – 11::30 am Program Leader-
Chuck Meyer BOWLING Spare Time
Lanes Latham (Troy-Schenectady Road,
Latham) 10:00am Saturday September
24th-November 26th
Spare Time
Lanes East Greenbush (570 Columbia
Turnpike, East Greenbush) 11:30am Saturday
September 24th-November
26th
CAMPING Lake Taghkanic
State Park September 9th-11th *Space is
limited*
LEARN TO
DANCE Contemporary
Dance Steps for STRIDE athletes, ages 8
-15 Isabelle’s School of Dance (1580 Columbia
Turnpike, Castleton) Tuesdays, 6:30 pm -7:15pm
beginning in September Program Leader: Lexi
Gustafson
SAILING Saratoga
Lake Sailing Club Mondays , August 1st- 29th
STRIDE Cup Regatta: Saturday, September 3rd
SWIMMING East Greenbush
YMCA, Instructional Swim Program (20
Community Way, East Greenbush, 12061) Session
I: 10:00am, Session II: 11:00am Sundays,
September 25th – November 20th *Please arrive
at least 15 minutes prior to your scheduled
time*
TENNIS Albany Tennis
Club at Ridgefield Park (316 Partridge St,
Albany 12203) End of August through
October SLED
HOCKEY AND GOLF Practices
begin in September/October - Contact us for more
info We
gladly accept donations for our free programs!
Suggested amount is $50.00. To register, contact
Mark at the STRIDE office: mmoran@stride.org or
(518) 598-1279
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| WOUNDED
WARRIOR ADIRONDACK CAMPING RETREAT |
Now
in its 5th year, STRIDE's Annual Wounded Warrior
Fall Family Camping Retreat on September 16th-18th
at Moreau Lake State Park matches Warriors to
youth athlete with similar disabilites. Camping
trips are something STRIDE knows well. For more
than 20 years, STRIDE has been taking children
with special needs tent camping in the woods of
New York State Parks. Overwhelming support from
the community and the growing population of
service members returning from deployment with
permanent injuries, has made this unique
experience a colossal success for STRIDE. Warriors
are paired as mentor volunteers with youth-athlete
with similar special needs and/or disabilities.
This therapeutic collaboration serves a dual
purpose: Warriors mentor youth-athletes as a way
to “give back” to their community, and STRIDE
athletes learn the importance of service and civic
duty from our nation’s heroes. Weekend activities
include kayaking, swimming, canoeing, archery, a
historic train ride and whitewater rafting. Meals,
general camping gear, gifts and assistance in
transportation costs are provided for all of our
participants.
For more information on this
program, or to make a donation, visit www.stride.org or
call (518) 598-1279.
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| STRIDE
SUPPORT: DONATIONS SINCE APRIL! |
We would like to take this
opportunity to thank the following groups, clubs
and individuals for their financial support since
April 2011. Their financial contributions help
make STRIDE Adaptive programs
possible. Arctic
Foxes Hockey, in support of STRIDE sled
Hockey Berkshire Bank Foundation Ms. Lynn
Craig John A. Canfield Memorial Fund Friends
of Dave Clark Mr. John Carolan First United
Methodist Church of East Greenbush Ms.
Christine Filiota Philip and Kathleen
Caponera Galliher Family Galsheen
Family Michael and Michelle Gambino Goldman
Sachs Mr. Richard Gnospelius Mr. Jeff
Frame Neil and Jane Golub, Golub Family
Foundation Mr. Raymond Hotaling Thomas and
Shawn Healy Mr. and Mrs. Keith Hynes Hon.
Kathleen Jimino Mrs. Mary Alice Krauss Mr.
P. Mikolaitis Mr. Charles Meyer Mr. and Mrs.
Jonathan Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Donald
Reutermann The Roby Family Dr. Dennison
Stone Kristin and Mark Salvi Mr. James
Sinkus John and Heather Taggert Teamsters
Local 294 Ms. Joan K. Walsh
STRIDE would like to thank
the following Organizations and individuals who
financially support STRIDE Wounded Warrior
Programs American Legion,
Staten Island Post American Legion Post 123,
Ridgewood American Legion Post 937 North
Albany Son’s, Squadron 1610 American Legion
Post 55 American Legion Post 937, Taconic
Valley Colonel Chaplain Olson, NYANG Ladies
Auxiliary, Military Order of the Purple
Heart Schenectady Military Affairs
Council Halliday Financial
Group *If you have
made a donation and your name is not listed, we
apologize for the error. Any omission is purely
accidental. We appreciate every donation and
couldn’t function without your support and
generosity.
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ANNUAL MEETING
UPDATE
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Each
June, STRIDE holds its Annual Meeting. Its main
purpose is for stakeholders within the
organization, including volunteers, sponsors,
program directors, and Executive/Honorary Board
Members, to come together to reflect and plan the
strategies needed for future growth and
sustainability. Attended
by over 60 of the most influential and involved
members, the evening included a presentation of
the Annual Report and finances. The meeting was
held Thursday, June 15th in the Bulmer
Telecommunications Center at HVCC, and focused on
"Adding ‘U’ to STRIDE's Val’U’e". Attendees were
asked to explore creative and simple ways that
they can support the organization and “think
outside the box” in order to further promote and
raise awareness for STRIDE. Guest speakers
included Board members, parents, volunteers,
Wounded Warriors, and STRIDE athletes.
Click
on the Annual Report button to view this years
annual report.
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BECOME
A FACEBOOK FAN!
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Are
you following us? We have over 560 fans, but still
need more! The more followers we have, the more
people know about who we are, and what we do! Send
it to your friends! Like us on
Facebook!
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HALLIDAY GOLF OUTING
SUPPORTS STRIDE
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The
Halliday Financial Group held their 7th Annual
Client Appreciation Golf Outing on Monday, August
1st at the Edison Club in Rexford, NY, and
selected STRIDE as one of their charities.
Proceeds raised during the event, which included,
best ball golf tournament, putting contest,
green-in-one contest and raffle, will be donated
to STRIDE to support our programs, specifically
Wounded Warriors. STRIDE presented to the group
and had a table display. Mary Ellen Whitney,
STRIDE’s CEO, and John Robinson, Board member,
played in the tournament. Special thanks to Scott
Solomon and Thomas J. Dingley from Halliday
Financial Group for their outreach and
support.
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STRIDE CUP: SAILING
PROGRAM’S REGATTA
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On
Saturday, September 3rd, in cooperation with
Saratoga Lake Sailing Club (SLSC), STRIDE
student-athletes will once again compete in the
“STRIDE Cup”, our annual regatta. Held on
beautiful Saratoga Lake, the event is a
culmination of five weeks of sailing instruction
to display their newfound skills with support from
experience, volunteer sailors. The event includes
a celebratory awards ceremony to recognize sailors
and volunteers alike for their courage,
determination, and skills on the water. Jibe
ho!
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THUMBS UP! KRISTEN KELLY,
LUKE WILSON & JON PHILLIPS
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Kristen
Kelley directs the golf program (in september
and June) at Route 4 Golf Center, which ends in
a field trip to Burden Lake Country Club.
Congratulations Kristen - Volunteer of the Year;
and she has recently been hired as P/T
grant-writer.
| Put
your hands in the air and raise those thumbs high!
Congratulations to each of our STRIDE stars:
Kristen
Kelly, STRIDE Volunteer of the Year; Luke Wilson,
STRIDE Athlete of the Year and Jon Phillips,
STRIDE Sponsor of the Year. These prestigious
annual awards were kept under lock and key and
were announced at STRIDE’s Volunteer Party held in
June at Camp Scully.
Does
someone you know deserve a thumbs-up on behalf of
STRIDE? Email Susan Bernardi Bain at sbernardi@stride.org. She’ll
be sure to get the word out!
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| LANSINGBURGH
VETS SUPPORT STRIDE |
The
Veterans of Lansingburgh are at it again! They
have been tremendous supporters of STRIDE and are
now teaming up with our organization on behalf of
the Wounded Warriors to donate proceeds from two
of their upcoming events to STRIDE and the work we
do with the Wounded Warriors. Veterans
of Lansingburgh Car Wash Saturday,
September 10th in Brunswick, Brunswick Town Hall -
only $5 15th
Annual Veterans of Lansinburgh Golf
Tournament Saturday, September 17th at
Frear Park Troy, NY 8am Shotgun Start, 4 man
scramble; $70.00 per person (includes 18 holes,
cart, gifts, prizes, food/draft beer at the
Veterans Club after golf) Contact STRIDE to sign
up!
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STRIDE CARES
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CONGRATULATIONS! Kyle
Otto - National Adaptive Shooting Champion, prone
position Kellly Cusack - National Braille
Competition winner Warrior, Kevin Miller and
Jenny Liporace on their upcoming
wedding Sean
Manchuck on his marriage to Darylanne
Boyle Kristen Kelley for News 10 Capital
Heroes Patrick Abrams on the wedding of his
daughter, Kristen GET
WELL WiSHES Tracy
Evans SYMPATHIES Mary
Sapp on the loss of her mother To friends and
family of Ethel Noiseaux on her
passing
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STRIDE ON THE SIDE: WISH
LIST!
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We are looking
for donations for the following
items:
-Volunteer who knows
Joomla -Volunteer/cleaning service once a
month -Auction Items for the Gala -Small
fridge -Small new microwave oven -Coat
tree -Reams of colored paper
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SAVE THE DATE: 'STRIDE
STRAIGHT UP: A CLASSIC BLACK & WHITE AFFAIR
WITH A TWIST'
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Get
ready to stir, mix and shake it up at STRIDE’s
Annual Gala! This year’s event, STRIDE Straight
Up: A Classic Black and White Affair with a Twist
will feature many of the same mainstays from
year’s past: live and silent auctions, dinner
& dancing, live music from Top Shelf, open bar
cocktail hour and martini bar. But with a new
theme, prepare for several twists to be swirled in
throughout the evening! Can you spot them? Join us
and see! Saturday,
November 5th, 2011 6pm-Midnight Hilton Garden Inn (235 Hoosick
Street, Troy, NY) Tickets: $100
individuals/open seating $900 table of
8/reserved seating For
more information, contact info@stride.org
or
visit our website at www.stride.org
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AUCTION
ITEMS NEEDED FOR GALA
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Want
to know a quick and easy way to help STRIDE?
Collect some auction items for our upcoming gala!
We accept donations for just about anything:
antiques, jewelry, that wedding gift never used
& still in the box, gift certificates for
haircuts, massages, restaurants you frequent, etc,
vacation home rentals; sports equipment, etc. Do
you have a skill, like making a quilt or teaching
lessons? Donate it! Our Gala Committee knows how
to cleverly package gift items! Be
creative!
Click the Donation Form button to
print a copy of the Donation Form provided and set
off on your merry way! All donations are tax
deductible!
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