BY MARK BOSHNACK
STAFF WRITER
Colleen Andrew’s second-grade
class is working on its kindness
project. In December, students
handed out Hannaford gift cards to
people on Main Street telling them
to “have a nice holiday and pay it
forward,” Andrew said.
“I saw how excited they were in December,
and I needed a way to tap the
motivation they got out of it,” she said.
When the class was getting ready
to do its February random acts of
kindness project, it had read a book
about how large 1 million was, she
said. In response,
the class wanted
to raise $1 million.
But she suggested
“wouldn’t
it be cool” if the
class started a
Facebook page
and got 1 million
fans, she said.
So far, they have
attracted more
than 15,000 fans
to the site “Mrs.
Andrews 2nd
Grade-Kindness
Project.”
“It’s nice to see
their reaction,”
she said.
When one of the students questioned
how they would know if the
Facebook fans carried out their
projects, “we just have to have faith
that people will follow through with
it,” she said.
“The energy it generates now is really
good,” she said. At some point it
will probably die down. The Facebook
page will stay up as long as it’s
effective, she said.
“I hope we get to 1 million (fans),”
7-year-old Ava Eichler said.
She said when the project started,
she thought it would be year before
they got to 100. The Delaware County Dairy
Princess, Katelyn Walley, 17,
has made the most of her opportunity.
She was chosen as second
alternate at the state Dairy Princess
Pageant in February.
“You go all over the state” talking
about the importance of getting
three servings of dairy products a
day, she said.
She will be busy most every weekend,
but she doesn’t mind because
she has a good excuse to avoid
chores on the Walton family farm,
she said. Her first appearance was
before the American Dairy Association
and Dairy Council, shortly after
she was chosen, thanking them for
their support. The United Way of Delaware and
Otsego Counties received $5,286
from the recent Goodyear Lake
Polar Bear Jump. This was the first
time the agency benefited from the
local fundraiser, United Way Executive
Director Terry Capuano said.
Especially in a year when the overall
totals were down, the support was
appreciated, she said. The 2009 campaign
raised $327,000, falling $16,000
short of its goal, officials said.
To deal with a difficult economy
for the upcoming campaign, “We are
looking for other organizations (such
as the Polar Bear Jump) that will
help us,” she said.
The campaign committee is also
working in a new golf tournament
fundraiser, she said. Dozens of people attended a
February retirement celebration
at Morris Hall for State
University College at Oneonta Vice
President for Community Relations
Carol Blazina.
A presentations of a wooden chair
was made by Diane Williams, executive
director of Oneonta Auxiliary
Services, a nonprofit founded in the
1950s to provide essential services to
the college. The traditional retirement
gift will be engraved with the
college seal, she said.
Blazina has had a significant impact
on the college, devoting herself
to a number of programs, including
serving as adviser to the Terpsichorean
Dance Company.
Former college President Alan Donovan
said Blazina was instrumental
in developing the positive community
relations the college enjoys today.
He worked with her to get the
college’s Alumni Fieldhouse built,
and she played a key role in getting
singer Tony Bennett to perform
there, and later Willie Nelson.
Blazina said she has been to a lot
of retirement parties for others at
the college. “It was very different”
being on the other side, she said.
MARK BOSHNACK can be reached at 432-
1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 218, or at
mboshnack@thedailystar.com.
Local News -
March 6, 2010
Reporter's Notebook: ‘Kindness Project’ is inspiring
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