Paul Szmal: It is 8.15 and we're at 57 on FLX Morning on Finger Lakes Newsradio. Happy to be joined now by Karen Burcroft from the Seneca County United Way and Karen is here in studio with us. Karen, good morning. How are you?
Karen Burcroff: I'm well. Thank you so much for having me.
Paul Szmal: Yes, absolutely. Glad to have you on board to talk about the activities that are coming up here in just a couple of days and these are in recognition of what's called National Overdose Awareness Day. Correct.
Karen Burcroff: So August 31st is actually International Overdose Awareness Day and it's just to, you know, increase awareness and make sure that folks are aware of all the dangers of the current epidemic but we're putting a little positive spin on it in Seneca County. So we're hosting a Painting with Wellness event on Monday, August 25th and it includes a Color Fun Run for kids.
Paul Szmal: Okay, a Color Fun Run. I think I've heard of these before. Now, if memory serves me correctly, this is where you're running and you're getting doused with colored powder while you're running?
Karen Burcroff: Correct. So we're going to be down at Oak Island on Monday, August 25th and it runs from 6 to 8. So there are art activities around those times and then at 7 o'clock is the Color Fun Run and all the kids that come will receive a free t-shirt, a white t-shirt, so that when they get splattered with all these different powders, it'll show up and of course they also get a pair of sunglasses because we want to make sure that we protect their eyes.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, there you go. That sounds like it's going to be a good time.
Karen Burcroff: Yeah, and we've also got the health department coming with the spin art bike. We were going to be doing some sidewalk chalk, the artist lounge will be there doing some acrylic pours, free snow cones for everybody and a free slice of pizza for all the kids, compliments of Mark's in Waterloo and pizza will be available for purchase as well.
Paul Szmal: Wow, sounds like a lot going on.
Karen Burcroff: Yeah, we're always trying to build the protective factors for our kids and for our families. So if I could also do a shout out on Friday, we're having a huge bounce out event. We're hosting it at the Elks Lodge in Seneca Falls. It's open to everybody from 4.30 to 7.30, so you've seen all these big bouncy houses that are up in Syracuse and Rochester and we know that folks can't really make that long trip or afford the admission prices, so we're bringing it right into town. Again, more free family fun and there's even going to be a nine-hole miniature golf course.
Paul Szmal: Oh wow.
Karen Burcroff: Yeah, so that's happening on Friday and if folks want to follow us on United Way of Seneca County Facebook, you'll find all kinds of free events that are happening with us and with our partners. The idea behind doing these events is to do all these fun activities but at the same time try to educate.
Paul Szmal: Correct. So when we're at the Painting for Wellness, we'll also be distributing Narcan. We all know that sometimes people have addictions or sometimes there's accidental, whether it be a senior citizen who was prescribed oxycodone for pain after a hip or shoulder surgery. And just like having Band-Aids in your car or at the office or in your home, we recommend having Narcan around. Narcan is available over the counter for $50 usually at our pharmacies and we know people don't have $50. So through grants with New York State, we are able to distribute it for free and provide that training and highly recommend it to any college students that are heading off this fall to take it along with the Band-Aids and the Neosporin or the Aspirin.
Karen Burcroff: And what other kinds of messaging is there going to be for the kids while they're doing some of these activities here since we're talking about International Overdose Day and that's really what this is kind of an advance of?
Paul Szmal: Right. So we want kids to realize the dangers of the One Pill Can Kill campaign and how there are illicit pills, illegal pills that are out there. Never to take anything that doesn't come from a pharmacist or a doctor. Even if a friend says, oh, it's okay, I got it from my mom who got it, you just never really know. So it's really educating kids because they're the ones who sometimes take the risks, you know. They think they're invincible. And also a reminder to all the parents of young children to make sure that medications are stored high and locked and kept out of reach. And we always do our drug take-back days. So if people have leftover medications, spring and fall, we do those. But there are many, many drop boxes in pharmacies, the police departments that will take unused and expired medications. Get them out of the house so that kids don't get into it.
Karen Burcroff: Yeah. You know, that's an important thing. And it's great that there are more of these drop boxes and more of these take-back events available for that very reason. Because it used to be that this stuff used to just sit around and gather dust in the house. And you had to worry about, well, you know, where do I store this? I can't exactly just pour water in it and flush it down the sink.
Paul Szmal: Yes. Please, please, please don't do that. Don't throw it into the trash and don't flush it or, you know, down the drain. So if you can't get to a drop box, there also are these packets called Deterra pouches. And that's what we recommend for people who have liquid medication and also patches. You know, if you're trying to quit smoking and you have those nicotine patches or they actually even have fentanyl pain medication patches. These really can't go into those drop boxes. So we offer up something called Deterra. And it chemically breaks it down so that it is safe to throw into your trash. Again, all of this is free through our coalition work.
Karen Burcroff: All right. And how do people get a hold of a lot of these items that we're talking about here?
Paul Szmal: Yeah. So in Seneca County, we are happy to say that we have two Narcan machines. One is in the House of Concern and one is located in Ovid in front of the Car Quest. If you're looking for Deterra, there is also in the House of Concern vending machine. But if you reach out to us at the United Way of Seneca County, we recently moved to a new location. We are out at the Outlet Mall right across from the food court. It has its perks and its downfalls because it's got all this amazing food. So we're happy in our new location. We've been there for about a month. So you can stop into our office or call us. Our phone number has not changed. So it's 315-539-1135. And we make house calls, we deliver things on porches, we meet people in the after hours. If there are businesses or associations that are interested in the Narcan training, just let us know and we're happy to meet with you.
Karen Burcroff: Okay. Well, let's recap the events that are coming up. First off, we talked about the Bounce House event that's coming up Friday. Friday. Friday, 4.30 to 7.30, it'll be at the Elks Lodge. We got big kids and little kids. So we have large obstacle course and the Ninja Warrior course and a couple small bouncy houses for the tykes and the nine-hole miniature golf course, 4.30 to 7.30 on Friday. And then the painting, the picture to wellness is going to be at Oak Island on Monday, August 25th from 6 to 8. Again, those art activities that are happening before and after the seven o'clock fun run. No fee to register. You don't have to pre-register, just come on out and join us. And we're happy to partner with the Waterloo Rotary. They're going to be helping us douse the kids with all this fun, colorful powder.
Paul Szmal: There you go. So a couple of free activities that are happening both on Friday and then on Monday that are affiliated with the Seneca County United Way and some of their partner agencies. So you definitely want to take advantage of these if you can. Karen, thank you so much for coming in and filling us in this morning. We really appreciate it.
Karen Burcroff: We appreciate the community support. Thanks for your time.
Paul Szmal: Not a problem. It is 824 on FLX Morning.
