Paul Szmal: It is 8.15 on FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio. We warmed up a bit under sunny skies to a whopping 51 degrees. I say that with a little bit of a smile on my face. All right, Rhonda Jasper is joining us now from the Seneca County United Way. Rhonda, good to have you on board on this Monday morning. How are you?
Rhonda Jasper: I'm good. How are you?
Paul Szmal: I'm good. Just having a little fun with the fact that it's sunny but a little bit chilly here this morning.
Rhonda Jasper: I love the chill. I'm not going to lie.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Let's start off by talking about the September value of the month.
Rhonda Jasper: Sure. From our Women's Leadership Council, we put out the value for caring and courtesy. You know, really it's just thinking of others, helping neighbors, but also as adults, you know, offering to be a mentor, a friend to someone younger and just, I know it sounds really minimal, but be excited when you see a young person. Like when you see a kid, you know, like, you know, just being excited to see them can change their day.
Paul Szmal: Absolutely. Sometimes even just a simple smile and a, hey, how are you?
Rhonda Jasper: Exactly. Now, the next thing I wanted to get into because we're only a few days away from it, a little over a week actually, is your official grand reopening of the Seneca County United Way office at its brand spanking new location.
Rhonda Jasper: Yes. We are super excited to be able to have everybody out to our new location at the Finger Lakes Outlet Mall. They have been wonderful to us and we're super excited to have a spot right across from the food court.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. And the grand reopening is taking place with a reception at four, the ribbon cutting at 4.30 and then at 5.30, a campaign call to action. What is that going to be about, Rhonda?
Rhonda Jasper: So that's our second annual campaign call to action. And what it is, is it's an opportunity for anyone who's interested in United Way of Seneca County or anyone who's ever said, what is United Way do? Anyone who might be interested in volunteering. Just to stay, we're going to do a short presentation of what it is to be United Way of Seneca County, all the things we do. You'll have an opportunity to see all of our programs, to see all of our materials, and then to ask questions. Last year, it turned out pretty just, you know, informal and conversational at the end. It was really great. We really enjoyed it.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. If you get a chance to attend this grand reopening, I strongly encourage you because you're going to get so much information during that campaign call to action, information that you might not know about how the Seneca County United Way does its work and works with so many different partner agencies around the area. Now, a few days from when we move. We promise to everyone, no matter how well you think you know our programs, everyone will walk away having learned something new from the call to action.
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, absolutely. We're talking with Rhonda Jasper from the Seneca County United Way here on FLX Morning. The Simply Homemade pre-sale is going to be happening, well, it's pre-sale pickup only, but the Simply Homemade sale is happening on Thursday, September the 18th. This is another little United Way benefit, and it's a pretty neat one because it involves some really good food.
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, yes. It's a busy week for us next week, but yes, our partners over at Simply Homemade, they're just wonderful to us and so many in the community, but we're going to be doing a drive-thru. You just got to do pre-sale, and then you don't even have to get out of your car. You can choose between baked chicken, rigatoni and meatballs, and white lasagna roll-ups, my personal favorite, and our board members are putting together and doing a bake sale, which again, you don't even have to leave your car for.
Paul Szmal: Now, that's pretty nice, a drive-thru and get dinner and dessert on top of it. And support United Way of Seneca County.
Rhonda Jasper: Yeah, absolutely. And that's going to be from 4.30 until 6.30, and what's the location for that drive-thru, by the way?
Rhonda Jasper: So, it is out on Yellow Tavern Road. You asked me because I don't have it in front of me. It's at Simply Homemade's actual kitchen.
Paul Szmal: Ah, okay. So, just do a simple web search of Simply Homemade for the area, and that'll give you the address for that. And again, it is pre-sale, so you can get more information, by the way, by calling 315-555-6255. 539-1135, that's 315-539-1135, if you want to take advantage of that Simply Homemade sale that's happening. It's just $15 to get the choices that Rhonda just talked about there. This one I'm excited about because I think this is a neat place and a great concept, and this, I hope, turns out to be a successful venture. An adult night at the Arcade Project on September the 20th.
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, we've been trying to do a lot more youth activities, you know, substance-free, positive youth interactions because everyone says there's not enough to do around here. But we had some adults go, well, what about us? Apparently, when you throw a youth skating party, it makes all the adults want to join in, which is awesome. So we're working with our friends over at the Arcade Project at their location here at Finger Lakes Outlet Mall, and we'll be doing an adult night. So adults only, Saturday, September 20th, 7 to 9. First 50 people who sign up are free. Anybody else who wants to come, it's a $15 admission, and you get to play all the games minus the ticket pay-to-play ones, but most of them. There'll be some snacks and goodies and, you know, and other people.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, and if you don't know what the Arcade Project is, they basically collected up a lot of the retro arcade games from back in the day and refreshed and refurbished a lot of the machines. So it's like walking back in time a little bit to walk into the place.
Rhonda Jasper: Oh, it's absolutely wonderful. I'm looking forward to that one. That is Saturday, September the 20th, and again, first 50 people that sign up, and again, the number to call is 315-539-1135, 315-539-1135, to go ahead and get yourself signed up for that at the Arcade Project, which is right on the, that's on the opposite side of the Outlet Mall from where you are.
Rhonda Jasper: It is. It is. All right. The Grand Reopening that we mentioned coming up, and again, the Campaign Call to Action, is that the official kickoff for the Fall Fundraising Campaign?
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, it will be. And what, do you have a goal in mind for this year in terms of what you're looking for?
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, our goal is $200,000.
Paul Szmal: $200,000. That is, well, it's a lofty goal, but one that's certainly, I think, makeable given the various different ways that people can participate in working with the United Way and helping to raise funds. One of them, just to refresh people's memory, is to do a simple payroll deduction.
Rhonda Jasper: Yeah, we're willing to work with any workplaces, and then it comes out before taxes, you don't even notice it. But I would like to say, like, if you think I can't make a difference, that is not true. Every dollar matters. The wonderful thing is about being able to take all these donations and leverage it with partners we already have, with funding we already have, so we're able to use that dollar to get a lot done. We know that if every household in Seneca County gave us a dollar a month, we'd almost double our entire budget, not just our goal.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, just think about that. Just one dollar a month is all it really takes to make a significant difference.
Rhonda Jasper: It is very true. And the other way you can, you know, you can make straight direct donations to the United Way, but one of the other ways, the reason that they do a lot of these fun activities, things like the Simply Homemade sale and the Adult Night at the Arcade project, I mean, these are all fundraisers as well, where you're getting a benefit and you're helping out the United Way at the same time that you're getting that benefit.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, we try to make sure there's something for everybody. And we know that it's, you know, it's tough for everybody and the whole world of donations and workplace giving and all that has changed so much over the last five, 10 years. You know, nonprofits are seeing it across the board. So, you know, we want to make sure that we're able to make it worth people's while. We want to make sure that they know us and trust us and are making, you know, an informed decision about where their dollars go. And hopefully, you know, once they know a little bit more about us and can trust us in our programming, they know that we mean it when we say 100% of their donation will stay right here in Seneca County.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, and that's an important thing to know is that the donations do stay right in Seneca County, helping out a variety of Seneca County partner agencies that work with the United Way. And if you want more information, I would encourage you to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony and the campaign kickoff. That is Tuesday, September the 16th, one week from tomorrow. Everything starts at four o'clock and that is at the brand new office across from the food court at the Finger Lakes Premium Outlets. It's suite 34, by the way, if you're doing a specific web search for directions. The reception is at four, the official ribbon cutting is at 430 and the campaign call to action where you're going to find a wealth of information about what the United Way does for people in Seneca County happens at 530. Rhonda, thank you so much and appreciate having you on as always.
Rhonda Jasper: Thank you so much. All right. It is 825 on FLX morning.
