WEBVTT 00:00:09.010 --> 00:00:12.130 Hello, and welcome to a Tuesday edition of Good 00:00:12.130 --> 00:00:14.970 News York, sponsored by Ads on the Go. Get ads 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:18.850 on the go .com. Shout out to Zach. This is a 00:00:18.850 --> 00:00:22.089 very special episode. I am your host, Mike Brindisi. 00:00:22.109 --> 00:00:24.170 You can follow me on all socials at MikeBTV. 00:00:24.269 --> 00:00:26.870 And remember, we are on all socials at Good News 00:00:26.870 --> 00:00:29.989 York, GoodNewsYork .com. New episodes Monday 00:00:29.989 --> 00:00:32.649 through Thursday, 5 p .m. Eastern. As I said, 00:00:32.710 --> 00:00:34.929 a very special episode. I'm joined by a very 00:00:34.929 --> 00:00:37.509 special person who works for a very special organization. 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:41.869 And that organization is Aaron's Angels of Central 00:00:41.869 --> 00:00:44.929 New York. With me, I have the director of Fund 00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:47.670 Development and Communications, Jack Flance. 00:00:47.929 --> 00:00:50.409 Thank you, Mike. Jack Flance. Thank you. And 00:00:50.409 --> 00:00:52.770 oh, and shout out to our producer director, Danny 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:54.630 Tripodi, on the ones and twos. Again, I don't 00:00:54.630 --> 00:00:57.070 know what ones and two. I hear the kids say it, 00:00:57.090 --> 00:01:02.170 you know. Jack, you work for an amazing organization, 00:01:02.229 --> 00:01:04.010 but you're an amazing person as well. And I feel 00:01:04.010 --> 00:01:08.120 like in this industry with what you do, You kind 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:10.579 of have to be an amazing person and selfless. 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:13.120 And that's exactly what you are. We talked about 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:15.180 your background kind of off the air, but I want 00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:19.319 to talk about your background first because it 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.480 plays a huge role in this whole story. So you're 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.400 now, as I said, the director of Fund Development 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:26.819 and Communication for Aaron's Angels. But let's 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.799 go back in time. And I'd love to hear your story 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:32.420 about how you got to this point. Well, first, 00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:34.260 let me say you don't do this kind of work for 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:36.680 the income. You do it for the outcome. Oh, I 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.219 love that. Right? Wow. And so I grew up in food 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:42.680 insecurity. I grew up in the projects on the 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.599 south side of Utica. My parents, in their infinite 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:48.260 wisdom, thought moving me out of the best school 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:50.799 district in the city to the worst school district 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:55.000 in the city in Corn Hill was an upgrade. So growing 00:01:55.000 --> 00:02:00.340 up in that tumultuous time in the 80s in Corn 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:03.579 Hill, I experienced food insecurity firsthand. 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:05.959 I went to bed hungry more nights than I care 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:12.400 to remember. And my household was a hostile household. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:15.939 I walked on pins and needles around my dad. He 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:21.539 was an angry guy. It was a love -hate relationship. 00:02:22.539 --> 00:02:25.039 I had a lot of love for the guy, but he was a 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:28.659 complicated guy. And he had a hard, hard life, 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.900 and he wasn't happy about it. But there were 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.259 also times when things were good. And he was 00:02:34.259 --> 00:02:37.560 a great guy. And so it's a hard thing to balance. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:42.340 But my whole career, I've always worked in communications 00:02:42.340 --> 00:02:44.979 and in fundraising and development for nonprofit 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:49.379 organizations. And in March, I was working with 00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:52.379 the United Way of the Mohawk Valley in development 00:02:52.379 --> 00:02:56.240 and communications. that came to a stop, that 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.319 came to an end. And I was looking for something 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.699 to do while I was looking for work because I'm 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:03.520 the kind of person that if I don't have a daily 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.919 purpose, if I don't get up and have something 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.479 to do that means something, my depression takes 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:11.840 a hit. Where you and I on the same page. Yeah. 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:15.379 And so one day I decided to put a message out 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:17.620 on Facebook looking for someone to take a look 00:03:17.620 --> 00:03:21.770 at my resume. and the founder of Aaron's Angels, 00:03:21.909 --> 00:03:24.409 which is a whole nother wonderful story, Sheila 00:03:24.409 --> 00:03:26.789 Dion, popped up and said, I'd be happy to take 00:03:26.789 --> 00:03:29.289 a look at it for you. So the more I looked into 00:03:29.289 --> 00:03:35.270 Sheila, I found Aaron's Angels of CNY, and I 00:03:35.270 --> 00:03:37.889 looked at it, and you know, it just resonated 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:43.189 with me. Aaron's story, just food insecurity, 00:03:43.669 --> 00:03:45.830 hostile environment, being treated the way she 00:03:45.830 --> 00:03:49.560 did. just resonated with me to my soul. So I 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:52.560 thought I have to be involved. So I volunteered 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.319 as communications director from March until September. 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.479 And then in September, the board approved the 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.439 salary and brought me aboard full time. Congratulations. 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:05.199 What a story. And I said you and I are connecting 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:08.740 on so many levels because first of all, my father 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:11.280 grew up in East Utica and I'm very aware of the 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.500 area that He grew up in the area that you grew 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:17.860 up in and the life that he had. So I just completely 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:20.740 understand that. And I also understand that wanting 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:23.660 to have a purpose thing. Do you feel that doing 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:27.779 this work almost helps you heal a little bit? 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:32.220 Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think back on the different 00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:34.779 times that I experienced food insecurity and 00:04:34.779 --> 00:04:37.339 I think to myself, this is my chance to make 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:39.779 sure that other kids don't have to live the way 00:04:39.779 --> 00:04:44.329 I do. Jack, don't make me cry on a Tuesday. Let's 00:04:44.329 --> 00:04:46.230 talk about food insecurity. You know, you and 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:49.110 I know what that means, but not a lot of people 00:04:49.110 --> 00:04:52.829 do. Can you kind of just talk about what that 00:04:52.829 --> 00:04:55.910 definition means? Sure. So food insecurity is 00:04:55.910 --> 00:04:59.089 basically the feeling of not knowing when or 00:04:59.089 --> 00:05:02.389 where your next meal is coming from. So I just 00:05:02.389 --> 00:05:05.709 recently addressed a group of people in a setting 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:07.610 It was a check presentation of donation being 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:09.529 given the earnings angels and there were probably 00:05:09.529 --> 00:05:12.069 50 people in the room And the first thing I did 00:05:12.069 --> 00:05:14.069 was asked how many people in the room this morning 00:05:14.069 --> 00:05:17.029 have kids And most people raised their hands 00:05:17.029 --> 00:05:19.089 and asked how many of your kids had breakfast 00:05:19.089 --> 00:05:22.290 today How many kids are going to have lunch today 00:05:22.290 --> 00:05:24.250 because you may have happened and how many of 00:05:24.250 --> 00:05:26.009 your kids when you get home tonight You're gonna 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:29.290 be able to have dinner with Imagine being a kid 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:32.920 coming home on a Friday and there's no food, 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.100 and then having to start Monday morning, having 00:05:36.100 --> 00:05:38.480 to learn, having to concentrate, having to study, 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:41.819 and you're hungry. And I tell, you know, there's 00:05:41.819 --> 00:05:44.180 times at the dinner table where my son or my 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:46.279 daughter will turn their nose to whatever dinner 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:48.959 I or my wife made. And I'm always quick to correct 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.319 them and say, I don't think you understand. There 00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:55.379 are kids right now in this town that aren't having 00:05:55.379 --> 00:05:58.410 any dinner. and you need to appreciate that stuff. 00:05:59.329 --> 00:06:01.509 Let me give you three words, Mike, one in five. 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:03.819 One in five kids in Central New York go to bed 00:06:03.819 --> 00:06:06.879 hungry on any given night. That's way too many. 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:09.300 Yeah. That's God awful. Yeah. I had the same 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:11.339 situation with my daughter. I have a 24 -year 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:13.060 -old daughter who's a graduate student now, soon 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:15.660 as we go. Congrats. And thanks. And when she 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:18.060 was growing up, I had her about half time, and 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.519 I made a lasagna one day. And I put the lasagna 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:22.420 in front of where we sat down to dinner. And 00:06:22.420 --> 00:06:24.060 she looked in and said, Daddy, I want something 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:26.160 else. I said, sorry, kid, there's nothing else. 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:27.920 She said, well, I don't want this. Well, that's 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.439 how we have. I made her sit there for a good 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.930 hour. And I caught grief on social media about 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:36.250 it. But after about an hour, she ate it. And 00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:38.089 after that, and she was only like five or six 00:06:38.089 --> 00:06:40.589 at the time, she would eat anything I put in 00:06:40.589 --> 00:06:42.930 front of her. She would try every food under 00:06:42.930 --> 00:06:46.110 the sun. She tried Korean food, Japanese food, 00:06:46.209 --> 00:06:49.250 Chinese food. I wasn't going to deal with one 00:06:49.250 --> 00:06:51.389 of these kids that just eats chicken fingers 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:54.110 and macaroni and cheese the entire childhood. 00:06:54.430 --> 00:07:00.509 Yeah. I love it. Aaron's Angels of CNY. a nonprofit 00:07:00.509 --> 00:07:02.509 organization dedicated to feeding children in 00:07:02.509 --> 00:07:04.430 need through school based programs. We're going 00:07:04.430 --> 00:07:06.990 to get into that. But I feel like I'd be remiss 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:09.750 if I didn't talk about Erin and Erin's story. 00:07:09.850 --> 00:07:11.709 Are you comfortable talking about that? Yeah, 00:07:11.910 --> 00:07:15.209 it's hard. It's an emotional story. I gave the 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:17.589 presentation last week and I heard later that 00:07:17.589 --> 00:07:20.129 I brought people to tears just by talking about 00:07:20.129 --> 00:07:25.230 her story. So Erin was a little girl who was 00:07:25.230 --> 00:07:28.709 in the Phoenix School District. and I didn't 00:07:28.709 --> 00:07:31.629 know her, but working in this position, I've 00:07:31.629 --> 00:07:33.870 talked to people who did know her, and there 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:36.810 were reports of her going through garbage cans. 00:07:38.269 --> 00:07:42.250 When Erin was murdered by her stepbrother, her 00:07:42.250 --> 00:07:45.790 stepbrother served nine years. The parents got 00:07:45.790 --> 00:07:48.420 two years for neglect. And that's a whole nother 00:07:48.420 --> 00:07:50.360 part of Erin's Angels where we're trying to pass 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:52.740 a New York State Children's Medal of Rights to 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:54.500 establish a minimum standard of care for all 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:57.680 children and increase the punishment and penalties 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:00.939 for anyone who commits abuse against children 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:03.079 14 years or under. So that's a whole nother. 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:07.519 We can do a whole week's episodes on that. So 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.379 when they did the autopsy on Erin, they found 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:13.980 no food in her digestive system. It takes two 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.810 days, Mike, two days. for food to process out 00:08:17.810 --> 00:08:21.949 of your digestive system. And apparently she 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:25.389 lived in what would be considered by most people 00:08:25.389 --> 00:08:30.230 a cage in her bedroom. Like an actual cage? An 00:08:30.230 --> 00:08:34.070 actual cage, an animal cage. Yeah, she was kept 00:08:34.070 --> 00:08:39.730 in her bedroom like that. And the condition she 00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:43.070 lived in, to say it was squalor would be an understatement. 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:46.759 animal feces everywhere, it was just horrible. 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.580 And if we'd had the New York State Children's 00:08:50.580 --> 00:08:54.419 Bill of Rights today, or back then rather, Erin 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:58.960 could very well still be with us. And so we are 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:03.179 doing everything we can do in her memory to assure 00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:05.799 that other kids don't have to live the way she 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:10.860 did. Wow. Well, Jack, that was way worse than 00:09:10.860 --> 00:09:15.210 I thought it was. You know, that is heartbreak, 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:16.950 as a human being, that's heartbreaking. But as 00:09:16.950 --> 00:09:19.809 you know, as a parent, it always it hits a little 00:09:19.809 --> 00:09:24.029 harder. That's disgusting. And this is good news, 00:09:24.190 --> 00:09:27.110 York. So here's the positive spin on it. This 00:09:27.110 --> 00:09:29.590 is why Aaron's Angels of Central New York exists. 00:09:29.769 --> 00:09:33.110 Yeah. What is the mission statement of Aaron's? 00:09:33.470 --> 00:09:36.450 Well, I've never been able to give it word for 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:38.230 word. But basically what we're trying to do is 00:09:38.230 --> 00:09:41.389 bring together the people. the resources and 00:09:41.389 --> 00:09:44.990 the means to feed the future of Central New York 00:09:44.990 --> 00:09:50.730 in order to empower kids to be a kid, to live 00:09:50.730 --> 00:09:52.950 life and not have to worry about food. No kid 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:55.129 should ever have to go hungry. No kid should 00:09:55.129 --> 00:09:58.029 ever have to worry about going hungry. Absolutely. 00:09:58.230 --> 00:10:00.509 So we're just trying to bring people and resources 00:10:00.509 --> 00:10:04.149 together to make sure kids can thrive as kids, 00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:07.210 but also can thrive as adults. That's wonderful. 00:10:08.779 --> 00:10:11.120 If you go onto the website or any of the social 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.639 media for Aaron's Angels of CNY, it's overwhelming 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:19.080 in a positive way because it's not like you're 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:22.539 just out there giving food away. There are many 00:10:22.539 --> 00:10:24.940 different programs, the Children's Bill of Rights, 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:29.480 the Phoenix program, summer meals. You guys are 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.700 doing so much. Can you talk a little bit about... 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:34.659 some of the programs and what you guys do on 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:36.940 a day -to -day basis. Sure, so one thing I'd 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.299 love to talk about is our scholarship program. 00:10:39.419 --> 00:10:43.039 Sure. So we provide two $1 ,000 scholarships 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:48.179 to two Oswego County high school seniors. One 00:10:48.179 --> 00:10:51.059 senior is from the Phoenix area, mandatory, then 00:10:51.059 --> 00:10:55.950 the other can be from Oswego County. This past 00:10:55.950 --> 00:10:58.570 year we gave out two scholarships. One was for 00:10:58.570 --> 00:11:00.350 trade school. The gentleman wanted to go to trade 00:11:00.350 --> 00:11:02.450 school. Another gentleman, his name was Douglas, 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:06.289 who is a volunteer for us, is studying web design. 00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:10.169 And he was in the program. He got the meal bags 00:11:10.169 --> 00:11:13.169 every weekend. And so he kind of went through 00:11:13.169 --> 00:11:15.769 and understood what we were doing. And because 00:11:15.769 --> 00:11:17.830 of the meal bag program, he had food on the weekends. 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:21.370 And now he's a college student. Studying design 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:24.169 and we have an event coming up on February 7th 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:28.149 called the purple party at Monterey's At 6 o 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:31.309 'clock and that the proceeds of that event fund 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:34.450 our scholarship program amazing Yeah, and so 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:38.289 the Phoenix program we talked about is kind of 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:40.230 the core, the meat and potatoes of what we do. 00:11:40.610 --> 00:11:43.389 We have volunteers who come to the Michael Maroon 00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:46.230 Elementary School every other Tuesday, and they 00:11:46.230 --> 00:11:49.509 spend hours packing food bags for families in 00:11:49.509 --> 00:11:52.509 need who are facing food insecurity. Once those 00:11:52.509 --> 00:11:55.210 food bags are packed, those bags go to the teachers. 00:11:55.810 --> 00:11:58.509 So when the kids are out of class, if they're 00:11:58.509 --> 00:12:00.850 in gym, if they're in lunch or recess, those 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:03.009 food bags find their way into the backpacks and 00:12:03.009 --> 00:12:06.370 go home on Fridays. And they do that for anonymity. 00:12:06.710 --> 00:12:09.289 So there's no bullying, there's no teasing of 00:12:09.289 --> 00:12:12.629 kids whose family have struggled with food insecurity. 00:12:13.330 --> 00:12:17.029 And so we're all about inclusion. And we want 00:12:17.029 --> 00:12:20.049 kids to not have to deal with food and being 00:12:20.049 --> 00:12:22.409 hungry. in food insecurity, but we also don't 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:26.190 want to have them have to deal with being singled 00:12:26.190 --> 00:12:31.230 out by other kids. Yeah. Right? That's beautiful. 00:12:32.090 --> 00:12:34.590 What do you think the biggest, I mean, there's 00:12:34.590 --> 00:12:38.409 so many, but is there one big issue that you 00:12:38.409 --> 00:12:42.649 think might be at the root of all the food insecurity 00:12:42.649 --> 00:12:46.230 out there for these young children? There's one 00:12:46.230 --> 00:12:49.309 issue I can zero in on, but it's such a complicated 00:12:49.309 --> 00:12:53.240 issue. Sure. Poverty, of course. It really comes 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:59.159 down to that. I agree. I'm in full belief that, 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:04.840 you know, these socialist safety nets are set 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:07.879 up. You know, you hear people, as soon as they 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:09.759 hear safety social net, they say it's communism. 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:12.019 And we're like, what? You know, the safety social 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:18.100 nets are so important because no child and certainly 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:21.669 no human should go hungry or go sick because 00:13:21.669 --> 00:13:24.090 they can't afford healthcare. And that's, as 00:13:24.090 --> 00:13:28.490 you said, that's a whole other issue. Do you 00:13:28.490 --> 00:13:32.309 find that, because you guys are completely self 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:35.830 -funded, do you find that some of the changes 00:13:35.830 --> 00:13:39.129 in state and federal government, did those directly 00:13:39.129 --> 00:13:45.389 affect your organization? No, not really. You 00:13:45.389 --> 00:13:49.320 know, we are... Well, I guess, actually, let 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.759 me take that back. So yes, because when we were 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:58.360 facing SNAP reductions a few months ago, if SNAP 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.019 goes away or if SNAP gets limited, that puts 00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:05.440 an extreme amount of pressure and stress on programs 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:09.679 like ours. So we have a program called our Community 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:13.519 Giveaway. We get donations of boxes and boxes 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.639 of items from Amazon every month. I mean, there's 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.460 nothing to get 30, 40, 50 boxes of random items 00:14:19.460 --> 00:14:23.179 from Amazon. We get everything from food to health 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:26.519 and beauty aids to cleaning supplies to car parts. 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:28.539 And you're working directly with Amazon through 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.639 this? Yeah. That's amazing. Amazon donates to 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:36.320 nonprofits, you know, all over. And so we have 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.399 a gentleman named Chuck. He goes to Chuck Gorman. 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:43.039 He goes to Amazon. with a van, loads up the van 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:45.919 with these boxes, brings these boxes to Aaron's 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:48.480 Angels, unloads them into our office. We have 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.120 volunteers who come in and sort these products 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.419 out, categorize them, and then we do giveaways, 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:56.980 and we have one coming up Thursday night, and 00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:59.440 we invite people from different areas to come 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:01.980 in, and it's usually a two -hour process, and 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:06.960 they can bring two grocery bags, reusable grocery 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:09.419 bags, and they have seven minutes to go through. 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:11.360 and pick out whatever they need. Well, that's 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.539 fun. It's like supermarket sweep. Yeah, exactly. 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:17.779 But in a positive way, you know, helping people. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.960 And so we when the whole snap thing was going 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.279 down, we did one of these giveaways and it was 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.559 the second highest number of people we had come 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.039 to one of those events. Wow. Sixty five people 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.720 showed up. Usually the average was about 40. 00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:35.220 Wow. So when the state or the federal government, 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:38.269 when things happen where benefits get you know, 00:15:38.370 --> 00:15:41.870 either stopped or limited, we see a tremendous 00:15:41.870 --> 00:15:44.549 amount of increased demand. Yeah, that makes 00:15:44.549 --> 00:15:47.009 it in need. Makes complete sense. Yeah. And as 00:15:47.009 --> 00:15:49.649 you said, we're completely self -funded. So that 00:15:49.649 --> 00:15:52.149 demand doesn't come with any funds to meet that 00:15:52.149 --> 00:15:55.649 demand. Right. Right. Right. Speaking of events, 00:15:55.690 --> 00:15:57.970 you are here. We do want to promote a couple 00:15:57.970 --> 00:16:00.470 of events coming up, but you guys do a lot of 00:16:00.470 --> 00:16:04.210 events. Yeah. What goes into the planning process 00:16:04.210 --> 00:16:06.330 for that? Who's in who's in charge of that and? 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.620 And you guys come up with some amazing ideas. 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:10.620 Talk a little bit about that process. So we have 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:14.799 an incredible board of directors. And our board 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:18.440 is completely volunteer. And so we have folks 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:20.820 who are in charge of different events throughout 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:24.519 the year. And we have a fundraising committee 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:27.620 that I sit on. And the fundraising committee 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:32.399 meets once a month. And we assign tasks to different 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:34.820 people. And we put these events together. And 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:37.779 so this particular event with the Syracuse Crunch 00:16:37.779 --> 00:16:40.139 was an opportunity I came across a few months 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.879 ago. I reached out, I found out they have a whole 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:45.700 program to support local nonprofit organizations. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.179 And we have a fundraising game, Hockey for Hope, 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:52.740 on Saturday night on the 24th, seven o 'clock. 00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:57.919 We have a link, it's erinsangels .com slash crunch, 00:16:58.259 --> 00:17:01.340 where people can buy $22 tickets, which is an 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:05.400 affordable. for a sporting event. And it's a 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:08.200 game between the Syracuse Crunch and the Utica 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:12.579 Comets. So I chose that game purposely so we 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:15.559 could market it to both areas. I could appeal 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:17.740 to the Syracuse Crunch fans, I could appeal to 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:22.740 the Utica Comet fans. And so we get a percentage 00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:25.539 back of every ticket that is sold through that 00:17:25.539 --> 00:17:29.400 link based on how many tickets we sell. And we're 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.059 gonna have a table in the concourse. There's 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:35.039 going to be an in -game silent auction through 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.400 the Crunch. We're going to have four baskets 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:39.599 that we're going to auction off. And the Syracuse 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.420 Crunch will have some items that are going to 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:43.259 auction off. And all those proceeds come back 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:46.099 to us. But at our table, we're going to be auctioning 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:50.819 off four Caribbean vacations. Wow. Yeah. And 00:17:50.819 --> 00:17:53.460 so you can come to our table. You can write in 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:56.589 your bid and bid on those trips. That's amazing. 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:00.789 Yeah. Yeah. And just again, to plug that, Aaron's 00:18:00.789 --> 00:18:02.349 Angels of Central New York will partner with 00:18:02.349 --> 00:18:06.410 the Syracuse Crunch for a hockey night fundraiser 00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:11.049 on January 24th at 7 p .m. That's aaron'sangels 00:18:11.049 --> 00:18:13.869 .com backslash crunch. But also another one you 00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:16.809 guys have going on. You mentioned it earlier. 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:19.240 You're going to hold your annual Purple Party 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:22.259 on Saturday, February 7th to honor Aaron Maxwell's 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:24.480 heavenly birthday and raise funds for the organization's 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:26.799 Feeding the Future Scholarship program. And that's 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.500 going to be at Monterey's, located at 688 County 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:33.579 Route 10, number 90. And that starts at 6 p .m. 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.220 Talk a little bit about that event. So we're 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:40.400 going to have a spaghetti dinner, $10 per person 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.759 or $5 for kids five and under. We're going to 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:48.400 have music. We're going to have a quartet from 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:51.420 the Oswego Valley Snow Belters. They're to entertain, 00:18:51.460 --> 00:18:53.180 we're going to have other bands. We're going 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:54.700 to have the Cool Kids. They're going to make 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:57.559 an appearance. They're a great band that also 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:00.000 plays another event that we've done in the past. 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:04.019 We're going to, it's just going to be a great 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:05.359 time. We're going to have food, we're going to 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:06.779 have music, we're going to have entertainment. 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:12.099 And we're going to have a purple contest, a purple 00:19:12.099 --> 00:19:16.450 costume contest. Yeah. So we did an event back 00:19:16.450 --> 00:19:18.930 in November called Friendsgiving right around 00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:22.109 Thanksgiving. And we had so many people come 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:24.970 in and have such a great time. So we're excited. 00:19:25.009 --> 00:19:27.490 We have those two events and then we have other 00:19:27.490 --> 00:19:30.130 events that are happening throughout the month, 00:19:30.130 --> 00:19:34.210 too. So in late March, we do our volunteer recognition 00:19:34.210 --> 00:19:38.789 dinner where we give out volunteer awards. So, 00:19:38.910 --> 00:19:41.430 you know, we have volunteers who work so hard 00:19:41.430 --> 00:19:43.869 for us all year long. We need to show them love, 00:19:43.869 --> 00:19:46.950 too. Absolutely. And so with the hockey game 00:19:46.950 --> 00:19:51.009 though, we produced a video that I did send you 00:19:51.009 --> 00:19:54.769 folks. It's a promo video where a gentleman named 00:19:54.769 --> 00:19:58.410 Dan Frawley of In Motion Media volunteers his 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:02.349 time. And we set up a shoot at a hockey rink 00:20:02.349 --> 00:20:04.569 with a couple of hockey players, 10 -year -old 00:20:04.569 --> 00:20:07.410 hockey players. And that's to promote the hockey 00:20:07.410 --> 00:20:11.269 game. So we have people from all walks of life 00:20:11.269 --> 00:20:13.809 who volunteer and help us out. That's amazing, 00:20:14.029 --> 00:20:18.890 Jack. Obviously, people can go to these events, 00:20:19.009 --> 00:20:22.809 the one on February 7th, the one on January 24th. 00:20:22.809 --> 00:20:24.789 That's one way people can help is by attending 00:20:24.789 --> 00:20:27.950 these events. But because your organization is 00:20:27.950 --> 00:20:30.849 doing so much, tell people, you know, if anyone's 00:20:30.849 --> 00:20:32.329 listening or watching and they're like, man, 00:20:32.329 --> 00:20:34.009 I really want to get involved, other than donating, 00:20:34.589 --> 00:20:36.769 what are you looking for and how can people get 00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:39.759 involved? Yeah, so. We have something going on 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:41.680 right now. There's information on our website 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:45.420 and on Facebook called our Super Bowl. S -O -U 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:48.279 -P -E -R. I'm a big fan of puns, Jack. I love 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:51.140 that. Me too, man. So, you know, we're looking 00:20:51.140 --> 00:20:54.200 for people who want to conduct food drives of 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:57.599 cans of soup. And, you know, we're doing it strategically 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:00.440 now because what's coming up? Of course. Super 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:02.799 Bowl. I love it. Right? So we're always looking 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:05.960 for volunteers. We have... So we have committees 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:07.920 of people who work on different things. So we 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.180 have an advocacy committee who is working on 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:11.599 the New York State Children's Bill of Rights. 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:14.180 We can absolutely use people on that committee. 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:17.240 We have a committee for our scholarship fund. 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:20.160 We'd love to have more people involved in that. 00:21:20.500 --> 00:21:22.859 We have our fundraising committee. And we have 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:25.579 a finance committee. We are also looking for 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:28.759 people that join our board of directors. And 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:31.599 you don't necessarily have to have experience 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.619 in fundraising. You have to have a passion for 00:21:34.619 --> 00:21:36.539 wanting to make a difference in the lives of 00:21:36.539 --> 00:21:39.859 other people. You have to want to try to increase 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:43.099 quality of life for others. That's basically 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:46.059 what we're looking for. So we need volunteers. 00:21:46.460 --> 00:21:49.799 We absolutely add events, also on committees, 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:52.500 on our board of directors. And if somebody wants 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:54.920 to get involved just running a food drive in 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.799 their business or in their company. You know, 00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:01.480 call us. Our information is on the website. We'll 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:04.380 figure something out for you. Yeah. Well said. 00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:08.400 Well said. And you're right. You know, it's not 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:10.980 that you have to come from a background of food 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:14.019 insecurity or abuse to do the job, but you do 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:16.339 have to want to make a difference. Yeah. It's 00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:18.519 not a collective paycheck kind of thing. Right. 00:22:18.779 --> 00:22:22.240 And it shows with your heart and your story. 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:25.799 And I just so much respect. I appreciate that. 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:30.519 Give us the plugs. Where can people go? Whether 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:32.819 you wanna plug the events again, but websites, 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.339 social media, donation links, go ahead. So, erinjangelos 00:22:36.339 --> 00:22:40.500 .com. We're on Facebook, we're on Instagram, 00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:45.579 we're on Twitter, we're on YouTube. We recently 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:50.059 had a volunteer create a TikTok page, which I'm. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:52.779 At my age, at this point in my life, I'm trying 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:56.920 to figure out how to work it. So really, you 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:58.740 can get all the information you need from our 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:02.940 website. You can reach me by email at jackataransangels 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:08.859 .com. My phone number is 315 -374 -0693. Giving 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:11.930 it right out. Send me an email. Go to our website, 00:23:12.230 --> 00:23:15.109 give me a call, send me a smoke signal. I'll 00:23:15.109 --> 00:23:17.670 get back to you. Carrier pigeons. Yeah. Why not? 00:23:17.670 --> 00:23:19.430 The tunnel plant, Western Union. Sure. Whatever 00:23:19.430 --> 00:23:21.970 it takes. Amazing. But we are all over social 00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:25.869 media. We're on the web. So there's no way you 00:23:25.869 --> 00:23:28.450 can't get ahold of us. Amazing. You're an amazing 00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:32.309 guy. Jack Flans, Director of Fund Development 00:23:32.309 --> 00:23:35.029 and Communications at Aaron's Angels, Feeding 00:23:35.029 --> 00:23:37.589 the Future of Central New York. Remember, two 00:23:37.589 --> 00:23:40.660 events coming up. Syracuse Crunch Hockey Night 00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:45.339 fundraiser January 24th at 7 p .m. and also on 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:50.700 February 7th, it is Aaron's Angels of CNY kind 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.720 of celebrating Aaron Maxwell's heavenly birthday 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:54.519 and raising funds for the organization through 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:56.380 the Feeding the Future Scholarship program at 00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.920 Monterey's. Jack, any final thoughts? Anything 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:02.859 you want to say? You know, I just want to say... 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:06.339 What we're trying to do is feed the future of 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:09.200 Central New York. We're trying to build the infrastructure 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:12.799 so that we're not just feeding kids today. Your 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:15.779 donation today feeds kids tomorrow. We want to 00:24:15.779 --> 00:24:17.900 feed kids today, but we want to feed kids 20 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:20.579 years from now. So we're working on the financial 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:23.000 infrastructure and everything we need to do to 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:25.420 keep this going, not just today, tomorrow, next 00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:28.559 week, next month, but 20 years from now. That's 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:32.180 awesome. That's so well said. Because in the 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:36.180 moment, it is great to take care of people and 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:37.880 children in the moment who are going through 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:40.660 food insecurity. But I love that you guys, you 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:42.920 think of long -term, of the long -term issue, 00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:44.940 not just in the moment. Yeah. And you take care 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:47.380 of both. Yeah, and so we have kids who were in 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:50.299 the program and now they're in college. How does 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:53.380 that feel? Right? To see these success stories, 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:56.200 that must be the payoff, right? Yeah, absolutely. 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:58.420 And the gentleman I'm referring to, Douglas, 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:02.440 what a great kid. He actually came to our friends 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:05.359 giving event and volunteered at the event for 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:08.000 about eight, eight hours, good eight, 10 hours. 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:12.119 And we had, we recently had a seminar where we 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:14.680 brought in companies from all over central New 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:18.299 York to explain what the impact of hunger is 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:21.339 on community. We had Douglas come and do a presentation 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:25.019 and talk about his story. So on a dime, he's 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:27.420 willing to come back and do what he can to help 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:30.660 make sure that kids didn't, you know, that kids 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:33.720 have a future the way he does. I mean, you know, 00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:36.079 if there is a God, you're doing God's work, Jack. 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.980 I mean, the full circle moment, you know, for 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:41.000 you of what you went through in your childhood 00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:42.960 and what you're accomplishing now. And then to 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:46.519 see, like you said, Douglas Douglas. Yeah. Seeing 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:49.460 him come full circle, it just must be so much 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:52.859 pride. And he's an amazing kid. And I just can't 00:25:52.859 --> 00:25:55.440 say enough about him. And I'm just so happy that 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:58.660 he has he's working towards something. going 00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:01.680 into his future. Yeah. Well, listen, from all 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:03.500 of us here at Good News York, thank you for coming 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:06.460 on. You embody what this show is about, and we 00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:10.579 are happy to help get the word out. Aaron's Angels 00:26:10.579 --> 00:26:15.259 of Central New York, email Jack, jackataronsangels 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:19.819 .com. Remember, I plug the two events, but you 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:22.319 can go to all their social media websites, get 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:27.240 involved in any way you can. truly making a difference 00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:29.039 in Central New York and in the world. You know, 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:30.299 there's one more thing I want to talk about. 00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:34.319 Please. We have a petition on our website, our 00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:37.259 Change .org petition. We're looking for people 00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:39.880 to sign that petition so that we can show lawmakers 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:43.000 that residents of New York State want reform 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.039 as it applies to laws that apply to children. 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:48.859 So we're trying to pass this New York State Children's 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:51.460 Bill of Rights. We need people to go to our website, 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:54.579 go to that Change .org petition, sign it. I love 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:57.460 that. And you have my word, as soon as I'm done 00:26:57.460 --> 00:26:59.440 here, I'm going to go sign that petition. Fantastic. 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:03.960 Thank you. Because kids, some of them, if not 00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:06.819 all of them, they don't have the ability to speak 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:08.700 up. And sometimes we have to speak up for them. 00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:10.460 And that's what you're doing. Yeah. That's what 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:11.960 you're doing. So they don't have a voice. We 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:13.980 are their voice. You are their voice. And I can't 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:16.039 thank you enough for coming on the show. Jack 00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:18.440 Flans, Director of Fund Development and Communications 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:23.309 for Aaron's Angels. Head to Aaron's Angels. for 00:27:23.309 --> 00:27:25.490 more information on how you can help. And with 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:29.009 that, another episode of GNY Good News York. 00:27:29.089 --> 00:27:30.930 I'm your host, Mike Vrendisi. You can follow 00:27:30.930 --> 00:27:34.509 me on socials at MikeBTV. You can follow us at 00:27:34.509 --> 00:27:36.950 GoodNewsYork or GoodNewsYork .com, sponsored 00:27:36.950 --> 00:27:39.470 by Ads on the Go. GetAdsOnTheGo .com. New episodes 00:27:39.470 --> 00:27:41.710 Monday through Thursday, 5 p .m. Eastern, where 00:27:41.710 --> 00:27:45.549 I just mentioned. And we will see you tomorrow. 00:27:46.109 --> 00:27:55.309 Jeff. But in central New York, thousands of children 00:27:55.309 --> 00:27:57.750 are facing something tougher than any opponent 00:27:57.750 --> 00:28:01.569 on the ice. When a child is hungry, it's harder 00:28:01.569 --> 00:28:04.910 to concentrate, harder to learn, harder to just 00:28:04.910 --> 00:28:10.069 be a kid. Yet one in five children in our community 00:28:10.069 --> 00:28:12.710 don't know where their next meal is coming from. 00:28:13.730 --> 00:28:15.930 Aaron's Angels is fighting food insecurity right 00:28:15.930 --> 00:28:18.970 here in CNY. And you too can join the fight against 00:28:18.970 --> 00:28:22.809 childhood hunger. Join us January 24th as the 00:28:22.809 --> 00:28:25.650 crunch face -off against the Utica Comets. A 00:28:25.650 --> 00:28:28.210 percentage of all ticket sales directly benefit 00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:31.990 Aaron's Angels. Together, we can keep kids in 00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:32.349 the game.