GROUPS
Key Private Bank’s Klock Kingston Foundation awarded a $2,500grant to The Susie Reizod Foundation.
The funds will be used to purchase and distribute new backpacks and new shoes to school-aged children in need who reside in Kingston.
The Klock Kingston Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in Ulster County to advance education, literacy, the arts, public health and the sciences.
The Susie Reizod Foundation is a not-for-profit organization. Since April 2002, when the organization received 501c3tax exemption status, it has provided new shoes to children in need all over the United States and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
••• Parents United Learning the Special Education System of the Mid-Hudson Valley was recently awarded fiscal sponsorship from the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan.
Parents United Learning the Special Education System strives to provide parents of children with disabilities with information and resources to ensure full participation in their children’s educational program. They also strive to connect special education families to existing resources and support systems while supporting positive change in special education services across school districts in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
With the funding from the foundation, the organization will support advocacy initiatives for families of children with all types of abilities, including both physical and developmental, in seven counties. It aims to use the Community Foundation to raise monetary donations to support their work.
Contributions to the fund may be made to CFOS-PULSES Fund and sent to the Community Foundation of Orange & Sullivan, 30 Scott’s Corners Drive, Suite 203, Montgomery, N.Y. 12549. Secure online donations can be made online at cfosny.org. The Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and gifts are taxdeductible. For more information about the Community Foundation, call (845) 7699393 or visit cfosny.org.
••• The following local nonprofit organizations were presented with donations from the Bank of Greene County’s Charitable Foundation at the bank’s Kingston branch:
Be Real About Injuries Now Programs Inc., Benedictine Health Foundation, Breast Cancer Options, Cancer Assistance for Parents Inc., Christmas Wishes Ulster County, East Kingston Volunteer Fire Co., Inc., Faith House, Family of Woodstock, HealthAlliance Foundation, High Meadow School, House for Dogmanity and The Hurley Library.
Also, Jewish Family Services of Ulster County, Jewish Federation of Ulster County, Kingston Cal Ripken & Babe Ruth League, Kingston Land Trust, The Kingston Library, Kiwanis Kingston Classic, Kingston Midtown Rising, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, The Library at the A.J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center, The Lisa Libraries, Mental Health Association in Ulster County, Inc. and O+ Festival.
Also, PAWS Unlimited Foundation, People’s Place, Phoenicia Festival of the Voice Foundation, Boy Scouts of America — Rip Van Winkle Council, Sawkill Volunteer Fire Company, TMI Project, Town of Esopus Library, Town of Esopus Volunteer Ambulance Squad, Town of Ulster Library, Town of Ulster Citizens, Ulster Literacy Association, Veterans Wooden Boat Workshop — American Legion Post No. 72 and YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County.
These non-profit groups provide a wide range of assistance and services to the local communities. A total of $167,000 will be awarded this year from the Bank of Greene County’s Charitable Foundation to over 200 local nonprofit organizations. RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 7412 South Broadway, will dedicate its new organ on Sunday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m.
Organist Kay Moore, vocal
YOUTH ON THE GO
Rhinebeck High School student James Ayton was named a semifinalist in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Some 16,000 semifinalists nationwide were named by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. About 1.6million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017PSAT.
From the approximately 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000are expected to advance to the finalist level. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists.
••• Stephanie Lehner and Daniel Gigliotti, who are juniors at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, attended the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders from June 29 through July 1in Cambridge, Mass.
An initiative of the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists, students were invited based on their commitment to entering a science, technology, engineering or
Tanya Begraph and Damian Davis, Coxsackie, a son, Joeleo Mathew. Aug. 15 MORRIS, Andrea Lee, Valatie, a son, Grayson Alexander.
soloist Holly Mentzer and The Reformation Brass Quintet will play music by Gabrieli, Palestrina, Bach and others. There will also be a hymn-sing. Light refreshments will follow.
Call the church at (845) 758-0151 for information. math field, leadership potential and academic excellence. As delegates, Lehner and Gigliotti were able to hear from outstanding college students who had won national science competitions and other inspirational people speak, including Noble Prize winners.
Among the speakers were Richard Browning, founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries, Ltd.; Bo Eason, a performer and author of the play “Runt of the Litter”; and Easton LaChappelle, founder and chief executive officer of Unlimited Tomorrow. Richard Rossi, the founder and director of the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders, was the master of ceremonies.
At the end of the conference, both students were inducted into The Society of Torch & Laurel. The society is a high school honors program developed by The National Society of Collegiate Scholars to recognize high school high-achievers and provide them and their families with the vital tools to successfully transition to college. The
will have its 30-year reunion on Saturday, Nov. 10.
The deadline to purchase tickets is Saturday, Oct. 27.
Visit bit.ly/2xdIxKY to purchase tickets. NEW AND NOTABLE
Victor Barranca, a Kingston High School graduate and an assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to continue his work in uncovering the relationship between neuronal network structure and brain function.
“With the increasing prevalence of network models in the mathematical sciences, accurately measuring network connectivity and understanding its relationship with network function is of broad scientific importance,” Barranca said in an article published on the college’s website.
Since measuring the connectivity of large neuronal networks remains a challenge experimentally and theoretically, Barranca is working to develop an accurate and efficient framework for network reconstruction.
The grant, titled “Compressive Sensing and Neuronal Network Structure-Function Relationships,” will support his efforts to further understand brain connectivity and neuronal computation, Barranca said in the article. His work will make use of recent advances in a branch of signal processing theory known as compressive sensing to take advantage of the sparse structure of brain networks in recovering their connectivity. Considering that sparsity is ubiquitous across many biological and social systems, Barranca’s sparsitybased reconstruction framework has wide appeal, and it may provide new insights into sensory processing as well as abnormal brain function.
The research integrates perspectives from mathematics, computer science, engineering and biology.
He is the son of Victor Sr. Lillian Barranca of Connelly.
••• Performing artist Afia Mensah, a State University of New Paltz graduate, was selected by popular plus-size fashion blogger Anita Matey to open up for her “Love You, Live Now: Strength of a Woman” event at 301 Henry Street Settlement in New York City on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The event is purposed to allow women of all shapes and sizes to convene and show support as discussions occur on how women, regardless of their size, can learn to love themselves from the inside and out.
As a Ghanaian-American, Mensah has always been immersed in a variety of Ghanaian music, from its popular hi-life to gospel and now afrobeats. She enjoys incorporating these elements into her live performances and was excited to showcase it on stage as she opened up for the second annual event. After connecting through Instagram, Matey believed Mensah would be a great addition to the event, not only because of her singing capabilities, but due to the fact that she would serve as a great representation for, not just plus-size women, but for Ghanaians as well.
“Afia Mensah brings a new kind of vibe to afrobeats, a rich vibe that excites and commands you to listen to her voice,” Matey said in a press release. “I am excited to see where her talent will take her, and am anticipating her performance at LYLN. Her performance at this women’s empowerment event will be another example of how much talent truly comes from Ghana.”
Described as a day to celebrate resilience, “Love You, Live Now” creates a safe space for women of all sizes to celebrate one another and find strength within insecurities. There were panel discussions on topics such as social media, fashion, relationships and self-expression, in addition to mixer sessions.