The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Oneida County youth make impact
Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. announced Feb. 22 that 1,742 youth volunteered 4,481 hours through the Oneida County Children Care initiative in 2022.
“The civic engagement, compassion and drive that is displayed by the youth of Oneida County never ceases to amaze me,” Picente said in a news release. “The lessons learned through programs like Oneida County Children Care show our young people the value of helping others and the benefit of community service. The opportunities our partner agencies give these volunteers helps lay the groundwork for our future.”
The county initiative — which launched in 2009 — partnered last year with the Neighborhood Center, Safe Schools Mohawk Valley, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dodge Pratt Northam Art & Community Center, Center for Family Life and Recovery, ICAN and Thea Bowman House.
Youth volunteers performed community service that included assisting homeless individuals; making Christmas cards for veterans and senior citizens; a food drive for children in Ukraine; collecting winter coats; community gardening; the Making Strides to End Breast Cancer Walk; preparing and delivering care bags for cancer patients; cleaning senior citizens’ yards; holiday food drives and youth mentoring and tutoring.
“The Oneida County Children Care initiative promotes youth being involved, community conscious citizens ,” Youth Bureau Director Kevin Green said. “We are continuing to see our youth take ownership and pride in making a difference within our community through volunteering. This initiative is a testimony to the work our youthserving agencies do on a daily basis and to the youth of Oneida County, who really do care.”
Now in its twelfth year, the Oneida County Children Cares initiative has seen 16,442 youth dedicate 49,398 hours to community service.