Skidmore launches community service program
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.» Skidmore College kicked off a program that donates food, provisions and school supplies to assist people in need throughout Saratoga County Tuesday.
The community service program, founded in 2006 by Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach and his wife Marie Glotzbach, is called Skidmore Cares.
Skidmore community has donated a total of $82,636 in monetary gifts, 17,945 food items, and more than 10,000 school supplies and personal care items to nonprofit agencies throughout Saratoga County since the program’s inception.
Approximately 150 Skidmore faculty and staff members attended a kickoff luncheon on campus.
“Skidmore Cares is one of our most significant expressions of the values and strength of the Skidmore Community,” said Philip A. Glotzbach. “It was created 11 years ago to provide a concrete way for all of us to come together during the holiday season, to affirm our ties with one another, and to give back to the larger Saratoga Springs region.”
Representatives from several Saratoga-based community service agencies attended the luncheon to share examples of how Skidmore Cares enables their organizations to better serve the needs of families within Saratoga County.
“We have been involved with the Skidmore Cares program for approximately 10 years. We have come to rely on their large donation to help stock our food pantry shelves during the busy winter months,” said Kari Cushing, executive director of the Franklin Community Center. “Last year they donated more than 1,000 pounds of food. Skidmore students are so enthusiastic and they not only collect food donations, but deliver them to our pantry with smiling faces. We look forward to seeing them each year.”
“Throughout the years, Skidmore has been a partner in our work to help area families,”
said Maggie Fronk, executive director of Wellspring. “Through the Skidmore Cares program and collection efforts, everyone on campus becomes aware of the work of Wellspring in our community. The college’s generous donations have helped families with a range of basic needs – food, school supplies, items for children – and helped families escaping abusive situations.” “We are deeply touched by what Skidmore Cares does for the Saratoga Center for the Family. The yearly contributions have a tremendous impact on our success,” said Rebecca Baldwin, executive director of Saratoga Center for the Family.
Participating community service agencies and nonprofit organizations include: Corinth Central School, Franklin Community Center, Latino Community Advocacy Program, Mary’s Have, Salvation Army, Saratoga Center for the Family, Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council, Saratoga Springs City School District PATHS program, Shelters of Saratoga and Wellspring.
“Columnist David Brooks recently visited our campus and spoke about a theme that runs through his writing, the human need for community. Specifically, he talked about the message that once served as a common, uniting theme for this nation: the idea that most of us have come to this land as immigrants, seeking to form a new civic order in which we all can have a place,” said Philip A. Glotzbach. “We know that our nation has never completely lived up to this ideal of e pluribus unum, out of many one, but we abandon this ideal at our peril. Skidmore Cares reminds us that we have the power to oppose those trends – in our world, our nation, in our own community, and even in our personal lives – that serve to divide us. We have the capacity to join together, to affirm one another’s unique value, and to act in common to make a difference in the world. This commitment expresses the essence of Skidmore Cares.”
Capping the program in December is a festive event at the Scribner House, the residence of the Glotzbachs.
During the event, contributions are collected in a Skidmore Cares sleigh located on the front lawn of the North Broadway home.
Afterward, volunteers will sort, load trucks and deliver the goods to participating local agencies.
“Skidmore College has always worked to be a good neighbor to the City of Saratoga Springs, which we value deeply,” said Philip A. Glotzbach. “Skidmore Cares is an extension of our work to serve our greater community, and we are pleased to have an opportunity to make a positive impact.”
“The power of our community is truly remarkable,” said Marie Glotzbach. “Phil and I are most grateful for the philanthropy of our colleagues who each year help to make Skidmore Cares more generous than the last.”