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Neighbor to Neighbor Newsletter August 2010
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June 2010 Current Needs
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Neighbor to Neighbor June 2010 Newsletter
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Chocolate Celebration
Sweet treats satisfy crowd at eighth annual Chocolate Celebration Samaritan Caregivers raise $8,500 during their second largest fundraiser of the year By DANIEL HUMAN Tribune staff writer Willy Wonka would have been jealous. Fudges, truffles, cakes and, at one table, edible flowers filled a richly aromatic hallway of Kokomo Mall on Thursday. Hundreds of people roamed up and down the building, occasionally stopping at tables to sample the decadent snacks during Samaritan Caregivers’ Chocolate Celebration. While some visitors nibbled on free, bite-sized portions, others swapped tickets for full portions or take-home packages. Proceeds from ticket sales went toward the Kokomo nonprofit’s general fund. The Chocolate Celebration, which was in its eighth year, is Samaritan Caregivers’ second largest fundraiser of the year, behind the Duck Derby every summer at Kokomo Beach. Jamie Henderson, the organization’s executive director, said the event sold about 3,400 tickets. At two tickets for $5, it brought in $8,500. Last year, the event sold 3,200 tickets, she said. It was a mixing pot of chocolate types and vendors Thursday. Some served traditional chocolate menus, such as J. Edwards Fine Chocolate, which was the event’s corporate sponsor. Other vendors came from non-food-related organizations, some of which offered a more exotic sampling. Orchids adorned Waterford Place Health Campus’ table at the north end of the mall. Passers-by dismissed the flowers as a garnish sitting next to chocolates in corsage boxes. But as people walked by, the health-care facility’s dining staff offered them tastes of the flowers’ petals and stem. “I love the presentation,” Betti Nogly-Rennemann said about the orchids. “We started serving them several years ago on Valentine’s Day. [The residents] can be a little apprehensive.” One of last year’s hot sellers was the chocolate porter cake from Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery. The restaurant makes the cake from its in-house brewed Cole Porter, flavoring the pastry with a hint of the dark beer. Chris Roegner, the restaurant’s proprietor, said he brought a couple hundred slices of the cake last year. He sold out within a hour. To prevent a repeat of last year, his restaurant brought 600 slices of the cake Thursday. Half Moon’s cake earned the restaurant two awards this year, 3rd place for Best Baked Good and 2nd place in the People’s Choice category. Henderson said Samaritan Caregivers intentionally schedules the chocolate-centric event just before Valentine’s Day. Part of the event’s purpose is to promote local businesses, she said. “People seem to like supporting businesses that give back to the community,” she said. • Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com. Award Winners: A panel of judges, mainly consisting of representatives from Kokomo media outlets, selected their favorite vendors in certain categories. There was also a People’s Choice award. The following are the winners: People’s Choice: 1. Windmill Grill 2. Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery 3. Glass Canopy Cafe Best Baked Good: 1. Indulgence Bakery 2. Marsh Supermarket 3. Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery Best Candy: 1. Boyd’s Fudge 2. Jefferson Manor 3. Banner Flower House Best Other: 1. Gordon Food Service 2. Howard Regional Health System 3. Glass Canopy Cafe Best Display: 1. Whiskey Creek Woodfire Grill 2. Windmill Grill 3. North Woods Commons
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Chocolate Celebration
Kokomo Tribune Cheers & Jeers - Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010 Celebration serves a lot of chocolate Jamey Henderson of Samaritan Caregivers and Sherry Otto, Chocolate Celebration chairman, send this Cheer: “According to current statistics, Americans consume 3 billion pounds of chocolate annually. Thanks to everyone who got started on their share of the national average – 3,400 servings of chocolate – at the recent Chocolate Celebration to benefit Samaritan Caregivers. “Special thanks to J. Edwards Fine Chocolates, Gourmet Cakes & Unique Gifts, our corporate sponsors who made the event possible. Thanks also to the Kokomo Mall for hosting the event, as well as Haynes International and Duke Energy. “Congratulations to the winning vendors: People’s Choice – the Windmill Grill with 490 servings of chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate lined puff pastries with peanut butter or raspberry mousse, berry filled chocolate cups and hand dipped chocolate covered fresh fruit. Critic’s Choice – Indulgence Bakery for baked goods, Boyd’s Fudge for candy and GFS Marketplace for other, and, Best Table Display – Whiskey Creek Woodfire Grill. For a complete list of all the winners, check out our Web site, www.samaritancaregivers.org. “We are most grateful to all our chocolate vendors: Banner Flower House Cardova Chocolates, Big Ben Coffee, Book Nook Bistro, Coffee Junkiez, Cracker Barrel, Create-A-Cake, Daisy’s Sip N Dip, Glass Canopy Cafe, Golden Living/Sycamore Village, Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery, Howard Regional Health System, Jefferson Manor, Marsh Supermarkets, North Woods Commons and North Woods Village, Olde Oak Door/Meal Thyme Solutions, Pastariffic Italian Restaurant, Primrose Retirement Community, Rainbow Christian Camp, Rozzi’s Catering, St. Joseph Hospital, Sheila’s Custom Catering, The Sunspot Natural Market, Sweet Poppin’s, Waterford Place Health Campus, Windsor Estates and Xocai. “Our sincere appreciation to the following businesses: Coca-Cola Bottling Co., North Woods Commons and North Woods Village, The Belfry Bed and Breakfast/Book Nook Bistro, Sam’s Club, Red Lobster, Grace United Methodist Church – United Methodist Women, Joy Christian Bookstore, Horoho Printing, Howard Regional Health System and St. Joseph Hospital. “This event was a great success thanks to the enthusiasm and work of our dedicated volunteers. We appreciate your hard work and effort.” Kindness sparks workout Ronald L. Schafer of Kokomo sends this Cheer for the YMCA: “As a longtime YMCA member, I would like to thank the Y board and staff for their continual improvement in work ethic and pleasant social demeanor. A smile and kind remark help my workout to be even more successful. “I always look forward to my return visit!” Walk raises $74,921 for shelter Van C. Taylor of the Kokomo Rescue Mission sends this Cheer: “On Saturday morning, Feb. 13, as we counted the money raised by Walk a Mile in My Shoes, the picture emerged bit by bit. We saw the clear evidence that people were extremely generous this year. By noon we knew for sure. $74,921 had been raised to benefit Open Arms, Kokomo Rescue Mission’s shelter for homeless women and children. “Let me attempt to thank those who worked so hard to make the event successful. Thank you to our corporate sponsors. Thank you to every individual who supported a walker. Thank you to the 800 walkers, young and old ... from a baby zipped into a protected stroller and elementary school students to the senior adults who may have walked a bit slower than others. Thank you to the team captains who took the initiative and formed a team of family or friends. Thank you to the volunteers who cooked and served breakfast, handed out programs and T-shirts, checked the teams in and counted the money, stood on street corners to make sure everyone walked safely, cleared sidewalks and spread salt, took team photos, served coffee and hot chocolate in the tent at Open Arms, and those who did a hundred other jobs behind the scenes that made the walk a fun and exciting event! “On behalf of all the women and children who find themselves living at Open Arms, thank you to the entire community for your support. You are the fuel to the engine that helps ignite hope in women and children who feel that no one cares. Homelessness knows no season. The statistics are staggering in this economy where numerous families are finding it difficult to pay the bills and many are only one paycheck away from being homeless. At Open Arms, we served 62 percent more single women and 25 percent more families in 2009 than in 2008. That gives you some idea of the need that exists. “Thank you so much once again to everyone who helped raise money and walked a mile to help the most vulnerable people in our community, homeless women and children.”
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United Way cuts agency allocations
It’s a result of a shortfall in its Live United campaign By DANIEL HUMAN Tribune staff writer The news that the organization she manages faces yet another budget cut hadn’t quite sunk in yet for Jill Snyder, the executive director of the Mental Health Association in Kokomo. The organization will receive almost $38,000 less than last year from United Way of Howard County. It was the largest cut in total dollar amount among United Way’s agencies. “It’s not going to be easy. I’ll guarantee you,” Snyder said. “I’m a little surprised. We knew we would be cut. ... I don’t think people realize all the budget cuts affect the people we deal with. We’ll see more people walking the streets and not getting the services they need.” United Way announced Tuesday it allocated a total of about $843,000 for 2010. The amount was about $65,000 less than last year. Five of the 14 agencies in the county that United Way funds received cuts for this year. The 7 percent allocations cut parallels a 7 percent shortfall in the Live United fundraising campaign. United Way announced last week the campaign ended $100,000 shy of its $1.5 million fundraising goal for its Live United campaign. The shortfall was part of an ongoing decline in donations. In 2008, the campaign raised $1.75 million of its $2 million goal. Snyder said Tuesday it was too soon to know the long-term effects the funding losses would have. But they will pull money from the organization at a time when more people are needing its services, she said. Lori Tate, president of United Way of Howard County, said the organization cut some of the funding because of discrepancies over how MHA spent some of its 2009 allocations. United Way agencies sign contracts each year outlining details of how they will spend their allocations. MHA spent more allocation money on its client assistance programs, Tate said. Other MHA programs have declined in clientele, so United Way allocated less money to those services, she said. Snyder said MHA has begun focusing more on client assistance, as opposed to education outreach services in schools, because recent changes in Medicaid and food stamp laws have created more of a need for help from mentally disabled people. “With what’s going on politically, changing food stamps and Medicaid allocations, that changes how our clients are able to apply for that kind of thing,” she said. “[We’ve] got [people] who can barely write a check and saying ‘You need to help me.’” Second in 2010’s total cut size to MHA was Carver Community Center, which lost $11,000 in allocations compared to 2009. A phone message left at Carver Community Center was not returned Tuesday afternoon. Visiting Nurse Service lost all of its United Way funding. Last year, it received about $8,500. “Basically, the $8,000 is a small piece, but it’s directly related back to the community,” said visiting Nurse CEO John Pipas. “Not getting it doesn’t kill us, but it’s not going back into the community.” Tate said the agencies have 30 days to appeal their allocations cuts. United Way is also facing internal budget cuts. Tate said last week the organization plans to cut $110,000, which is an 18 percent budget cut. • Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.
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Chocolate Celebration
Top (Secret) Chef: Whisking up sweet, chocolaty treats for celebration By Lisa Fipps managing editor for Kokomo Perspective Behind the unassuming doors of the Kokomo Area Career Center’s culinary program, agent in charge Shelley Rust and 16 special agents are working on WMDs — weapons of mass decadence. They’re pudding in overtime whisking up top secret recipe after recipe and forcing the KCS staff to test their concoctions (it’s a bad job, but someone’s got to do it) to find just the right ones to prepare for the upcoming Samaritan Caregivers Chocolate Celebration. Their mission? To beat the competition more than a batch of divinity fudge. After all, they have a reputation to protect. Last year, the pastry class won best display and best baked goods. “The students from last year told them, ‘You have to top what we did. We have won; now you have to win,’ ” agent Rust said. They don’t want to win; they knead to win. The agents put their chef hat-covered heads together to come up with the recipes, Rust said. “We think of all the possible combinations of what goes good with chocolate,” she said. “I ask them, ‘Do you want this to be more cake-like or like a brownie? Gooey?’ We start from there. We make everything. We test it. We’ll have about 50 different recipes, taste them, and the kids will say, ‘I don’t like this. I like that. I like this, but,’ and we’ll figure out which are the top 10 recipes. We make those and send them around the school. They give us feedback. Then we decide which ones we’ll make and if adjustments need to be made. They may be young and only in high school but they can come up with some really cool stuff.” While preparing for the competition, the agents — er, students — master techniques. So while tempers may flare, the chocolate is tempered, glossy and shiny like a mirror. Once the agents — Jonathon Cummings, Jonathan Ellis, Angie-Lee Garza, Taylor Gilliam, Katharine Giordano, Brooke Hale, Anthony Hamm, Sidricka Harris, Taylor Hatfield, Kristen Ingram, Autumn Jones, David Justice, Keagon Little, Brittany Moirano, Shaneece Reeves, and Amanda Rutherford — prepare the decadent, chocolaty treats, they are covered and stored under lock and key, literally. “Nobody can see them,” Rust said. “Nobody knows.” The Chocolate Celebration lets the students learn while helping the community. “They take a lot of pride in it,” Rust said. “They love it. They have a ball. It’s like, ‘This is what we’ve done. This is our class.’ ” Now that’s s-weet. Speaking of s-weet, agents embedded in companies across Kokomo are busy making weapons of mass decadence of their own. The Chocolate Celebration vendors — vendor is code for agent, too — are as follows. Some of the items being prepared have been declassified. They are no longer top secret. Others are still top secret, and the agents are using the spy world code word TBD, to be determined. Sneaky, they are. Coffee Junkiez: hot chocolate and white chocolate mocha Create-A-Cake: TBD Daisy’s Sip-n-Dip: TBD GFS Marketplace: Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake and French Silk Pie Glass Canopy Cafe (Kokomo Area Career Center): TBD Golden Living/Sycamore Village: chocolate-covered pretzels Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery: Chocolate Porter Cake (a rich, moist chocolate cake made with Porter fudge sauce) Howard Regional Health System: Peppermint Express (a brownie served with peppermint ice cream and topped with hot fudge) Indulgence Bakery: Red Velvet Kisses (chocolate-covered red velvet cake “kisses”) Jefferson Manor: Chocolate Truffles Marsh Supermarkets: cupcakes and Chocolate Lava Cake North Woods Commons & North Woods Village: Hidden Treasure Fudge Olde Oak Door/Meal Thyme Solutions: TBD PASTArrific Italian Restaurant: Milk Chocolate Crème Brûlée St. Joseph Hospital: Chocolate Sweet Heart Snack Mix (snack mix filled with Chex Mix, chocolate, nuts, and raisins) The Sunspot Natural Market: organic chocolate bars (Endangered species, Green & Black, Dagoba, Choco-Love, Alter-Eco), Newman’s Peanut Butter Cups, Brownwood Acres Chocolate-Covered Dried Cherries Waterford Place Health Campus: white and dark chocolate-covered strawberries The Windmill Grill: chocolate-dipped strawberries, Chocolate-Lined Puff Pastries with Peanut Butter or Raspberry Mousse, Berry Filled Chocolate Cups, and hand-dipped chocolate-covered fresh fruit Windsor Estates: Twisted Temptations (pretzels dipped in chocolate, dipped in caramel, drizzled in marshmallow, and dusted in crushed pecans) XOCAI: Xocai Healthy Chocolate Bar It’s no secret that Jamey Henderson, executive director of Samaritan Caregivers, is excited about the Chocolate Celebration, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — or whenever the weapons of mass decadence run out — on Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Kokomo Mall. The snow date is Feb. 9. “We increased the number of servings that we’re asking vendors to bring this year to help meet demand,” she said, “because many of the most popular items do run out early. In the past, we asked for 100 servings and that just wasn’t enough, so we asked vendors to bring 200 or more.” Tickets are two for $5. That will get you two weapons of mass decadence. The main corporate sponsor is J. Edwards Fine Chocolates, Gourmet Cakes and Unique Gifts. “They have stepped up in their partnership with Samaritan Caregivers,” Henderson said. “And they will actually be judging. They have a long history of winning. This year they will have treats there to purchase; they just won’t be judged. We are very, very pleased that J. Edwards has chosen to increase their support of Samaritan Caregivers.” Samaritan Caregivers, a faith-based, nonprofit United Way agency, provides free services to people in Howard County who are elderly, ill, or disabled. And Henderson couldn’t say enough good things about the sponsors who have been there for the Chocolate Celebration from the very beginning: Sam's Club, Marsh, Northwoods Commons, Northwoods Village, St. Joseph Hospital, and Jefferson Manor. “We really couldn’t do it without them — honestly couldn’t,” she said. The singers of Men of Note will be strolling through the mall to serenade celebration-goers and to promote their singing Valentines. Grace United Methodist Church Women will be selling soup and sloppy Joe sandwiches. You can get lunch and dessert to go. “We really appreciate the community’s support of this,” Henderson said. Your mission, should you choose to accept it? Attend the Chocolate Celebration and help Samaritan Caregivers. This story will self-destruct in five ... four ... three ... two ...
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Chocolate Celebration
CHOO-CHOOSING — A little boy eyes Howard Regional Health System’s Peppermint Express. Perspective photos / Provided Kokomo Perspective February 17, 2010
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Chocolate Celebration
CORPORATE SPONSOR — J Edwards Fine Chocolates & Unique Gifts was the corporate sponsor for this year’s Chocolate Celebration. Kokomo Perspective Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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Samaritan Caregivers now accepts Electronic Bank T
Samaritan Caregivers is now able to automatically debit a set amount from your checking/savings account or credit card on the 1st or 15th of every month. Go to “Ways to Give” and click on the “Enroll Now” button to enroll in electronic banking transactions. Save time, money and the environment! You can also download the following file to print a paper copy to mail in or bring into the office.
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March 2010 Current Needs
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Neigbor 2 Neigbor Newsletter March 2010
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Neighbor to Neighbor December 2009
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Ducks rush to the finish
Earnings from Duck Derby may surpass last year’s $15,000 By DANIEL HUMAN Kokomo Tribune staff writer
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Ducks to descend on Kokomo Beach
11th annual Duck Derby fundraiser is set for Thursday By Daniel Human Kokomo Tribune staff writer
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Donor Heritage Club Brochure
Here is a copy of our Planned Giving Brochure (Heritage Club).
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Neighbor to Neighnor August 2009 edition
Quarterly newsletter for August 2009.
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Neighbor to Neighbor June 2009
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Neighbor to Neighbor March 2009
This is our quarterly newsletter.
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Donation Form
Please us this form when sending in your donation in a regular envelope.
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