SAVE THE DATE: Skidmore Cares Open House

We will be extending a personal invitation to you and all members of the Skidmore faculty and staff and their families to join us at Scribner House for the annual Holiday Open House:

Friday, December 7
3–8 p.m.
Scribner House

The open house will again be an opportunity for us to share time together and to give back to our community.  We encourage you to bring your family to the open house and to share in the spirit of giving associated with the holiday season by participating in Skidmore Cares, a program through which we can all lend a helping hand to others. Skidmore Cares was created to give more meaning to our gathering as a campus community by collecting food and school supplies to be distributed to local agencies. 

There will be supervised activities for children in the carriage house during the open house, including the ever-popular cookie decorating.
 
I hope that you and your family will join us at Scribner House on December 7 to participate in Skidmore Cares and to share good fellowship with our Skidmore family.
 
Best regards,

Phil and Marie Glotzbach

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Skidmore Cares unites campus in effort to help the community

As the holidays approach and the fall semester wraps up at Skidmore College, students, faculty and staff are once again making a concerted effort to help those in need in the surrounding communities.

Spearheading this effort is Skidmore Cares, an annual campuswide initiative launched in 2006 by Skidmore President Phil Glotzbach and his wife, Marie. This year the program culminated on Dec. 7—designated as Skidmore Cares Friday—with the collection food, toiletries, school supplies and money to assist local agencies that serve the community.

As Skidmore students and staff set out midday on Monday, Dec. 10, to deliver the donations, the tally was impressive: some 1,700 food items, 200 toiletry items and boxes brimming with school supplies.

This year’s Skidmore Cares beneficiaries are the Franklin Community Center, Salvation Army, Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council (EOC), Domestic Violence Rape Crisis Services of Saratoga County, Mary’s Haven, the Latino Community Advocacy Program, Corinth Central School District, the Saratoga Springs City School District PATHS Program and Shelters of Saratoga.

These agencies also will receive shares of cash donations totaling more than $10,600. The funds came from campus contributions and from donations by several vendors who do business with Skidmore.

Said Peter Whitten, executive director of Shelters of Saratoga, “Our additional shelter capacity and expanded outreach to homeless singles and families both at area motels and ‘on the street’ have taxed our ability to provide all of the personal care items they need. Skidmore Cares has stepped up at just the right time to fill this gap.”

The Skidmore Cares fundraising effort has been boosted by proceeds from "Beatlemore Skidmania,” the college’s

annual concert of Beatle music performed by students, faculty and staff. Organized by Professor of Music Gordon Thompson and a group of his students, the program this year featured three sold-out performances in November in the Arthur Zankel Music Center. Proceeds from two of the concerts have been donated to Skidmore Cares, while funds from the third show will support scholarships in the community.

The Glotzbachs initiated Skidmore Cares seven years ago to emphasize the importance of responsible citizenship by working together to assist those in our area who are less fortunate. Each year, as faculty, staff and their families gather for the annual campus Holiday Open House, they drop off food donations in a sleigh on the front yard of Scribner House, the president’s home. This year the collection was held on Friday, Dec. 7.

The collection effort was coordinated by campus “cheerleaders” in each division of the college. The student component of the drive was led by Skidmore’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the campus organization Benef-Action, which promotes student volunteerism in the community.

“Skidmore Cares builds on the college’s heritage of being a good neighbor and provides a very personal way for our students and employees to help address the needs of families within the greater Saratoga Springs region,” said Marie Glotzbach. “It is especially important to us to give back to our community during these difficult economic times.”  

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New for 2012: Key Changes to This Year’s Skidmore Cares Program

• In the past, our open house has always taken place on a weekend, and this year we are moving it to a Friday Dec. 7, from 3 to 8 p.m. We hope that you and your co-workers will be able to celebrate the season and our shared community with us on your way home from work.

• Friday, Dec. 7, will be designated Skidmore Cares Friday.

• The open house will be the reception following the faculty meeting on Dec. 7.

• Retirees will be invited to attend any time that is most convenient for them.

• Where possible, we are encouraging supervisors to excuse their staff members early, and we anticipate that many folks will wish to come in groups as you finish your workday.

• As always, family members and out-of-town guests are welcome, and there will be supervised activities for children in the carriage house.

• We encourage you to share in the spirit of giving associated with the holiday season by participating in Skidmore Cares, a program through which we can all lend a helping hand to others. Skidmore Cares was created to give more meaning to our gathering as a campus community by collecting food and school supplies to be distributed to local agencies. 

• Collection of canned goods and school supplies will happen on Skidmore Cares Friday only, and all donations will be collected at Scribner House. There will be no on-campus collection of donations.

• You will be able to drop off your donations at the Scribner House carriage house or in the sleigh that will be parked on the Scribner House front lawn.

• In the case of overflow parking, we recommend that you park in the Zankel Music Center lot and walk on the path through the woods to Woodlawn Avenue.

• We welcome you to use of the back door, especially if you are dropping children or donations off in the carriage house.

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2012 Collection Assignment List

Skidmore Cares, launched in 2006 by President Glotzbach and Marie Glotzbach to enhance the meaning of the annual campus holiday gathering at Scribner House, has grown into a program that makes a significant contribution to area families in need.

Skidmore Cares culminates in December, when food and school supplies will be collected at Scribner House during the Holiday Open House on December 7, from 3 to 8 p.m.

New for 2012

• Collection of canned goods and school supplies will happen on Friday, Dec. 7 only, and all donations will be collected at Scribner House.
• There will be no on-campus collection of donations.
• You will be able to drop off your donations at the Scribner House carriage house or in the sleigh that will be parked on the Scribner House front lawn.

* School Supplies

• Flash drives
• Composition notebooks
• Composition paper
• Spiral notebooks
• Pens
• Pencils (plain and colored)
• Pencil boxes
• Highlighters
• Markers
• Scissors
• 1-inch binders
• 3-inch binders
• Dividers
• Folders
• Glue sticks
• Index cards
• Socks and mittens