charity

Fifteen years ago longtime Le Roy resident Stu Freeman noticed that leftover potatoes were sitting in fields rotting after harvest season, so he got farmers in the community to allow him to glean the vegetable to donate to local food pantries. That year he brought about 300 pounds of potatoes in and he's been doing it every year since.

Since then the "Potato Man" as he is affectionately known, has also gotten farmers to donate cabbage, carrots, onion and butternut squash. So much so that he couldn't keep up with the demand.

Two years ago he recruited members of his congregation, Bergen First Presbyterian Church, to assist. They regularly gather, sort, wash, pack and deliver fresh produce to food pantries every two weeks throughout the fall and winter. Last year they delivered more than 15,000 pounds to The Salvation Army and Community Action in Batavia, as well as Go Christian Church in Churchville.

Congregation member Kelsey Hill got involved and she is grateful for the opportunity to live out her faith in a practical way.

"I rounded up high school kids from the Sunday school class that I was co-teaching and we volunteered together," Hill said. "I was excited for the opportunity to show the students that faith isn't just something to talk about on Sunday mornings, but something to live out every day."

There are about 10 area farmers who participate. Although the farmers are committed to helping, they prefer to remain anonymous. The Batavian agreed not to print their names or the names of their farms.

Besides food, Freeman also collects coats and shoes for The Salvation Army in Batavia, Open Door Mission in Rochester and Teen Challenge in Buffalo. In the past three years, he has brought them hundreds of both, with help from his church and community.

He is an extremely humble man who is hesitant to talk about himself or his accomplishments, but having come from a family of 10 children, he knows how hard it is to make ends meet.

"I've done what the good Lord has put in my heart to do," Freeman said. "I don't want praise or publicity, I just want other people to get involved by donating food to the hungry. One church can't do it all."

Hill also encourages individuals, families and churches to give food or money to charities for families in need.

"We could also use more hands to wash and dry vegetables this Saturday and it's open to whomever would like to help," Hill said

Among those extra hands will be the Byron-Bergen Soccer team.

The next "Potato Wash" will be held 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church of Bergen, 38 S. Lake Ave., Bergen.

The First Presbyterian Church, 300 E. Main St., Batavia, is hosting a community clothing and household item giveaway Sunday and Monday.

Donations are still be accepted today. Organizers are looking for clean, gently used clothing and household items such as towels, bedding, curtains, tablecloths and throw rugs.

There's always a need for donations of clothing for infants, boys and girls, and for men and women, shoes, sneakers, purses and hats, plus winter clothing for children and adults.

Donations can be brought to the church today from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m.

Items that cannot be left include large items, furniture, appliances and similar items.

For those who need to receive such donations, the giveaway is from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday.

It all started with a little girl with a big heart.

Angelique Heick, the 8-year-old from Bergen who competed as a finalist in the "American Miss" pageant in August, spent a large part of the last year taking money from her monthly allowances and using it to purchase toys for underprivileged children in Genesee County.

She donated 12 toys for each month of the year to Community Action Angels of Genesee County, which is the volunteer arm of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee. It's made up of volunteers dedicated to gathering donations for toys, food, clothing, extra money and other necessities for Genesee County residents in need.

But this wasn't enough. When Angelique learned about all that the "Angels" do to support needy kids and families, she was bothered that there was no such volunteer program for kids her age.

"I wanted to know why there was no Community Action Junior Angels," she said, "so I decided to start my own."

Now, with the help of 100 Girl Scouts -- officially dubbed "Jr. Angels" -- their families, Community Action and others, Angelique has achieved this dream.

Angelique -- a third-grader at Byron-Bergen Elementary School, a Girl Scout since age 4 and a member of Troop 42174 -- inspired her Girl Scout Troop with her idea and efforts to collect funding promises from local businesses along with three friends -- Pat, Lisa and Annet.

Troop 42174 Leader Rene Vurraro gathered Girl Scout Troops from Byron-Bergen, Pavilion and Le Roy to help with a community service event in response to Angelique's vision.

When Community Action, in turn, heard about what the Scouts were doing, they decided to partner with them to make this a much bigger, annual event called "Circle of Giving" and to develop a Community Action Jr. Angels program.

The first "Circle of Giving" was held on Saturday at Byron-Bergen High School.  The Jr. Angels were there to collect donations of food, clothing and toys, and to make cards for the recipients.

The goal is to eventually turn this into an opportunity for area Girl Scouts to earn a badge.

Beyond that, Community Action has included this project in a book of statewide initiatives so that people in other areas of New York State can read about it and get similar projects started.

"One 8-year-old's dream could turn into thousands of Girl Scouts doing the same thing," said Pat Standish, founder of Community Action Angels of Genesee County.

Standish gave the Scouts an inspirational talk about her experience with the "Angels" and told them how much people will appreciate what they are doing.

"When I first started (with Community Action Angels)," she said, "I thought kids would want things like bicycles and iPods. But what's important to them is not what you give, but that you show that you care."

She also stressed the importance of team effort when it comes to the "Angels" and similar volunteer initiatives.

"I may have had the idea (as founder)," Standish said, "but I needed the help of volunteers to make it happen. And Angelique had an idea, but she couldn't have done it without help from all of you and your families."

Organizations that sponsored this endeavor include Stahlka Agency, Complete Payroll Processing, the Sallie Mae Fund and First Niagara Bank.

"They gave money so the kids wouldn't have to wait (to get started)," Standish said.

Dee Dee Hintz, Angelique's grandmother and legal guardian, expressed gratitude to Byron-Bergen Jr./Sr. High School Principal Aaron Johnson and Elementary School Principal Brian Meister for handing out fliers for this event.

"I think this is the beginning of something big," Hintz said, noting the number of volunteers involved in the overall project.

"Next year will be even bigger," she said. "(Angelique) already knows what she wants to do next year. She'll carry this on for at least two or three more years."

A final note

"Circle of Giving" is the philosophy of Community Action Angels, which encourages its beneficiaries to "pay it forward."

According to Standish, many of the people helped by the "Angels" over the years have become volunteers.

Special thanks to Angelique's mom, Jennifer Cejka, for sharing background information prior to the event and for providing the inspiration for the article's title.

There was a long line of people waiting for tattoos this morning at 10 when High Voltage Tattoo and Piercing opened its doors for its second annual fundraising event.

The event continues on Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with patrons being able to choose from a set of predetermined designs for $30 per tattoo and piercings for $20 (includes jewelry).

All proceeds benefit Don Carroll's Toys for Kids and Golisano Children's Hospital.

High voltage is located at 110 W. Main St., Batavia.

Above, Kenny McCarthy inks John Veitch with a four-leaf clover.

Press release:

Several employees of Liberty Pumps contributed to the purchase of items to be shipped to help with Super Storm Sandy relief efforts. Items sent by Liberty employees included cleaning supplies, first-aid supplies, toiletries, food items, paper products, baby items, batteries, winter clothing, pet items and much more.

Also contributing to this shipment was C&M Forwarding, a local trucking company that shipped this huge pallet at no charge!

For the second year in a row, the crew at High Voltage Tattoo and Piercing is hosting a tattoo and piercing marathon with proceeds benefiting local charities.

This year, all money raised during the two-day event will be donated to Don Carroll's Toys for Kids and Golisano Children's Hospital. 

You can pick from a group of pre-determined tattoos for $30 per tattoo and piercings for $20 (includes jewelry).

No appointments will be accepted during the two-day event, which is from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

Last year, the event was only one day and the High Voltage crew worked until late into the night trying keep up with the demand.

High voltage is located at 110 W. Main St., Batavia.

Photo: Mark Fanara, owner, Kenny McCarthy, Lisa Vokes and Andrew London.

Scott Levensailor, owner of the Grease Lightning and Castrol Premium Lube locations in Batavia, and his staff member Josh hold cans of donated spaghetti.

The two stores -- 4003 W. Main St., Batavia, and 50 Liberty St., Batavia -- are accepting canned good donations this holiday season in support of the "Give to Live" program. The donations will provide food to needy families through the Salvation Army.

Each canned food item donated will mean a $10 coupon for customers on their next oil change.

Southside Deli will be providing a donation of several cans latter this week to help kick off the drive.

Levensailor took over the stores Sept. 1 and he said one of his goals is to make sure local residents know he wants the businesses to be connected to the community and for customers to know they can rely on his shops for fast, friendly and honest service.

He said he wants to run the kind of business that is built on trust.

"My business philosophy is I want every parent in town to feel they can send their daughter to me and know she’s going to be treated fairly with no tricks that are going to drain her of her pocketbook."

Beer pong was the name of the game at the Polish Falcons clubhouse on Saturday as a couple of dozen people joined in a competition as part of a fundraiser for WNY Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

A group of Graham employees are trying to raise more than $20,000 for the charity and to finance their participation in a charity marathon in San Francisco in October.

Saturday's event also included a 50/50 raffle and a chance auction.

According to the group's fundraising page, the effort is halfway to its goal.

The team: Arlene Hall, Ashley Lashure, Elaine Harding, Nina Stevens, Andrew Haupt and Brian Ellingham.

City firefighters will again volunteer their time this year to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the annual "Fill the Boot" fundraiser.

Last year, area residents donated more than $7,100 and firefighters this year hope to top $8,000 in donations, which is more than double the state average for fire departments that participate in the campaign.

The fundraiser begins at 9 a.m. and runs until about 1:30 p.m.

Off-duty firefighters will be positioned on Ellicott Street and Main Street in the area of Court Street holding boots to collect donations from passersby.

The campaign is organized by IAFF Local 896 and co-chaired by Local President Greg Ireland and firefighter Jeff Stevens.

Photo: Stevens, left, with firefighters Dan Herberger and Dave Adams.

Photo: Randy Tonner Jr., Maddos, 6, and Maddox's mother, Michele.

Randy Tonner Jr., hasn't worked since July 2.

That was the night he was brutally attacked on a street in Rochester that put him the acute brain injury unit at Strong Memorial Hospital for more than a month.

At the time, Tonner was a single parent raising his 6-year-old son, Maddox, living and working in Rochester. He was an independent contractor, installing flooring for Sherwin Williams.

With no employer-provided insurance, he's had no means to care for himself or his son and had to give up custody of Maddos and move back to Oakfield.

Today, the community rallied around Tonner with a fundraiser at the American Legion Hall in Alabama, which featured a chance auction and a beef on weck lunch.

"People have been great," Tonner said. "The show of support, not just for me, but for my family, has just been fantastic."

Tonner was living on Park Avenue the night he walked by 25 Park Ave. with friends at about 2 a.m.

There was a group of people having a party on the porch and some sort of scuffle ensured.

Tonner's father, Randy Tonner, said the detective described it as something relatively minor, like you might find on any college campus on a Friday or Saturday night.

Seconds after it broke up, a man sucker punched Randy Jr. from behind.

"The dectective said it was the sucker punch of all sucker punches," Randy Sr. said. "From the tape (there was a surveillance system installed at the house), you could see he was out before he hit the ground. His head hit the cement and then another man came up and kicked him in the head."

A woman rushed to Randy Jr.'s aid. When police arrived, they found him lying beside the road in a pool of his own blood.

Two men were arrested, Justin Cropo and Nicholas Vitale, and a grand jury indicted them on a count each of assault in the second degree. The men are awaiting trial on the charges. (In an interesting footnote on the case, another man at the scene who looks like Vitale, and actually came to Randy's aid, was arrested initially, but the charges were dropped).

Randy Jr. said as far as he can remember, he's never met either of the men before.

After being released from the hospital, Randy Jr., has been on anti-seizure medication and his father said his main issue is the lack of mental endurance to work a full day.

He should be able to work again some day, but doctors are unsure when. After his next doctor's visit, they hope he will be cleared for part-time work.

"If you ask me, from the second I got out of the coma I wanted to go back to work, but I don’t know, whatever the doctor says," Randy Jr. said.

The damage to Randy's brain has forced him to learn to read again and he also lost sight in one eye.

His father said today's fundraiser was really an emotional event for him and he was especially grateful to Ron Sessaman, who has a history of organizing fundraisers in the community and arranged this one.

"For him to take the time for these people to come out here, I get choked up," Randy Sr., said. "It just touches the heart more than you can know. It’s just so, so special.  I think this also great for Randy. This keeps his strength, because this is hard. This keeps his attitude up."

Individuals who wish to make a donation to Randy Tonner, which are aimed at just helping him meet basic living expenses until he can return to work, can call Sessaman at (585) 734-7998.

More than 30 people got their heads shaved at Pembroke High School on Friday to help raise money to support the Roswell Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

The event raised more than $10,000, according to faculty member Melisa Dettbarn.

"Cancer affects our community profoundly," Dettbarn said. "A lot of kids have been affected. A lot of faculty has been affected."

Tyler Lang, a student involved with the Kiwanis Key Club, worked as one of the student organizers and he said he found the event very emotional and very rewarding.

"It's just a blessing to be doing this for Roswell," he said.

One of his classmates was recently diagnosed with cancer.

"We're supporting him and we're supporting everyone else at Roswell," Tyler said.

Two years ago, another "Bald for Bucks" event raised more than $7,000 for Roswell.

Pembroke HS has been involved in a few fundraisers for Roswell and other charities in recent years, including "Shoot for a Cure" in January and "Shades for AIDS" last year.

Dettbarn said these events just reflect the nature of Pembroke.

"We’re really a close community," Dettbarn said. "It’s unreal. We’re really tight knit.  Everybody pitches in. Even if we don’t all always get along, everybody is right there the minute you need them."

Volunteers of the Town of Batavia Fire Department recently delivered presents and food to two needy families in the town.

The kids get presents and the family gets hams, turkeys and everything else for a good holiday meal.

Either the Salvation Army or a social services agency identifies the families, whose identity is not publicly released.

Just about everybody in the department participates in the process, with members shopping from the families' wish lists and members of the auxilliary wrapping presents.

"It's just one of those small deeds in life that makes you smile," said 2nd Assistant Chief Nate Fix. 

Photos by Rick Franclemont

Press release:

The Salvation Army, Batavia chapter, is in the last days of its annual Red Kettle Campaign. There are two days left and Major Robert Kurtz noted "that as of Wednesday 12/21/11 the amount raised so far is $50,589.00 This means we need to raise $4,000 per day (today and) for the next three days!"

The goal is $67,000.

Monies are used to help more than 1,500 children this Christmas season and will also be used through their financial aid office throughout the rest of this year as well as 2012.

"People are extremely generous this year," Kurtz said.

He hopes this continues to be true over these next few days.

He added: "We are so thankful to the community for their help, not only with monetary donations, but (with) the toy drives, food drives and all those willing to volunteer their time to help with the distribution of toys and food as well as those brave enough to ring those bells."

Volunteers are still needed to ring bells over the next few days. Please call 815-5955. Ask for Sue.

Santa was at Grace Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon for Don Carroll's Toys for Kids event. About 20 families attended, with the boys and girls getting pizza and cupcakes and then being entertained while their parents loaded their cars with the toys and gifts provided by the charity.

Bottom photo, Don Carroll, shaking hands with Santa, with the rest of the organizing committee, Beth Kemp, left, Brian Kemp and Jeff Bartz.

By 4 p.m., Friday, there was a three-hour wait for tattoos and piercings at High Voltage on Main Street, Batavia.

People were lining up for $25 tattoos and $15 piercings with all of the proceeds going to Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

Owner Mark Fanara posted on Facebook this morning that the event raised more than $2,000 and the crowd didn't clear out until 11 p.m.

Tattoos and piercings were provided by Fanara, Kevin Lockwood, below, and Lisa Vokes.

Cassandra Pierce was among the dozens and dozens of people who showed up at The Laughing Buddha on Friday for half-price tattoos with the donation of a new toy for a family in need.

Owner Jason Lang said toys and gifts were provided to four families, including the Culver family, which recently lost its home in a fire.

In the early evening, Santa showed up at the shop and Lang said people were lining up outside the door waiting to make a donation, get a tattoo, see Santa or just be a part of the event.

Among the donors of food and gift cards were Alex's Place, Center Street Smoke House, Bourbon & Burger and Applebee's.

Pictured with Pierce is tattoo artist Martin Slaymaker.

Since 2005, Oakfield resident Jeff Kitanik has been paralyzed from the waist down, yet he has maintained an active life and continues to run his construction company, according to friends.

There's one thing that will help make his life better, those friends say: a standing wheelchair.

To that end, friends have organized a fundraiser for Kitanik from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, at the Oakfield Fire Hall, 20 Albert St., Oakfield.

The event will feature a chance auction, craft and rummage sale, bake sale and face painting. There is a $5 admission, which includes 25 raffle tickets and door prize entry.

The wheelchair costs $18,000.

A representative of the Standing Chair Company of Saginaw, Mich., will attend Saturday's event.

Friend Rebecca Martin said the chair will provide Kitanik, who is father to five children, with several benefits.

"There are many medical benefits of standing," Martin said. "Among other things, it maintains bone density, assists in healing of pressure sores, increases blood flow and helps maintain good blood pressure. It also helps the digestive system work properly, which has been a major concern of Jeff's since the accident. It won't help decrease pain level, or at least we don't think it will, but it will increase his quality of life immensely."

The chair is manual, which makes it lighter and easier to get in tight places, such as a construction site, but it also assists in keeping his lungs healthy.

Kitanik, known to friends as "Tru-Cut," and his wife, were involved in a serious auto accident Sept. 30, 2005.

"Still, Jeff holds his head high," Martin said. "He continues to put family first and runs his own construction business. Anyone who knows Jeff would tell you he holds all of the positive attributes we all strive to achieve and uphold."

To make a donation for the auction or purchase tickets, contact Donna at 948-8253 or Heather at 409-4605.

The UMMC Foundation is holding its annual Fall Auction at the Clarion Hotel tonight.

Director Lorie Stupp said the foundation expects to raise $30,000 from the event.  More than 260 tickets were sold.

The evening opened with snacks, drinks and a chance auction, followed by dinner and a live auction hosted by Bontrager's. 

There was also a sumptuous dessert table.