C.I.D.E.R.

Donny “Elvis” Romines is coming to South Hero for a show sponsored by C.I.D.E.R.  Donny, an Elvis Presley tribute singer, will entertain you at the Folsom School on South Street on Saturday, June 1st, from 7:30 to 9:30.

Donny’s career began when he dressed up as Elvis for a Halloween party and won the contest for the best costume. He has been performing ever since at all types of parties for many different occasions, intimate parties, cruise ships, dinner shows, camp parties and even played in Las Vegas and other casinos around the country.

What started as a one night of fun has continued for 20 years and still going strong. His fans can only hope that he will continue to keep the memory alive and keep giving Elvis the respect and justice he deserves.

There will be a cash bar and snacks available. So, step back into the mid 50s & 60s, put your blue suede shoes on, comb your hair in a DA, get your head in a rock-a-billy zone and come on out to rock the night away. The doors open at 7:00, and I do not mean that Jim Morrison and the Doors are the opening act for Donny – sorry… Miss this event and you will end up a Hound Dog in the Heartbreak Hotel.

Meals on Wheels for recipients in the northern towns of Grand Isle County are currently being prepared at the Islands in the Sun Senior Center in Alburgh with the delivery of those meals being coordinated by the Senior Center.  If a person requires 5 meals a week they consist of 2 hot meals and 3 frozen meals that are delivered on Tuesday and Thursday.  Meals on Wheels for folks in South Hero and Grand Isle are prepared in South Hero and delivered by C.I.D.E.R. volunteers.

As of the first of January, 2013, C.I.D.E.R. will be assuming responsibility for the preparation and delivery of Meals on Wheels for the entire county with the addition of North Hero, Alburgh and Isle La Motte.   The current plan for meals going to the northern towns is that the meals will be prepared in South Hero at the Congregational Church, loaded into insulated containers and transported to North Hero where they will be transfered to a volunteer’s car for the final home delivery.  Hot meals are going to to be delivered 5 days a week – an increase over the current 2 days a week.

Two groups of “Monday through Friday” volunteers are going to be needed for this to work.  One group of volunteers is needed to pick up meals in South Hero (around 10:15 to 10:30) and drive them to the drop-off / transfer location in North Hero – the Harborside Market parking lot.  A second group of volunteers is needed to pick up the meals in North Hero (around 11:00 to 11:15) and make the final home deliveries.  With the addition of several substitute drivers a total of 12 or 13 drivers are needed.  If you live in South Hero or Grand Isle and would like to take the meals north or if you live in the northern end of the county and would like to make the home deliveries please contact us.  Recipients of these meals are our island neighbors who rely on them as they are unable to prepare hot meals for themselves.

Please contact the C.I.D.E.R. office (372-6425) if you would like to volunteer for this worthwhile effort.  A clean driving record, a reliable automobile and the ability to pass a background check are a requirements for this project.

As you know from reading our website Champlain Islanders Developing Essential Resources (C.I.D.E.R.) is a community supported non-profit organization providing services and programs designed to assist Grand Isle County elders and persons with disabilities to continue living with independence and dignity in their own homes and communities.

Serving the Islands for nearly twenty years, C.I.D.E.R. provides wheelchair accessible transportation, manages a community meals program, and loans pieces of special needs equipment such as wheelchairs and walkers.  C.I.D.E.R. relies heavily upon a large group of community volunteers who provide rides, deliver meals-on-wheels, lead strength & balance training classes, make reassurance calls and friendly visits, assist with a variety of individual needs, and help build wheelchair ramps and other home accessibility projects.

Ramp in Alburgh built by C.I.D.E.R.

To support the design and construction of these wheelchair ramps and other home accessibility projects, C.I.D.E.R. has enlisted the support of over seventy Grand Isle County businesses and professionals.  On Wednesday, August 8^th, as part of the One Percent on One Day for One Goal campaign, participating businesses and professionals have pledged to donate at least 1% of their sales toward this critical need.  Though local lumber yards usually provide the materials at a significant savings to C.I.D.E.R. and the construction is handled by a group of unpaid volunteers, the cost of an average accessibility project remains between eight hundred and one thousand dollars.  C.I.D.E.R. receives between four and eight requests per year for assistance with home accessibility (usually a wheelchair ramp), and has designed and/or built forty-four projects to date.  C.I.D.E.R. hopes that the “One Percent Day” will generate between five and eight thousand dollars to support the organization.  We also believe that people will support participating businesses with increased traffic on that day.  The signs will  serve as a visible reminder of how the people and communities of the Islands work together and “pitch in” to make Grand Isle County such a special place to live, work, and visit.

The 50th annual Islands Antique Show and Sale will occur on July 13th and 14th at the Folsom Educational Center, 75 South Street, South Hero.  On Friday the 13th the doors will open at 9:00 and you can shop till 5:00.  On Saturday you can sleep in a little later as the show opens at 10:00 and closes down at 4:00.  There are more than 20 vendors coming who will feature a wide variety of items.  There will be something for everyone including sandwiches, desserts and beverages available from 11:00 to 2:00 both days. 

Come out and support this worthwhile event with proceeds going to C.I.D.E.R.  As this event has been going on for 50 years in the islands some things that were new in 1962 (the year Bob Lavigne – C.I.D.E.R. driver and Jim Holzschuh – C.I.D.E.R. Program Coordinator graduated from high school) are now antiques and will probably be available at the show.  Does that make Jim and Bob antiques?  For more information contact Robin at the office at 372-6425.

Tammy Fletcher

Mark your calendar for an Evening in Concert with Vermont’s own Tammy Fletcher.  Tammy Fletcher can sing…..it’s as simple as that.  She has performed for diverse audiences around the world. From Harlem, New York’s Apollo Theater where she was a winner and an all time favorite to the Gaiety in Dublin, Ireland where she represented, rocked and ruled! From the Dubliner Pub in Reykjavik, Iceland to the Flynn Theater in Burlington, Vermont where she performed in sold out shows with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

As a fund raiser for C.I.D.E.R. she will perform at the Folsom School on May 11th.  AND – as a special treat – her “warm up act” will be none other than, the world famous band, Yankee Pot Roast, with our own Robin Way on drums.  YPR will play some of their own brand of alternative rock and reggae for your entertainment prior to turning the stage over to Tammy Fletcher and the Disciples.   This will prove to be a fun evening filled with music and merriment.

C.I.D.E.R.'s Robin Way on drums

Information about Tammy Fletcher and her backup band can be found at: http://www.tammyfletcher.com .   A sampling of her music can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Q-wYNDYwQ

Info about, and music performed by, Yankee Pot Roast can be found at: http://www.myspace.com/yprband .   Watch the May issue of the C.I.D.E.R. Press – and no this is not an April Fool prank – for more information regarding specific times and admission price for this “once-in-a-lifetime” event.

Red Velvet Valentine's Day Cake

There will be a “special” Valentine’s Day Lunch at The Neighbors on Monday, February 13th.  Transportation from Alburgh, as well as South Hero and Grand Isle, will be provided.  The lunch menu for that day is:  Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Pumpkin Bread and Red Velvet Cake.

Another meal at The Neighbors where transportation from Alburgh (in addition to South Hero and Grand Isle) will also be available is the lunch on Monday, February 27th.  The menu that day is:  Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Beets, Banana Oat Bread and Chocolate Cake.

If you are looking for a GREAT lunch and fellowship please give the C.I.D.E.R. Office a call at 372-6425 to arrange transportation and to make a reservation.

The Neighbors Mealsite

On March 31, 2012 C.I.D.E.R. and the Champlain Islands Parent Child Center (CIPCC) are hosting a fund-raising Dinner Dance at Folsom School in South Hero. We are calling it FEAST OF FOOLS and are modeling it after the successful dinner dances sponsored by CIPCC for 3 consecutive years when they were raising money for the new Child Center on South Street in South Hero. The band “314” will provide the dance music, My Kid’s Kitchen will provide the dinner and Rick Bellows from Wunder Bar will provide a cash bar.  There will also be a terrific Silent Auction featuring all kinds of antiques, collectibles, crafts, and gift certificates. Watch for more information on this exciting pairing of two Island-based non profits in THE ISLANDER  and future issues of THE C.I.D.E.R. PRESS.

Certainly the Spring, Summer and Fall of 2011 was a busy construction season for C.I.D.E.R.  As you know we assist in the building of wheel chair ramps for Grand Isle County residents.  We design, order materials, put a work crew together and construct the ramps.  We only ask the the home owner make a donation toward the cost of the materials.  We have received several grants over the last few years that help defray the cost of the materials that are not covered by the home owner.  Most recently, we received a grant of $3,000.00 from IBM that will be used toward the purchase of ramp materials.

This year we built, assisted in building or obtained the materials for: 1 ramp in Isle La Motte, 2 in Alburgh, 2 in North Hero, 5 in Grand Isle and 1 in South Hero.  The last  building project was completed just before the cold weather and snow settled in.  Dolf Wirsing and his crew of expert helpers took advantage of the mild fall this year and completed several projects in October and November.  Folks who helped Dolf this year included Dick Ernst, Butch Soule, Shane Sullivan, Joe Lareau, Jeannie Bass, Bill Bingham, Leonard Brisson, Malcom Allen, Robert Arnett, Bob Buermann, June Chamberlin, and Jim Holzschuh.

If you need increased access to your home call the C.I.D.E.R. Office at 372-6425.  Someone will come and assess your individual situation and determine if a ramp can be built.  If you would like to volunteer with one of these projects, and we are always looking for additional members of the construction crew, call the C.I.D.E.R. Office at the same number and get ready to be put to work–helping another islander.

C.I.D.E.R. Board of Directors

2011 Annual Report

Report of the Board President

Every year brings new challenges and new priorities.   We continue to move forward on several different fronts.   In addition to ensuring that C.I.D.E.R. is maintaining or improving upon its existing level and quality of services, the Board has tried to maintain its focus on 1) the senior housing project, 2) increased community awareness and participation, and 3) board self-evaluation and succession planning.  A strategic planning effort for the next five year period is also underway.  The participation of all board members, their ideas and perspectives, has been and will continue to be important to C.I.D.E.R.’s ability to meet the growing and changing makeup and needs of the community it serves.

In 1988, a small group recognized that some of their Island neighbors needed community support to continue to live independently in their homes.  Each year since, C.I.D.E.R. has increased the number of persons served and maintained or added to the services provided.  As you can see from this Annual Report, our efforts reach broadly.  But the needs of individuals here in our community, known and unknown, are also expansive.  While mindful that there are many needs, it is the task of the Board to remain faithful to the C.I.D.E.R. mission.

This year the Board has continued its goal of increasing its presence and involvement in the community, particularly in the northern lands.  This added focus in the north appears to have been successful in increasing memberships and volunteer activity from that area.

Another board focus, the senior housing project effort, has progressed, but the pace is slow.  We are hopeful that we will be able to recruit more persons interested in this effort and gain greater momentum in the coming year.

For most of this year, 19 of the 21 seats on the Board were filled.  Each community has had at least three of its residents on the Board.  In addition to serving on board committees and volunteering for various events, board members act as C.I.D.E.R. ambassadors on an ongoing basis.  As ambassadors, they bring to the attention of the Board issues and needs that arise in their communities.  Moreover, they provide a source of information to their fellow town’s people regarding the services and opportunities that C.I.D.E.R. provides.  Each board member’s awareness of or ability to find out what is occurring in his or her community is of paramount importance to C.I.D.E.R.’s ability to provide help where help is needed and not try to help where help has already arrived.

All in all, it has been another active and productive year.  I am encouraged.

I am convinced that it is only through our involvement in one fashion or another with organizations like C.I.D.E.R. that we create and sustain a continuing and faithful vision of hope for our future.

A sincere “thanks” to the Board, the Membership, and all of C.I.D.E.R.’s supporters.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rick Whittlesey

Note:  If you wish to see a complete copy of the 2011 Annual Report containing all committee reports, stop by the C.I.D.E.R. Office, 324 US Rt 2, South Hero during normal business hours.

It’s the people who make Grand Isle County a special place.

It’s the people who make C.I.D.E.R. a special organization.

Here’s your chance to support your community and be a part of something special.

Please join us in our effort to make Grand Isle County the best place to live and age in Vermont!   Any questions?  Please feel free to call us or drop by the office and see for yourself what C.I.D.E.R. is all about.

Become a member of C.I.D.E.R. for the first time or renew you membership from last year.