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RSVP of Genesee County

Diversity is a no-no according to executive order for language changes, even locally

By Joanne Beck
GC Office for Aging
Photo from OFA social media site.

After Donald Trump made diversity, equity and inclusion dirty words via an executive order as far as business and government are concerned, Victoria’s Secret, Pepsi, Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Bank of America, Citigroup, Disney, Chipotle, Google, and many other companies and organizations have pared down or changed their language to correspond to the new directive.

Add Genesee County to the list. The federal administration cast a very wide net, apparently, in a search for those words, County Manager Matt Landers says.

"We had one program in particular at Office for the Aging that there was a request for us to change the wording on the program description narrative," Landers said to The Batavian Monday. "This is a program that was already near the end of its three-year cycle of funding, and we were requested to change the wording, and we made the change in the wording because we did not want to lose the funding.

"It didn't change, in our opinion, the content of the program whatsoever. But there was a request made to change the narrative, and it was basically -- we had the option of giving the money back or changing the narrative -- so we changed the narrative," he said. "The program, I believe, was an annual allocation of about $50,000."

The program was in the final year of a three-year agreement, ending March 31. County officials didn’t consider it “a big deal” since the funding had already been received; however, it was a renewable RSVP AmeriCorps senior program on a three-year grant cycle, and they intended to request a renewal, he said.

“We do have upwards of $6 or $7 million, I believe, in federal funding. So that is the only instance that we've been made aware of where they dove deep enough to try to see where there was anything that was DEI-related,” he said. “So I'm glad that's all that they've found — the federal government — but it definitely is eye-opening, and that's something that we'll keep an eye on going forward, and there is real proof, a real example, that they are looking at wording.”

Again, he wanted to emphasize that the wording changes “in no way changed how we run the RSVP program.”

Pamela LaGrou, the county’s compliance officer, provided some of the language that was changed, as per below:

Specific and targeted language pertaining to diversity, equity and inclusion was changed to broader descriptive phrases or simply removed, she said.

For example, “…we recruit members with a wide range of skills and experiences including geography (urban/rural), economic (upper/lower income) and work experience (factory worker/teacher, secretary),” rather than  “…we recruit members to ensure diversity of geography (urban/rural), economic (upper/lower income) and work experience (factory worker/teacher), secretary, etc. while also seeking to represent diversity in race, ethnicity, sex and veteran status."

Reference to specific groups was removed: “RSVP has connected with the Pride Center of Buffalo, an LGTBQ advocacy center.” Also, the following was removed “Genesee RSVP in inclusive of older adults, or all races, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations, political and religious affiliations and we ensure the same of our stations via conversations at the time the MOU is signed.”

All language changes were made to ensure compliance with the President’s Executive Order, LaGrou said.

Fleece donations wanted for PTSD patients

By Billie Owens

RSVP of Genesee County and Genesee County AmeriCorps are asking for donations for a service project they will be holding to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 21. They need donations of fleece (1.5 yards or more) or contributions to help purchase the fleece.

The fleece will be used to make blankets that will be given to the Batavia VA Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Center. Donations can be dropped off to the Genesee County Youth Bureau located at 2 Bank St. in Batavia by Jan. 14. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information please call 344-3960.

RSVP of Genesee County awards volunteers

By Billie Owens

RSVP of Genesee County held its 27th Annual Recognition Event earlier this month. The following winners attended:

Gold Award Winners (500+ Hours)

Edward Corcoran -- 1,932

Donna Rhodes -- 1,239

Emerson Campbell -- 956

Diane Baker -- 826

Maureen Adams -- 803

Beverly Corcoran -- 796

Judith Ridley -- 792

Ray Luzier -- 779

William Parker -- 701

Vernon Rupert -- 605

Rita Hartrick -- 576

Silver Award Winners (250-499 Hours)

Carolyn Dain -- 449

Betty Luperino -- 430

Caroline Weber -- 414

Merrill Weber -- 404

William Haubrick -- 374

Sharon Ziomek -- 373

Anita Rynkowski -- 369

Timothy Richter -- 336

Joanne Muller -- 331

MaryAnn Silvernail -- 314

Pamela Ware -- 284

Vicki Becker -- 284

Joan Wood -- 281

Jennie Starowitz -- 280

Lucille Haubrick -- 275

Robert Eick -- 272

Anne Rupert -- 266

Bronze Award Winners (100-249 Hours)

Sylvia Traxler -- 246

Wayne Judkins -- 243

Loren Adams -- 239

Joan Fluker -- 238

Anne Barone -- 235

MaryFran Pietrzykowski -- 233

Florence Ziarko -- 233

Wallace Kornow -- 205

Kathleen Martin -- 201

Kathryn Wickson -- 190

Edna Wenhold -- 186

Jeanette DiSanto -- 185

Anita Dziekan -- 166

Allan Grehlinger -- 163

Regina Abdella -- 156

Genevieve Mahoney -- 148

Jeanne Graber -- 148

Helen Heale -- 138

Catherine Judkins -- 132

Marjorie Morse -- 129

Opal Phelps -- 128

Tina Kornow -- 128

Jane Grehlinger -- 122

Rita Sidari -- 117

Richard Neth -- 117

Agnes Redinger -- 115

Richard vonBergen -- 113

Janet Luzier -- 110

Terry Weber -- 103

RSVP of Genesee County marks one million hours of volunteerism

By Billie Owens

RSVP of Genesee County has reached a milestone -- one-million hours of free community service. Coordinator Dorian Ely made the announcement today.

The program’s volunteers, all aged 55 and older, have given a total of 1,007,797 hours of service. This translates into a contribution valued at $16.6 million according to the volunteer value rates set by the Independent Sector.

“We are fortunate in Genesee County to have so many individuals who want to give back to their community," Ely said. "This number is actually conservative; we know that many of the volunteers give more time than we are able to capture statistically.”

The RSVP volunteer placement program is part of the nation’s Senior Corps. It has been operating in Genesee County since 1985. The program places volunteers with more than 40 agencies countywide, matching their interests and talents with the needs of the organizations. The program currently has 425 active volunteers ranging in age from 55 to 96.

Ely noted that the program has changed through the years, moving from trying to be everything to everyone, to focusing on national social-impact areas such as aging in place, service to veterans, and disaster preparedness.

While there are many ways to serve, volunteers are currently needed to help senior citizens stay in their homes by providing medical transportation, friendly visiting, and delivery of library materials.

Coordination and administration of these programs are made possible by the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Muriel H. Marshall Fund for the Aging, but they rely on volunteers to be an active part of delivering these services. Additionally, volunteers are being sought to become co-facilitators for Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) workshops.

For information on RSVP of Genesee County, Marshall Fund programs, or CDSMP, contact the Office for the Aging at 343-1611.

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