Gratitude, Assistance, and Festive Traditions
December 2023
As we approach the festive season, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated in our recent fundraisers. Your generosity and support make a meaningful impact on our mission to enhance people’s dignity and self-reliance. Here’s just a small recap of some of the wonderful contributions from our community:
The Holiday Train 🚂
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway returned with its annual Holiday Train on November 25th this year! Santa took a break from the North Pole to meet with local children and collect donations on behalf of JCEO, and Perkins Restaurant donated a delicious array of muffin cakes and hot chocolate for event-goers. Overall, the community donated more than $300 in cash and a truckload of non-perishable food items, and CPKC made a generous donation of $4,500!
Feed Your Neighbor 🤝
WIZN/The Buzz held their annual Feed Your Neighbor food drive at Hannaford. In total, 1,730lbs of food was collected, and $1,033 in cash donated!
Feed a Family 👪
Chanel 44/22 hosted their annual Feed a Family holiday food drive at Market 32, collecting $593 in cash and 222lbs in food donations!
Family Karaoke
Old Soul, DJ Coco, and JCEO Board Member Sonny Giroux hosted a fun-raiser where the participant who had the most donations on their behalf had to sing a song in a turkey suit. Sonny won, and performed Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving Song, with a total result of $325 in cash donations and $350 in food.
Reminder: We’re Here For You
As we cherish the holiday spirit and celebrate the generosity of our community, it’s important to remember our neighbors who are facing challenges. A reminder that Clinton County Christmas Bureau applications are open until Thursday, December 7th at 4:00pm - we encourage anyone interested in applying to reach out to their town’s outreach center, or to call JCEO’s primary office at 518-561-6310. Residents of Peru, Keeseville, and Altona - please call the primary office instead of your local community outreach center.
At JCEO, we’re committed to supporting our community in many ways, including providing assistance with food, winter gear, application assistance, referrals, and more. If you or someone you know is in need of help, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Sharing Holiday Traditions
In the spirit of the season, our staff wanted to share some of their favorite holiday traditions.
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Instead of filling stockings for Christmas morning, we wait and receive stockings on New Year’s morning. The tale is that “Old Man New Year” comes overnight on New Year’s Eve to deliver small gifts (similar to traditional Christmas stocking gifts) as a way to welcome in the New Year. The kids enjoy it as a way to prolong the Christmas holiday season.
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When I was seven, my stepmom started a tradition to make the 23rd of December special. Growing up, she hated that day as it marked the beginning of Christmas vacation and brought with it the constant nagging from her mom to avoid making a mess, not eat Christmas cookies, and find something to do. Determined to change the narrative, she swore when she had kids, she would make the day memorable.
At the time, I had a cat named Joey. This time of year, Joey could talk, and would leave us written messages for me and my little sister about his naughty escapades. Joey even attended “kitty school” but was frequently sent home - think Elf on the Shelf. Joey told us that little kitties and little girls cannot wait for Sandy Claws to come, so Joey and our other cats would give my sister and me Kitty Krissmiss gifts - silly little gifts that were often tied to each cat’s personality, things like coloring books, videos, and other craft things to keep us busy. Their wrapping was something to behold, since they didn’t have opposable thumbs! It kept us occupied, and we were amused by Joey’s antics. Today, it looks very much the same, sometimes the gifts are silly, and sometimes they are practical!
What started as way to pass those days before Christmas that felt agonizingly slow to me as a seven year old has evolved into a meaningful and treasured time that now flies by too quickly.
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Growing up, my mom would always make maple syrup lollipops. I have a vivid memory of eating a reindeer shaped lollipop and watching Christmas cartoons on Christmas Eve, it was so cozy!
What you need: a candy thermometer, lollipop molds and sticks (if you’re choosing to use a mold, otherwise a sheet of parchment paper works), small pot, 1/2 cup maple syrup.
1) Heat up the maple syrup in the pot over medium heat
2) Using the candy thermometer and a fork or whisk to stir as it heats, heat the maple syrup to 295F.
3) Pour a small amount of the heated maple syrup into each mold, add the sticks, then cover with more maple syrup. (If you’re not using a mold, just pour a spoonful of syrup and put the stick in it). Work quickly, it hardens fast!
4) Cool for about an hour - (refrigerate to make this process faster.)
5) Enjoy!
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Every year we participate in the ornament making workshop with the Alice and Miner Institute! We also decorate cookies together every year.
