Ten year old Clayton Cushing, a fourth grader at Lilly B. Haynes Elementary School was challenged to stretch his comfort zones recently when his youth church group took a weekend service trip to an organic farm in New Hampshire.

Each year for more than a decade, the Middle School Fellowship at Niantic Community Church visits the Arbutus Hill Farm in Meredith, New Hampshire to offer their services to farmer Jennifer Mayo. Staying in a nearby log cabin adjacent to the 50 acre farm, 13 youth and eight adults spent one weekend early in May repairing fences, helping with the animals and building paddocks.

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At home and abroad, we salute you for serving our great country.

This Memorial Day, you can pay tribute to our fallen soldiers by attending a parade.  See page 5 for a listing of area Memorial Parades and learn the story behind the cherished poppy.

A group of Connecticut Veterans will visit the WWII Monument in D.C. at the end of this month.  “A lot of people talk about taking care of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ but what we aim to do is give them the greatest send-off that they deserve and call that their ‘Day of Honor,’” Chris Coutu, founder of this American Warrior program told the Resident.

Philip Worski, Norwich, is among the 100 vets who made the maiden voyage in 2007.  Find out what Phil says about the trip on page 9 and if you can help out with some of the trip expenses, go to www.americanwarrior.us.

You can’t help but catch some community spirit when you meet the Nagels of Gales Ferry on page 4.  And, if you missed the 9th annual Taste of the Lymes, you can get the scoop from Resident reporters, Tony Schillaci and Don Church also on 4.

Author and former Deep River resident LeeAnne Wright puts her journalism skills to work again by publishing A Slimmer You:  93 Juicy Weight-Loss Nuggets for Smart Women.  Our Roger Zotti tells us on page 15 that LeeAnn’s latest effort is designed to promote healthy eating and healthy living.

The Resident congratulates Angela Arnold again for being the 59th Citizen of the Year!  It was a first-class celebration…all the way on page 7.

Thanks for reading the Resident, the Good News that Rocks! Please remember to patronize our advertisers as they’re helping to make the “good news”  happen.

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by Jessica Warzeniak

The 17th Annual HWM Good Friday Open was held on Friday, April 10, at Winnapaug Country Club, Westerly. The proceeds for the event directly benefited the Department of Cardiology and Diabetes Research Program and Services at the CT Children’s Medical Center (CCMC), Hartford. Harry Martinez, coordinator, raised over $35,000 for CCMC since he started the event in 1993. The money will go to helping the CCMC remain a premier provider of state-of-the-art care for children of all ages with heart conditions or diabetes.

Prizes included trophies donated from Mallove’s Jewelers, Waterford, and gift certificates donated by Girard Nissan, Groton, Winnapaug Country Club, Rapid Car Wash, New London, Submarine Car Wash, Groton, and Watch Hill Pizza. Tournament Prizes for Hole-in-one, Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive, as well as, 65 raffle prizes were also donated by local business.

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story & photo
by Maren Schober

If it is a Thursday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30, you will find Art and Karen Nagel, Gales Ferry, sitting at a table helping children with their homework at the B.P.  Learned Mission, New London.  Volunteering there for the past three years is the highlight of Art and Karen’s week.

“My wife Karen and I also attend plays and help at social events at the Learned Mission Center,” Art tells me. “The children are wonderful.  As we get to know the children, they become very enthusiastic to see us and give us lots of hugs.”

Karen also appreciates the hugs. “What a joy it is to have a young child see you and run to give you a hug,” Karen agrees.

Art and Karen are no strangers to volunteer work. “I first started volunteering as a baseball, softball and soccer coach in the Ledyard youth league,” Art shares with me. “I like giving back to my community.  At present, I work in a first grade classroom in Gales Ferry School reading to the children, helping them write their stories and performing science experiments with them.  All children need some attention and positive reinforcement.”

And Karen? “I am currently on the boards of directors of Child & Family Agency, Martin House, and Thames River Community Service. Also, during tax season I am a local coordinator for the AARP tax-aide program, which assists older people and those with low to moderate incomes with filing their tax returns.”

Both Art and Karen affirm, “There is a tremendous need for all kinds of volunteer help in our community.  If you can commit to a volunteer program that interests you, your life will be enriched beyond what you can imagine.”

The B.P. Learned Mission is one of the programs of the Child & Family Agency of SECT, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. The Agency assists children and families-at-risk. Their programs deal with the prevention of child-abuse, the treatment of family violence, teen pregnancy, children’s health care, parent education and children’s mental health.  New volunteers for the programs are always needed and welcomed.

“The B.P. Learned Mission exists to promote the overall academic and social development of children in lower income families,” Jennifer Messina, coordinator of education, shares with me. “We serve 65 children here from ages five to 13.  Volunteers are used in all our after school programs including tutoring, literacy, sports, recreation, arts and crafts and our theatre program.  We use the skills the volunteer has to offer. May 16th and 17th, the children will be performing in the play The Lion King.”

To volunteer just call the B.P. Learned Mission at 860.442.1798.

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