Around Town

Lansing Teacher Is Printing COVID-19 Face Shield Frames

Around Town | Friday, April 03, 2020 | By Dan Veaner

While protective masks help protect medical professionals from infections like COVID-19, face shields add an important layer of protection. A face shield is a piece of transparent plastic attached to a frame something like eyeglasses frames that hook above health care workers' ears and around their head to hold the shield in place. Lansing High School teacher Jeremy Richardson has joined a group of about 100 Tompkins County volunteers who are using 3-D printers to create face shield frames to help battle a growing shortage as the pandemic strains medical resources.

"We have a contact with Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City," Richardson says. "We work with city hospitals that have approved a particular design. Then we make sure that we get some of the changes like the two piece clip-together design approved. The original design that was approved comes in a downloadble STL (Standard Tessellation Language) file. That file was made available to everyone in the group. We've been using the identical file on all the different printers, so all the finished products are exactly the same size and specifications."

Lansing Lunchbox Partners With Lansing Food Pantry

Around Town | Friday, April 03, 2020 | By Linda Pasto

(Bottom to top) Savanna Pasto, Diyah Rahaman, Toni Adams, Lily Helmer
March 16 brought a month long closure to schools in Tompkins county due to the Corona virus crisis. This put many families into the challenge of having to feed their kids meals they would normally get at school. Adding to that was the unexpected increase to families food budgets and the strong encouragement to avoid social setting. This uncertainty led Susan Tabrizi, Amy Frith and Linda Pasto of Lansing Lunchbox and Toni Adams of the Lansing Food Pantry to plan an emergency food distribution.

On March 20 and 21 over 100 kids received bags of enough food to last 14 days with shelf stable and fresh items including cereal, milk,eggs, fruit, tuna and mac &cheese.

Child Development Council Increases Baby Essentials and Childcare Access

Around Town | Friday, April 03, 2020 | By United Way of Tompkins County

Through joint funding from United Way of Tompkins County and the Community Foundation of Tompkins County the Child Development Council is able to respond to inquiries for both baby supplies and child care scholarships for families in need due to COVID-19 impacts on their households. Sue Dale-Hall, Child Development Council's, CEO says, "Families need our help and we are grateful for the partnership with the United Way and the Community Foundation who have been quick to meet these emerging needs in our community."

Families with young children whose monthly household budgets have been upended due to business closings, lay-offs, and unemployment will now be able to access baby formula, diapers and wipes through the Child Development Council. Supplies are limited and can be requested by completing a simple online form. Once the form has been submitted, families will receive more information and an assigned pick up time.

Partnership Feeds Area Families Amid Coronavirus Woes

Around Town | Friday, April 03, 2020 | By Abigail Butler

The coronavirus pandemic has had an obvious impact on families, schools, businesses and health care providers. Less obvious, perhaps, is how it has affected community volunteers and the organizations they serve. Many volunteers are elderly and have been sidelined by the virus, forcing the temporary shuttering of several food pantries in Tompkins County. As a result, approximately 800 households per month may lose food pantry services.

To provide immediate local relief, Cornell has partnered with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier and the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) to collect and distribute much-needed meals for food-insecure families. The effort officially launches March 31 from 1-4 p.m. at GIAC and will continue every Tuesday and Thursday during those hours.

Wells College Named to Phi Theta Kappa 2020 Transfer Honor Roll

Around Town | Friday, April 03, 2020 | By Christopher Pollock

Aurora, NY - Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) announced this week that it has included Wells College on its 2020 Transfer Honor Roll, in recognition of the College's excellence in creating and implementing dynamic pathways for transfer students. This year's award was given to a select group of 122 four-year colleges and universities that have demonstrated success at providing a smooth and supportive transition for community college transfer students.

"Wells College offers its students a personalized experience, which—along with our generous credit transfer policy—makes the process of transferring seamless and easy for all prospective students, including those currently attending community colleges," said Melinda Slawson, assistant director of transfer admissions at Wells College.