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It’s time for another edition of “The Ripple Report”, where we bring you all the exciting news relating to The Foundation for Community Betterment. Last week’s article focused on the events on the weekend of July 11th that bring people together to paddle, play golf or tennis and raise money to support our great community. This week we are going to feature a few of our newer volunteers as well as highlighting some of the fundraising/prize-winning opportunities that help make Betterment the wonderful community support organization that it is. Two of our new volunteer members are Court and Louise Rutherford. Court is a lifelong River Rat. His early years were spent on the Seneca River, but eventually on the St. Lawrence. Court grew up in central New York but spent every summer of his life in the 1,000 Islands with his grandparents. After gaining degrees at both Syracuse University and RIT, Court settled in Baldwinsville, NY where he established his business. Five years ago, Court and his wife Louise moved their business to Alexandria Bay where they now own "4 Green Power Systems". As an active leader in many local fund-raising events as well as serving as Commissioner of the Alexandria Bay Joint Fire District, Court joined the Betterment Board last summer. He serves as Betterment’s Village and Town liaison, in addition to being actively involved in our Paddle, Welcome Party and Raffle sub-committees. Together, Court and Louise are teaming up to bring an exciting new addition to this year’s Welcome Party—a debut Silent Auction featuring five exclusive, experience-based packages, and river-inspired items. It’s a fun and meaningful way to help raise additional funds for our local recipients! Louise is a native of the state of Vermont, but then spent many years living in central New York. Louise’s love for the St. Lawrence River grew during the 18 summers that her family lived in the 1,000 Islands. Before moving to Alexandria Bay permanently, Louise enjoyed a successful career in the field of education; initially as a teacher and then serving in various administrative positions. On the river, Louise has been an active paddler in both a kayak and more recently as a standup paddle boarder. Always a teacher, Louise has worked with many people as they try to learn the art of standing on a paddle board. It's always great to have someone who participated as a paddler for Betterment, then join as a member on Betterment’s Board of Directors. Louise has joined the Technology Scholarship and Paddle event sub-committees, specifically taking on a leadership role in organizing paddle day safety.  Court and Louise are members of the Board of Directors, active volunteers and great supporters of our river community. A few other people who are devoting their time and energy to our good cause are Dave Keefe and Allison Williams. Dave grew up in Elmira, NY and graduated from RIT. He and his wife raised their two daughters in the Southern Tier and moved to the 1000 Islands a year ago. Dave spent several years as a sales manager in the beverage wholesale business. He currently works for Ward Diesel as a Sales and Marketing Coordinator. He’s paddled and helped out in past Betterment weekends and is excited to get even more involved this year. Allison Williams spent her childhood exploring the world as a proud military child before her family settled in the North Country. A 2006 graduate of Alexandria Central School, Allison’s deep connection to the region has only grown stronger over the years. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY Oswego and a Master of Arts in Creative Arts Therapy Counseling from Hofstra University. Blending creativity with compassion, Allison has found great joy and purpose in her work at River Hospital’s Post-Traumatic Stress Services, where she supports healing through the power of art and empathy. Driven by a sense of service, Allison volunteers her time as a Board Member and Secretary for both the New York Art Therapy Association (NYATA) and the Fort Drum Chapter of the Association for the United States Army (AUSA). She recently joined our Chapter Board of Directors in 2024 and serves on both the “Paddle for Betterment” and “Welcome Party” Sub-committees—adding a creative element in anticipation of next year’s 25th Anniversary celebration! Allison also helps deliver introductory remarks at our Recipient Ceremony, helping set the tone for some of the most cherished moments of Community Betterment Weekend.
While our volunteers are integral to what we do, fundraising is an essential part of what allows Betterment to help and support our community. Thankfully our fundraising is fun, entertaining and sometimes even refreshing, especially when it involves ice cold glasses of lemonade. This is the second season of our lemonade stand, which was inspired by the book The Lemonade Ripple, written by Paul Reichert. The book tells the story of a little girl who is inspired to help a friend in need by raising money through a lemonade stand. This action inspires others to make a difference. At our lemonade stand, local kids are invited to “Spread the Ripple Effect, one glass at a time” by selling lemonade at the Big M Supermarket on Saturday June 21st & 28th, as well as Thursday, July 3rd from 11 AM – 3 PM. Additionally, the lemonade stand will be making an appearance on June 27th from 4-7 at Build-a-Buddy On the River in downtown Alex Bay—with 10% of all store sales supporting Community Betterment! Garlock’s Ace Hardware will host a pop-up stand on Thursday, July 9th from 11 AM – 3 PM. Our amazing little helpers will be selling lemonade at all events throughout Community Betterment Weekend as well! This is a great opportunity to support a new business in our community and Betterment at the same time. This year there is additional exciting news connected to the lemonade stand. The Northern New York Community Foundation has joined as a matching sponsor, which means they will match every dollar donated through lemonade sales up to $2,500. It’s amazing the positive impact that a glass of lemonade can have, so make sure you get a glass or two while you can.
Another great way to have fun and support our community is through entering to win one or more of our “Raffles for Betterment.” This year we have many prizes to entice you to take a chance and help the community. You could win an amazing crystal-clear kayak, a week-long vacation, a Solo Stove and much more. Betterment is specifically offering ONE crystal clear Kayak Raffle, FIVE enticing 100-spot square board options as well as FIVE themed baskets to take a chance on. Winners of these prizes will be drawn and announced at the Recipient Ceremony on July 12th (in conjunction with our Paddle for Betterment), but you do not need to be present to win. Anyone interested in purchasing tickets can do so in person by visiting our Sales Booth at the Alex Bay Big M lobby: Friday & Saturday June 21st and 28th as well as on Thursday, July 3rd from 10 AM – 4 PM. Prizes will be on display and volunteers will be there to assist with ordering. Raffles will be available throughout Community Betterment Weekend as well, with a sales booth in the Golf course cart barn, at our Welcome Party at Bonnie Castle Resort and at the Pavilion at our Paddle for Betterment. Tickets can also be purchased anytime, anywhere online here!  Our Crystal Clear Kayak is one of the many prizes you can win when you take a chance with Betterment raffles. The ripple effect is alive and well in the 1000 Islands. Our volunteers are dedicated to giving back to support our community, and you can support this great cause through the purchase of raffle tickets and lemonade. We also welcome you to participate in Community Betterment Weekend July 11th & 12th by playing golf, tennis or paddling on the beautiful St. Lawrence River! Complete information can be found here!
Hope to see you there!
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