Caroling in the Park

Last night we had a wonderful time of Christmas Caroling in the Arnett Bird & Butterfly Garden, led by a delightful quartet of Dickensonian singers from the Eastman School of Music called the Park and Hark Carolers.

Special thanks go out to the Arnett community members who braved the snowy weather to join us in an old-fashioned Christmas celebration! Despite the look of the weather, we were actually kept rather toasty thanks to a roasting fire, hot chocolate and warm hearts. Merry Christmas to you all!

Open-Air Drug Market

Shootings and homicides are often just the fruit of the tree called crime. The roots are usually in drugs. Dr. William Morehouse has been helping people for 35 years at Grace Family Medicine on Arnett Boulevard. But how he and his wife Susan need help to save their neighborhood from the drug dealers right outside their front door.

"Is there a real safety issue here," I asked him.

"The patients certainly think that there is. They're very worried when they get out of their car and they see people like that and they have to walk past them or through them," Morehouse answered. "You battle it and you fight it and you say no not here. We've got patients coming in, we've got little kids; and they go away and then they come back," Susan said.

Empty bags of marijuana litter the sidewalk in front of the clinic. We showed them to Rochester Police Officer Ben Caruso.

"Why this quantity? Is is so they can't get into trouble," I asked him.

 "Well the folks out here are dealing in the hand-to-hand stuff. It's a difficult arrest," Caruso answered. "As fast as they're arrested on this charge, they'll be released on it just as quickly."

So how can a small inner-city medical clinic fight back against drug dealers? What is at stake if they lose?

Kevin Doran for WHEC-TV, Channel 8 News, Rochester, NY, November 12, 2013

Gun Buyback a Great Success!

We thought you all would like to hear the results of the Gun Buyback last Saturday. We brought in 243 guns - more than 1/2 were hand guns and of those 150 only 10 were legally registered, in other words 140 illegal handguns! Also one assault rifle was brought in with its magazines of ammo. At least two young men bringing in their guns that were definitely coming from off the streets. One young man said he was making some changes in his life and didn't want to be involved with guns anymore. Wow! It was an amazing day for us all. The Rochester Police Department says this is the biggest single gun buyback ever in Rochester. Thank you to those who brought in food for the officers and people who brought in guns. It was much appreciated!

Click here to read the full article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Gun Buyback Prayer Walk

Community prayer walk promotes peace

By: Joangel Concepcion | WHEC.com (Click here for video version)
   
Enough is enough. That's what the Rochester community is saying after a week of violence in the city. Residents took their mission to the streets Saturday morning in hopes of reaching Rochester's youth.

Six people have been shot, two of them killed, and it's only the seventh day in September. This recent spike in violence began last Sunday when a man was shot on Resolute Street. On Wednesday two people were shot on Pullman Avenue. One of them died. The very next day there was another double shooting near Saratoga Avenue and Lyell Avenue. One person was wounded, the other killed. Friday night a man was shot in the back on Chili Avenue and Hobart Street.

Some local residents are demanding an end to the violence. They took to the streets Saturday morning to promote peace and change. The walk was not only to promote peace, but it was to help get guns out of the wrong hands. Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard says this is what he's been hoping for, getting the community together to help.

“Everything helps. Every little bit helps. The Rochester Police Department can't do it alone and  it's obvious we can't do it alone. Anyone who wants to help us, we're going to embrace their support. We're going to work with anyone who wants to work with us. At the end of the day we're going to get this done. I have tremendous faith,” said Chief Sheppard.

Chief Sheppard joined members of the community, including members of local churches, walking through neighborhoods and praying together, hoping for a better future. The Chief says it has been a rough few months and he's hoping this initiative will make teenagers think twice about going down the wrong path.

Supporters also promoted the city's gun buyback program. They are hoping the push will get guns off of the streets. One of the supporters knows firsthand about the recent violence His brother was the victim in Friday night's shooting on Chili Avenue. He says no family should go through what his family is going through.

“It touched home. With my neighborhood, it's been in my neighborhood, but now it's at my back door. So it's very important for me to get out here and spread the word that these young kids need to give these guns up because these kids don't know what they're doing. They have no idea the damage and destruction they are causing,” said Ray Bradley.

The next gun buyback will be at the end of this month. The Rochester Police Department is taking all guns in exchange for debit and gift cards, no questions asked. They are also collecting all ammunition. For more information on the buyback program, click here.

EO Volunteer Men Bless HBI

Saturday morning at 8 am a crew of 7 gifted and talented men gathered at His Branches for prayer, followed by a very structured work day - they were there to install 30 new custom insulated windows in our 3 upstairs offices suites to replace the original, leaky, rattling, wooden windows we've been living with for years. Old and drafty in the winter, hot in the summer, but at least they kept the birds out...

Our experienced crew chief had estimated that the job could be done in one full Saturday, but others were doubtful and thought it would take at least two full days. Well, this gang pulled together in such a remarkably efficient way that all 30 windows were installed, rubbish cleaned up, and old windows hauled away before 3 pm! Is that a praise report, or what? Our faithful staff and clients will be offering their own thanks as the years go by when they're warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Special thanks go out to all who made this project such a success.

TWISY Event Rocks!

RYO hosted another wonderfully successful youth-led and run all-ages TWISY music Event this Friday night at their space on Warwick Ave. The weather was perfect and all the preparations were in place when the first guests started arriving at 4. By suppertime, the space was packed with people, young and old, enjoying the live music, refreshments, and wholesome social atmosphere. By 8 pm as the sun was going down, it all wrapped up. Thanks to all who poured themselves into creating such a great evening for all of us! Let's hope and pray that this is just the start of what will prove to be a very encouraging year ahead. Yes, TWISY - The World Is Still Young!

RYO Indiegogo Event!

Hello friends!

There are only 3 days left in the RYO Indiegogo Campaign! Check out the video here to find out what we’re about, and then please help if you can. Any money we raise will go a long way towards our mission of empowering Rochester's young people through music and the arts. Thank you to all those who have invested so far!

For our Rochester friends, be sure to check out our next event, No Clouds Included, this Friday, August 23rd, at 265 Warwick Ave from 4pm - 8pm. Come enjoy music from BC Likes You, The Tarrants, and Disharmony. Our youth leaders have been hard at work preparing and it should be a great community gathering! 

Remember to check out out Indiegogo site before the weekend, and join us this Friday night!

Thanks!
Dr. Bill and the RYO Team

Best Block Party Yet!

Our 7th annual (!!!) Arnett Block Party last Saturday was a wonderful success, thanks to the generous participation of so many amazing volunteers and contributors.

Click here to see a full size slide show

We've already been having a very hot and sometimes wet summer, but the weatherman was predicting rain in the morning and scattered afternoon thunderstorms for our Block Party so we were a little concerned. What did we get instead? Balmy sunshine and puffy clouds all day long! And by 3 pm when the party was in full swing we had already gone through 500 free hotdogs and bags of chips!

Here's an unsolicited report from a neighbor who came, helped, and stayed the whole day:

Dear Susan,

The Arnett Block Party that you and Rora and the others have put together (at your monthly planning meetings all year, which I never attend!) was simply amazing, and I'm sure it will lodge in the memories of the neighborhood children. I was there yesterday, and it was simply fabulous. There was SO much happening, so much for families to do, and all free. Everyone LOVES getting those free raffle tickets, and listening every 15 minutes to see if they get lucky and maybe their number will be called! I don't know where you found that magician, or how much he cost, but he seemed to have a good audience, and I liked what I could overhear.

Then there were the ponies, the Zoomobile, the basketball, the bike repair, the kids trying out Rural/Metro's stretcher. Wow!

The clown was making some really spectacular balloon creations, which were in great demand, as kids were queued up the entire afternoon. And I saw some fabulous painted faces on kids who had visited that tent.

The neighborhood library had a big presence, with Bruce and Debbie giving out free books and doing readings.

When the police officer arrived with Ian, his dog from the K-9 corps, and answered questions, that was a big draw. A great chance for the kids to have a positive interaction with the police. Also, Officer Kristin Runyon was offering a service of checking car seats to make sure they were properly installed. Wow!

I hope people took advantage of the free blood pressure and blood sugar checks. What a great service that was.

The Mt. Olivet Choir did themselves proud. I could see that the rapper had talent, and it was a great opportunity for him to further hone his talents.

Dana Miller gave a shout-out to the sponsors, Tops and Wegmans and others, and we definitely appreciate them being such good corporate citizens, contributing all that food to this worthy cause. Speaking of Dana Miller, he dedicated his entire afternoon, and did a great job at the microphone, not too intrusive, not too loud, and keeping people aware of the goings-on.

I'm quite sure that some of the services were not donated. I'm sure whatever funds we had, if any, did not completely cover the Zoomobile, the ponies, the magician, and probably several other things. If a person wanted to contribute towards those costs, to whom would they write the check?

As you have said, it is a joy to see so many people from our neighborhood working toward this good end. Thanks again for everything you do. And Bill was right there by your side the entire afternoon, so welcoming to everyone, and so upbeat, as always.

When I attend the Southwest Common Council Meeting, I will be sure to report about this event.

Mary Dan

Mount Olivet Mass Choir

As our Block Party was reaching a climax Saturday afternoon, the Mount Olivet Mass Choir showed up in force with keyboards, backup musicians, choir leader, and their pastor singing along with them.

What a wonderful way to close out a community celebration of God's goodness, promises, hope, and provision for the future.

19th Ward Square Fair

 19th Ward Community Association
 

Square Fair
 ***

Saturday, June 1st

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Aberdeen Square - Aberdeen and Post Ave
***

Come Have Breakfast with your Neighbors

8 am -10 am

 ***
Parade begins at 216 Thurston Rd at 12:30 pm

***
Let the Children's Games Begin

Pull a Wagon in the Parade

Watch the Silver Sneakers Strut their Stuff!!

Vendor Booths, Music
  ***

Entertainment

Steve Grills and the Roadmasters

Joe Beard

RPD Citizen of the Year

Our own Susan Morehouse, head of the Arnett Block Association, was chosen by the Rochester Police Department as the 2012 "Citizen of the Year" for her work in the community. Last night she was given an award by Chief Sheppard at the RPD annual recognition banquet at the Riverside Convention Center in downtown Rochester.

Spring Bike Clinic!

R Community Bikes (RBC) and the Arnett Block Association held a neighborhood Bike Clinic in our parking lot at 350 Arnett Blvd today, May 4th, from 1-4 pm. RBC's expert volunteer crew of bike mechanics, including some new neighborhood helpers, was on site with parts and tools to repair all the broken bikes that showed up. We had a great turnout of over 40 kids, many with their parents, and not only repaired flat tires, broken chains, and other damage to the bikes that they brought but gave away 16 reconditioned bikes in a free raffle to kids without bikes of their own who came in eager anticipation. Certificates to get a bike at the RCB warehouse were also available for winners who didn't match the sizes of free bikes available and some sad losers.
R Community Bikes a non-profit organization that recycles bikes in Rochester. RCB gives away over 1000 bikes to the Rochester community every year. Thanks to a grant, they have a trailer for bringing bikes, tools, and parts to off-site events. Their shop/warehouse is at 226 Hudson Avenue, and volunteers are welcome!

Our next community event will be on Saturday, August 4th, from noon until 4 pm when we're hoping that RCB will be able join us again for our annual Block Party. Be sure to come and bring your neighbors and friends!

Banquet Report 4/25/13

We had a wonderful evening at our Banquet of Blessing last Thursday! The atmosphere was alive with 270 guests filling our warmly decorated hall at the RIT Inn & Conference Center. From Karen Webster's greeting music, through a delicious dinner and time of fellowship, to engaging ministry reports, gifted music, and an anointed message given by our guest speaker, Melinda Delahoyde (see bio below with player link to hear her message), the evening was covered with prayer and blessing. Special thanks go out to all who have served and supported His Branches over the past year!

For a taste of the evening, click on John Allison's arrow above to start a sample of the music John and his band shared with us. Then, while the music is playing, click on the slideshow arrow to see an overview of our ministries. You can let the inner geek in you show by making it full screen and then, if you have a very fast Internet connection, going to the gear in the bottom margin and selecting an even better screen resolution. Enjoy!

Police Appreciation Breakfast

Nine Rochester Police Department officers assigned to the Westside were able to join us this morning for a Police Appreciation Breakfast hosted by the Arnett Block Association. Not only was the food varied and tasty, but the whole event was filled with gratitude for the men and women who serve our community so faithfully. After a time of feasting and sharing, several officers were dispatched to a call while the others were able to linger long enough to visit the Rochester Youth Outreach mural project down the hall. God bless you all!

Spring Grapevine

A Time of Growth

Our 4 branch ministries - Arnett Block Association, Embracing Options, His Branches Health Services, and Rochester Youth outreach - have been actively touching lives, thanks to the generous support of so many of you. From patient care to much needed activity for neighborhood youth and critical counseling in the area of life decisions, the staff and volunteers of HBI have been pouring their God-given passions into the work they do for their community. For a full report click here to read our Spring Newsletter, being sent to our local mailing list in print form this week.


ROC the Day on 12/12/12, doubled by our generous matching partners, has enabled us to completely update our aging computer network. Now we're looking forward to building our youth program, renovating out facility, partnering with others to make our neighborhood a safer place to live, and providing more medical and counseling services to people in need. Please consider supporting our upcoming Banquet of Blessing on April 25th at the RIT Inn and Conference Center. See post below for more information.

Easter Egg Hunt in Park

Happy kids ready for the Hunt!

The weather was wonderful for our annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Arnett Bird & Butterfly Garden on March 30. Hosted by the Arnett Block Association and organized by our own Rora Rice, the Hunt was a great success! Rora starts buying up discounted plastic eggs right after Easter each year, then gathers over two dozen Easter baskets at garage sales throughout the summer. As winter starts to break up, she find bargains on all varieties of kid-friendly wholesome treats to pack the plastic egg cases with. It all comes together at the annual Gardener's Potluck the week before Easter when neighbors meet over dinner and dessert to plan for spring and summer community gardening and load goodies into the eggs. The Saturday before Easter, volunteers "hide" the eggs in the Park, a crowd of eager kids gathers (this year over 35!), and at 1 pm the hunt is on! Within 5 minutes all the eggs have been found, filling each kid's basket and heart to overflowing. This year, many of the children stayed afterwards to enjoy the sun and hear Arnett Library volunteer Barbara read stories to them in the Park. What a delightful community-building event!

MLK Luminary Evening

For many years the 19th Ward has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday in a public, community-building manner and will be doing so again this year. On Monday, January 21st there will be luminaries throughout the area. The luminaries themselves are small paper bags weighted down with sand or kitty litter and containing a votive candle. Neighbors make a number of luminaries and set them at the sidewalk edge of their tree lawn from sunset until 9 pm, making a beautiful sight. Some people host warming fires and a hot chocolate stands.

Luminary kits will be available for purchase from 1/14 - 1/21 at Menezes Pizza - 445 Chili Ave (open from 12-6 pm), Hunt's Hardware - 390 Thurston Road, the 19th Ward Office, and Boulder Coffee - 960 Genesee St, or make your own. If you arrive at one of these locations and they've sold out, call the NWCA office at 328-6571 (or ask the merchant to call) and we'll get more to them if we have any available. Get yours early, and put it out at 6:00 on the 21st!

We also have several hot chocolate/ cider/ cookies/ movie/ coat giveaway stands signed up. Check out www.luminaryevening.com to determine where they are on the map.  Be sure to plan on visiting some of them as you enjoy the luminaries. 

If you have questions, please call the 19th Ward Community Association’s office 328-6571.

Christmas Tree in Park

We have another wonderful Christmas tree for our neighborhood park beside the Arnett Branch Library again this year. Many friends and neighbors contributed to getting it, setting it up, decorating with the School 29 kids, being Library story readers, and coming out to sing Christmas carols with us. Thanks to all for making our tree project such a success!

Fall Newsletter

2012 - A Busy Year

We’ve been very busy here at His Branches over the past year serving the families of Rochester in a variety of ways. From patient care to much needed activity for neighborhood youth and critical counseling in the area of life decisions, the staff and volunteers of HBI have been pouring their God-given passions into the work they do for their community. For a full report click here to read our Fall Newsletter, being sent to our local mailing list in print form.

As our services to the community grow, we’re challenged with the reality of “doing more with less.” In order to maintain our level of quality patient care, we must be proactive in finding ways to increase our revenue in order to continue serving the families of our community. Would you partner with us? We’re humbled by those who have already come alongside us in the past, and would be sincerely thankful for any who would join us in our mission.

Want to make a special one-time donation now? Take advantage of ROC the Day on 12/12/12 (see below) to double your gift through our generous matching partners!

Block Party HOT!!

Our annual Arnett Block Party yesterday was a wonderful success in spite of the HEAT, thanks to the generous participation of so many amazing volunteers and contributors.

Click here to see a full size slide show

We've already been having a very hot and dry summer, but the weatherman was predicting sweltering heat and possible thunderstorms for our Block Party so we were a little concerned. Sunny skies kept the thunderstorms away, but we got the heat - up to the mid-90s!

So many marvelous people were involved in making our day a success that it will be hard to list them, but I'll give it a try. Our setup crew arrived early and up went the tents! Then Jasper unloaded his grill, the basketball hoop went up, R Community Bikes and the Rural-Metro ambulance arrived, and we closed off Arnett Blvd. between Warwick and Rugby. Tom Stefano got the music going, Richard Stutzman rolled onto the premises as Happy the Clown, our raffle table got set up, a crowd began to gather, and the party was on! By early afternoon all our booths were open; facepainters Maive, Kristen, and Victoria were artistically decorating many eager faces; Lisa McElroye was giving free back massages, and Victor the Magician was ready to wow the crowd with his amazing show. We knew we were in full gear when Mitzie Collins and Tom Bohrer had us all in thrall with their Punch and Judy Show!

Special thanks go out to Nancy, Rora and her daughters, and all the other faithful members of the Arnett Block Association whose tireless planning, preparation, and free food service made the whole event possible; to the City of Rochester for letting us block off Arnett Blvd. and sending several RPD officers, including Chief Sheppard, and Officer Deirdre Hammond who signed up nearly 100 kids with Operation Safe Child; and to the Rural-Metro Ambulance squad who joined us for the afternoon, giving dozens of kids a chance to investigate and actually climb up into a real ambulance!

Overwhelming gratitude goes out to R Community Bikes for their generosity in fixing one bike after another all afternoon, to City Councilman Dana Miller for his lively performance as our Master of Ceremonies, to Deb DeCaire from the Monroe County Office of Traffic Safety for organizing and running our Bike Rodeo and fitting kids with free bike helmets, and to all our sponsoring merchants who provided us with so many generous donations and raffle prizes.

We're also especially grateful to Michelle, Linda, Alison, and Dee for running our Grace Family Medicine and Embracing Options booths; to Deb Leary from the Arnett Branch Library for their free book booth and kids' story time; to Cynthia and who gave out prizes; to LeighAnna who kept the kids entertained with games and helium balloons; to Robert Matthews for setting up and running an energetic hoops competition all afternoon; to Topher Holt who got the kids all caught up in music and rhythm; and to Doug Smith, together with Rochester Youth Outreach and Grace Community Mission, for all their help and the wonderful tribute they paid to our Lord by leading us in open worship before our God and Maker at the close of the afternoon.

Remarkably, everyone pitched in and helped, so even the cleanup was a breeze and by 5 pm you never would have known the event had happened. Already folks are talking about "next year's Block Party." Just give us a little break and then call if you'd like to help! God bless you all!