A non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for residents of Albany’s South End will hold its annual fundraiser tonight.
AVillage…, Inc.'s Celebration of Progress will honor individuals and groups whose efforts have helped make the neighborhood a better place in which to live, work and play, including:
Dr. Greg Dewey, president of the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS), who helped spearhead January’s opening of student-operated College Parkside Pharmacy at the Capital South Campus Center. "This is really part of our philosophy that the colleges and universities are really part of the public good, and being part of that public good we have to move off-campus into the communities."
“The theme of our event this year is Organizing for Our Health,” explained AVillage…, Inc. Interim Executive Director Marc Wells Johnson. “We will celebrate the spirit of progress in the Capital Region by honoring individuals and groups for engaging and empowering our communities, and helping to maintain a healthy quality of life for area citizens.”
The event runs from 6-9 p.m. at Sixty State Street.
- Recipients of the evening’s Celebration of Progress Awards include:
· Dr. Greg Dewey, president, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS), who helped spearhead January’s opening of College Parkside Pharmacy located at the Capital South Campus Center (20 Warren Street). The student-operated pharmacy provides South End residents with convenient access to pharmacy services, as well as expanded services such as medication therapy management, bone density/cholesterol/blood pressure screenings, immunizations, educational programs and wellness counseling. At the same time, ACPHS students completing their bachelors, masters and doctorate of pharmacy programs have the chance to learn how to run a pharmacy while gaining hands-on experience in revenue, inventory turnover, and pharmacy cash-flow analysis.
· Darryl Johnson, community advocate, Center for Law and Justice. Johnson serves as a resource person at the Center, which has served low-income and disadvantaged residents of Albany and the Capital Region through education and advocacy. He helps those who come to the center for assistance and connects them with services and resources. Johnson is known widely in the community for his willingness to go the extra mile.
· The Ezra Prentice Health Survey Team, a group of residents and former residents at Ezra Prentice Homes, has worked with AVillage…, Inc. and the Radix Center to compile health information for residents at Ezra Prentice Homes, a public housing project near the Port of Albany. The team, which includes volunteers from the School of Public Health and other institutions who have served as survey interviewers, has conducted comprehensive health surveys of residents at Ezra Prentice and organized residents around air pollution issues that plague the community from the nearby Kenwood rail yards and truck traffic on South Pearl Street.
· The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, a new not-for-profit educational organization located on Grand Street in Albany, collaborates with AVillage…, Inc. on the Ezra Prentice Health Survey. It also partners with AVillage…, Inc. and Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region on projects promoting ecological and nutritional education, access to fresh produce through the South End Farmers Market and development of new gardens in the South End.
AVillage…, Inc. will conclude the evening’s festivities by presenting Caroline Mason, a former board member who served as the first joint head of school for Albany Academy for Girls & The Albany Academy, with the first Rev. Donald Panburn, Esq. Community Service Award. Panburn, a minister at several local churches and respected local attorney, assisted AVillage…, Inc. through the legal process of incorporating and becoming a tax-exempt organization. His widow, Mrs. Tulla Panburn, will also be honored.
For more information, call (518) 451-9849 or visit http://www.avillageworks.org/2016-celebration-of-progress.html.
