Auchinachie donates to $1,000 to Veteran's Canteen event
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Auchinachie donated $1,000 to a local veteran's program to cover the cost of coffee and donuts for two years.
Twice a month, Saint Mary's of the Assumption Church in Binghamton hosts a Veteran's Canteen in the parking lot, outside of the VA Medical Clinic on Court Street.
The canteen offers free coffee, donuts, and apples, for veterans, plus good conversation and camaraderie.
The charitable branch of Auchinachie called Auchinachie CARES, donated $1,000 to the canteen project to pay for the next two years' worth of donuts.
A coordinator of the event, Bernadette Mars says, many veterans live isolated, so the canteen is great way for them to get out and connect with others.
'The veterans that are a little bit older, and I think probably live alone, are the ones that linger for a long time. And so, our volunteer veterans will go sit with them on a bench and drink coffee and listen to their stories. And I think that's the biggest benefit really,' said Mars.
Mars says Thursday's are usually the busiest.
The canteen runs from May through October and comes together around Christmas time to hand out Christmas cards to the vets.
You can donate to the canteen project and get involved by calling Saint Mary's Church at (607)723-5383.
USDA shares plan to combat bird flu and lower egg costs
Miles Burnett launches campaign for Binghamton mayor
Auchinachie donates to $1,000 to Veteran's Canteen event
Binghamton DPW prepares parade route for Saturday
Tony Villecco performing Ten Decades of Broadway
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
LA family's been visiting empty grave to mourn their mother for 4 years after headstone mishap at cemetery: lawsuit
Grave error. Loved ones who spent years grieving their beloved family matriarch at her Los Angeles burial site were horrified to learn they had been visiting an empty grave the whole time due to a misplaced headstone, according to a lawsuit and reports. The family of the late Hasmik Demirchayn – who fled oppression from the Soviet Union in the 1980s for a better life in the US – spent the past nearly four years coming to grieve, pray, celebrate birthdays and even put up a decorated Christmas tree at an empty plot that had a headstone with her name, according to local reports. 3 Hasmik Demirchayn was buried in an unmarked plot at a cemetery, while an empty plot was given her gravestone, according to a lawsuit. Demirchyan Family Photo Marine, Hasmik's middle child, has been overwhelmed with guilt and shame for visiting the wrong gravestone, she tearfully recalled to NBC4 Los Angeles. 'When she passed, I thought, 'At least, we have given her a peaceful, respectful place to rest.' But seeing her memorial tablet placed on the wrong grave, it felt like losing her all over again,' the daughter said. 'We were just talking to an empty spot.' After Hasmik Demirchayn died of a heart attack in 2021, her children buried her in one of the plots that the family had purchased in 2008 at the Hollywood Hills location of Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Since then, her children have come to visit the gravesite and commemorate a woman they described to NBC Los Angeles as the 'perfect mom.' 'For a year, I was there every weekend, taking her flowers, and sitting and talking to her,' Marine told local station. It wasn't until this April when the children had to bury their father, who had been happily married to his wife for several decades, that they realized there had been a terrible mistake. Chris, Hasmik's son, told KTLA News that during his father's funeral service, a mortician confessed to him that his mother's headstone was above an empty plot, while her body was buried in a plot with no marker. The gravestone had been placed in 'space 1,' while the beloved matriarch was buried in 'space 2,' one plot over to the right, according to KTLA. 'It was an embarrassing moment. It was a shocking moment. It's a violation of trust,' Chris said, recalling the shocking conversation. 'I feel betrayed because we have been speaking to an empty plot.' 3 The gravestone of Hasmik Demirchayn, who died of a hear attack in July 2021. Demirchyan Family Photo Despite the cemetery fixing the mistake and moving the headstone to the right burial spot, the family has filed a lawsuit in the hopes that a similar mistake can be avoided in the future. The Demirchyan family sued Forest Lawn Mortuary and the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Association for fraud, breach of contract, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, according to a lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE. 'While we appreciate Forest Lawn for taking appropriate action to correct their error right after they discovered it, it still is inexcusable because this would not have come to light if my client hadn't suffered another loss,' Rosie Zilifyan, the family's attorney, told local outlets. 3 The family of Hasmik Demirchayn is suing after they learned that they had been visiting an empty plot for four years, according to the suit. AP Apologizing and fixing the mistake doesn't take away the heartache, the family said. 'They think saying sorry and moving it makes up for what was four years of mourning that we did, and we're still grieving,' George Eskichyan, Hasmik's grandson, told KTLA. 'This adds an extra layer of hurt and pain.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Special needs community has a blast at Point Mallard water park
Jun. 7—Michael Musacchia was pumped Friday after going down one of the giant slides at Point Mallard water park in Decatur. He made the journey with one of his caretakers from the R&R Group Home. He was among well over 200 people who turned out for the second annual Special Needs Summer Celebration hosted by Decatur Fire & Rescue, said Lt. Brandon Sivley. Last year's event drew about 60, he said. The event, which consisted of lunch and then water park fun, was from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. under clear skies and a scorching hot sun, though a rainstorm came through later in the afternoon. Michael Wrangler, also a member of the group home, had his eye on the diving boards after having a good lunch. "We're just here to have fun," he said. "We ate lunch with a mermaid, but I didn't get my picture with her." Alexis Mason, a caretaker with R&R Group Home, said they were at Point Mallard Friday because it was a special day for special needs caretakers and clients. "It was free admission to the park and free lunch," she said. "They offered hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, sodas and water." Mason enjoys being caretaker. "I love that they love me and they know the love I show for them is real," she said. "Some of them don't have their parents or anybody, so the caretakers are the people they look forward to seeing every day." It takes a special person to be a caretaker, she said. "It takes a lot of patience," said Mason, who has been a caretaker since 2022. "But with the right type of heart, you'll get it done. These are like your second kids. I treat them like my babies." Decatur Fire & Rescue began the annual summer celebration after hearing that some of the special needs clients in the community didn't have enough activities to attend throughout the year, Sivley said. Firefighters made calls for sponsors and now the effort has grown into celebrations on Halloween, Christmas and summer, he said. He thanked Point Mallard for allowing them to host the celebration. Texas Roadhouse volunteered to cook 300 donated hamburgers and 120 donated hotdogs for the event. Walmart donated about $1,000 to cover the meals. Other sponsors included Pepsi of Decatur, Hubbard & Drake and Gillespie Cabinets. Sivley enjoys the annual event. "I just like getting the handshakes and the hugs and the smiles — they are an awesome community." — or 256-340-2361
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Asking Eric: Most of the time, a crush is just a crush
Dear Eric: My husband and I have been estranged from our 17-year-old granddaughter for eight years. We were loving, supportive grandparents but after the mother of our granddaughter broke up with our son, the father, she stopped our granddaughter from seeing us as well. For eight years, I have tried to keep contact with our granddaughter with gifts and cards on her birthday, Christmas and other times. I do not receive a response of any kind from her. We believe her mother forbids her from contacting us. My question is should I continue to send cards and gifts to her? I'm ready to stop. I don't want her to forget us but I'm very tired of attempting to reach out to her with no response. – Estranged Gramma Dear Gramma: Eight years is a long time to go with no response. I'm sorry; I know that's hard. If you're ready to stop – or modify this practice – I think it's OK to do so. Sending cards and gifts hasn't had the desired effect thus far and if it's just contributing to your grief and sense of loss, it might be best to take a pause. Consider, however, that your granddaughter is about to be a legal adult and therefore will be able to make different choices about who gets to contact her. And also consider that the gifts may have had a positive impact on her, even if they didn't result in a closer relationship with you. There are a lot of unknowns. As such, don't feel obligated to keep up a tradition that's wearing you down. You might, for instance, take a few years off, and then reach out with a letter asking if she's open to reconnecting. You'll have to respect whatever she chooses, but there are other paths forward. They'll just take a little more time. Dear Eric: I have been dating my girlfriend for one and a half years now, and we have a really strong relationship. I care about her a lot, and our relationship means a lot to me. However, recently our relationship has been missing the spark it used to have, and it just isn't as exciting anymore (although I still very much enjoy spending time with my partner and our relationship is fine). Additionally, I have started finding someone at work attractive and have found myself looking at them a lot and trying to be around them often. I have already told my partner that I find this person attractive, but I said it didn't amount to much (sort of like thinking a movie star is attractive) and so my partner was not too upset. However, I feel very guilty about my feelings of attraction and am worried that it could be a sign my girlfriend may not actually be right for me. I'm hesitant to just break up with my current partner and begin talking to the person I'm attracted to as I feel it would hurt her greatly and I also don't want to lose such a good relationship. Furthermore, I haven't spent much time with this coworker whom I'm attracted to, and don't wish to spend any time with them as it feels like cheating. So, I don't know much about their personality, and they could end up being someone that I actually dislike. Is it a bad idea to throw away a perfectly good relationship just for a 'crush'? Is it immoral to have these feelings and stay with my partner? Are these feelings a sign that maybe our relationship isn't meant to be? – Confused Lover Dear Confused: Bad idea? Yes. Immoral? No. A sign? Reply hazy, ask again. Your relationship with your girlfriend is changing, as is natural. Things won't always have the sizzle and spark of your early attraction. That can be jarring, but it's often an opportunity for you both to reinvest in the relationship, to make some adjustments, and to light new sparks. Relationships aren't ever static. Try to communicate openly about what you miss, what you're hoping for, and ways – big and small – that you can keep building the relationship. I don't know what the inside of this crush looks like. But I know that it's often easier to look at something that's new and mostly unknown and start to construct an idealized narrative. It's easier to imagine that everything will be perfect with some other person – without even really knowing that person – than to accept that 'perfect' with the person we do know takes work. Most of the time, a crush is just a crush. If you want to get to know your coworker outside of the office and see if reality matches your imagination, that's fine (presuming she also wants to get to know you). But I think your first step should be spending some time working on your relationship with your partner.
