The Words of the Christopher Family
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The Words of the Christopher Family |
Cultivating good relationships with local leadership and residents in the community is one of the most essential aspects of public relations for any organization, especially a new religious organization. It opens up avenues to serve the community, and be seen as an organization which is "normal", valuing the same things that most communities across America value, i.e. family, public service, caring for the elderly, education, children's health and welfare, etc.
With this end in mind, for the last 6 years the UTS Community Relations Office has placed the Seminary in service and leadership positions in Barrytown, Red Hook, and Dutchess Co., through a variety of activities, including:
1. Opening Father's Trail to the NY State Greenway Trail System and inviting the public to walk the trail.
2. Starting a Nature Club for local residents, where they have monthly meetings and do arts and crafts and public service works such as holding pumpkin carving contests for kids; kite flying.
3. Establishing a community garden on UTS grounds, open to the public.
4. Publishing the Barrytown Gazette for the community with stories about the interesting and unique people in the hamlet.
5. Creating the Barrytown Soap Works, that makes natural soaps, face and hand creams and lip balm which are marketed at local farm stands.
6. Beekeeping, and joining the local beekeeping club
7. Starting a local metal detecting club where we search for and find historic coins and artifacts of local history.
8. Arranging access through the UTS property for the historic Hudson River Ice Yacht Club to sail on the South Tivoli Bay.
9. Joining the Red Hook Trails Committee, and serving as treasurer of the Red Hook Historical Society
10. Starting "Communities That Care" in Red Hook with a town councilwoman and the village police chief to help teens at risk for substance abuse
11. Holding Ambassador for Peace dinners at UTS to honor local leaders
12. Organizing teens to run local food drives and serve the elderly, and leading a Springtime Barrytown Road Clean-up project for the last 7 years.
The latest project (over the last two years) has been the UTS Speakers' Forum at the Massena Mansion, where local leaders, professionals, and other (extra)ordinary people have the opportunity to speak, give a PowerPoint presentation or a demonstration on a subject that they are enthusiastic about. It has been a huge success in the community. Each Forum is video-taped and edited by a colleague from the Red Hook Historical Society who does the work as a volunteer, because he thinks it is a great service to the community. After editing the video, he brings the finished CD to the local (public) PandaTV studio which has been broadcasting each Forum on local TV