4 SUNY Oneonta Students Receive an Inspiring Ride Home in the Kindness Car [Transcript]

Transcript of a ride home that I gave to four female SUNY Oneonta students from downtown through The Redemption Movement’s #OneontaRides free ride service, around midnight on 12-15. For this ride, the Kindness Car was at capacity and all four passengers were encouraged by the following conversation. Making the ride extra special, is the fact that I broke my ankle just an hour prior (I didn’t know that it was broken). Instead of going to the E.R., I decided to finish the night and take people home. After having this conversation, I’m glad I did.    

Girl 1: I honestly can’t thank you enough. It’s really nice. Thank you so much.

Kaler: We’re happy to serve your needs.

Now what church are you guys with?

It’s a church called The Redemption Movement. I’m the pastor of it. 

Can you please redeem me? In all seriousness...

Girl 2: This is a really stupid question, like, what kind of a religion is this?

It’s Christian.

Christian. Not Catholic, but Christian?

Right, but I think Catholics are Christian, you know? 

Catholics are Christian, of course. 

Pastor, like, I’m serious, I made some stupid choices. 

Like, we all have. I’ve made stupid choices.

Like, in all seriousness, can you please like, help me. I’m sad now. I’ve had a lot to drink tonight.  

Tell ya what, at the end of the ride how about I pray for ya? 

Thank you so much!

I was talking to my friend the other day about this. I was confirmed Roman Catholic or whatever, and you know how you have to do that interview thingy with the priest? I remember in 7th or 8th grade confessional, they told me that I wasn’t going to go to Heaven because I don’t go to church every Sunday. Is that true?

That is not true.

Alight, well the priest was a liar.

Well this is one of the differences between Protestants and Catholics.

I’m literally like old now and I remember that from 7th or 8th grade. Like, it still scars me every time I think about it.  

Salvation and Heaven, that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. 

I literally have so much faith and I literally think about God so much.

If you put your trust and hope in Jesus...

I do. That priest was like trying to mess with me. 

I hate to say that it’s all about making it to Heaven because it’s about so much more than that.

No, I know. But he was trying to scare me. He was like, “Why don’t you go to church?” And I was like, “Ohhh yikes!”

I really am trying to be a good person, but I feel like people just take advantage of that. 

Yep. You know, that’s part of the package. 

No, literally, she was trying the other day and people literally take advantage so much. I try so hard not to. 

I do this ride thing and I get people that take advantage sometimes and ask me to go to house parties. 

No seriously, please don’t think I’m doing that. This is my first ride and it is amazing.

Like, I’m also really cold. I’m not going to lie. I don’t want to be a liar. It’s really cold and I didn’t want to wait for the bus. 

That’s what it’s about. 

Like, I’m not here to lie and all.

Sometimes we give rides to people that just don’t want to be cold, and sometimes people are just…

I’m also ssslighty drunk.

Whether you’re slightly, severely, or completely sober...

Exactly.

 ...we give anybody and everybody a ride home.

(All 4 girls) Thank you!

Like, I honestly I can’t thank you enough. Do you want money?

No. Not while we give rides. This is free. 

Does the church take donations?

Yeah, we do online and we have a little gift box at the tent, so we do it like that. But we’re not fundraising and this isn’t about money. So hold onto your money tonight. 

Girl 3: You know what you should do to give back? Go in your purse and get some money...

You know what, if I get to pray for ya, that’s going to make my night. I’ll be happy to pray for you. That’s why we’re going out and doing this.

Oh my God. Thank you so much.

What’s your name sir?

My name is Kaler.

Kaler, I’m going to pray for you.

Oh, you know what, I’ve been doing this for years and no one’s ever prayed for me.

No, I’m going to pray for you. Like, I pray every night and I’m going to pray for you. 

Genuinely know that, before I fall asleep tonight, I’m going to think of you and and your family. Like, I don’t know who you are but I’m going to think of you. 

Ahhh.

I literally sound like a lying piece of shit, but I am literally going to think of you.

Girl 4: This is great. This is so positive. I’m loving it.

We call it the Kindness Car. 

This is a lot of kindness. I’m loving it.

Okay, I sound very drunk and stupid right now, but I genuinely think of people and pray for people at night. 

I’m (name given). Nice to meet you.

My grandma is Christian, she’s very, very religious. But I feel like, you know, she preaches all this Christianity, but she doesn’t give back or be kind to people. And that’s one thing, I’m not resentful, but I think, you know, it’s very hypocritical. I think, you know, to be Christian you need to give back. You know, that’s part of the thing is being a good person, and not always is she. And I think what you’re doing is exemplary. It’s wonderful!  

Yeah. I’m trying to show what Jesus’ love is like.

Exactly! Jesus’ love is giving back to people, it’s being kind and showing others love and help, and that’s what you’re doing.

So I’m crying because this is, no no no, because I literally stress over the stupidest stuff, and I get so mad and upset over the stupidest things. 

And I don’t think of little things like this.

And then, yeah yeah, in retrospect, like this, stuff like this is real.

You know, especially with the season of Christmas, this is so exemplary, you know. This is the key!

I wouldn’t be too down on your grandma. Because, when it comes down to it, we’re all hypocrites on some level. So, I think that’s what’s cool about Jesus and the Gospel, is that the Gospel redeems even hypocrites. So, the point of it I think is, the longer you follow the Christ, you look less hypocritical, more and more. 

Can I please, like, I’m being so serious, I am coming to your mass on Sunday, because I believe this.

Sure! I’ll give ya’ll cards.

A card would be wonderful!

I sound so bad, but I genuinely miss religion. I went to private school like all my life, elementary school through high school, I went to Catholic school, and I kinda miss it.

You guys going to be around this Sunday at all? 

Yes we are!

This Sunday is like big Christmas production.

I would love to go!

That would be awesome!  

I went to Catholic school but I never went to mass with my family because we just didn’t do it. But like, I miss praying in Catholic school. I never thought I would say that because I hated the uniforms, I hated it. I went to an all-girls privatized high school. I don’t know, I just miss it now, now that I think about it. 

See I used to go to church every Sunday when I was little with my parents, but you know, I kinda got away from it. But you know, my mom, this past year getting chemo and everything, that really affects your faith, you know?

That’s rough.

If you don’t have something to get you through that, you got nothing. 

Yes.

So, I mean, maybe I’ll start going to church because I am very faithful, you know? I would love to go to this church!

I’ll hook you up, yeah. Actually, I’ll give you the card, I’ll write some info on there. My phone number is actually on the card. If you see me, it’d be awesome if you sat with me and my family. 

That would be wonderful!

I’ll introduce you guys.

Yeah so, seriously, like this ride, obviously I was so upset about something so small and this made my night.

Yeah. That’s why we go out. You know, when people serve you and show you kindness when you don’t expect it, it changes everything.

Oh my God, this is so meaningful.

I do this every Friday. I love meeting people.

Like, I hope that you get the appreciation that you deserve. 

Thank you so much.

Well, I mean, that’s not why. We’re not doing it for ourselves, but there’s a lot of good vibes.

Yes, but coming from an outsider, I really hope that you’ll keep doing this. Like, this is really, really good. 

Why thank you. I appreciate hearing that. (Pulls up to dorm) Okay well, you know what, if I saw you at church that would be huge. That would make me so tickled pink. So I’m going to write it right here.

Yes, can I please have. I’ll take it.

So this is a church called Anchor. It’s 6pm, Sunday, at 12 Grove. Do you want me to write that for each of you? (gives invite card to Girl #1)

Yes, I would love one.

6pm, 12 Grove, Sunday, Anchor. There’s like multiple churches represented here. (hands invite card to Girl #3)

And if we go we just walk in, and it’s just like, it’s okay?

Yeah, like I said, this is actually my phone number, my cell. So if I know you’re coming I’ll introduce you to my family and we can hang out.

That would be amazing actually.

That’d be wonderful. That would be so nice.

(hands invite card to Girl #2) Thank you so much. (door opens)

Wait (Girl #1) I got to pray for ya, remember? What do you need prayer for?

Wait, I’m getting blessed (sorts out who’s who now that the car dome light is on).

We can all use some prayer.

I’ll do a group prayer. Any special requests?

Umm, my mom, and my life, and yeah.

Mine’s umm, my parents’ health.

Yeah, my parents and my family.

Alright, so kind of a common theme here. (Asking Girl #4) You wanna get in on this?

Yeah sure, we’ll do family. 

We’ll do family, alright.

Family and, I’m going to be selfish, and just that I find happiness.

I agree with that, happiness.

Alright, I'll do this short and sweet. Lord God, I come before you with joy that we can take this random moment and just focus on you, and your goodness can be reflected in this car ride. I pray that the love and joy experienced here will spread to each one of these young girls’ families, and that you’ll fill their hearts and lives with happiness when they go home and see their families, and that happiness will spread, and it will even affect their health. I pray for your miraculous touch on the health of their loved ones. And I pray ultimately God that these young ladies, that tonight when they pray and they think about this ride, that they will feel your love, in a real and tangible way. God, just bless them, bless them I pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thank you so much.

Thank you that was so nice.

Happy to serve. So we do this every Friday so let’s stay in touch.

Okay, we’ll see you Sunday hopefully!

Hopefully, that’d be so awesome.

I will pray for you. For all good things. Thank you.

That’s awesome. You’re welcome. Have a good one. (3 girls exit the car, leaving Girl #4 to be taken home).

That’s so nice.

Yeah.

I bet that doesn’t happen often does it?

It does actually.

Really!? 

Yeah, I mean, the prayer thing I probably only get to do that like once or twice a night.

That’s actually surprisingly more than I expected. I just feel like, some kids aren’t as appreciative. 

Yeah well, I mean like, if I was driving a taxi cab, I would hate it. Because if you’re doing something and people are paying you to do it, you know, they have an expectation. Like, a “you work for me” kind of a thing, and that would be absolutely miserable.

Yeah yeah.

Because like, you flip it on its head and you’re like serving them, it’s like, “What? What? No no. Ahhh.”

Yeah yeah, they’re like, “No money? This is free!?”

Yeah, so if you take like, the person in the worst mood possible, and they might even be angry or belligerent when they get in, but after it all kind of connects…

Uh huh. I was in a pretty bad mood before this, but after hearing all of that I was like, “I can’t even be angry anymore.”

Exactly.

Like, they’re all just happy to be here.

Yep. We call this the Kindness Car. With the volunteers we call it the Kindness Team, we got a Kindness Station and Kindness Baskets. I’m basically Kindnessman. I mean, like Batman has like a Batarang and a Bat Car and all of this stuff.

Yeah really! That’s amazing. That’s just so nice that people do that selflessly.

Well, it’s like the name of our church is The Redemption Movement, and I threw that word Movement in there intentionally because I believe that things like redemption and kindness can be like a movement where it spreads and grows, like the card says “Scatter Kindness.” So, the cool thing is that I started this whole thing years ago with just like, me, a friend, and a car, and it’s blown up into multiple cars, and we got that tent, and we got this giant team of like dozens of volunteers. And so it’s just like, for all of the crap going on in the world that gets you depressed, it’s like, the thing that you don’t hear about is the steady movement of kindness and love.

It’s just so necessary though. I feel like this world is just depleted of it and everyone is just so unhappy and going on with their lives. And this is just such a great thing.

I mean like, I work really hard to write about this and put it up on social media and spread the word, and ultimately that’s not because I’m trying to brag about what we’re doing.

Right.

But I know that people read it and they’re like, “Ahhh,” and their day changes. So that to me, is worth all of the work, if someone is blessed by it. (pulls up to her dorm)

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

You’re welcome. Have a wonderful night.

Thanks. You too. Have a great night.

You too. God bless.

Have Your Group Sponsor a Night at the Kindness Station

If you’ve ever visited the downtown Kindness Station or received a free ride home in one of the “Kindness Cars,” you may have noticed something unique about the Kindness Team volunteers serving you. That being, the makeup of the Kindness Team itself. Why, the team is a hodgepodge of people representing different groups from the community, and many volunteer for a variety of reasons.

While this weekly outreach effort is organized and overseen by a single local church, The Redemption Movement, its support in recent years has come from a coalition of community groups that are all united by one thing, showing kindness. These organizations include; multiple local churches, student groups, local businesses, local nonprofits, and more. In fact, this message of community unity is communicated to every person we serve by having each group displayed on the back of the “Kindness Cards” that we pass out to the public. 

Also, another demographic at the Kindness Station are individuals that don’t necessarily represent any group. They just like showing up and serving up some kindness. And that’s cool too!

The best part about making this a community activity instead of just a Redemption Movement ministry is that it’s allowed us to accomplish so much more. And it’s in this spirit of "doing the most good" that we open up the Kindness Station to the community in new way: Have your group sponsor a night of the Kindness Station!

An Example of How Sponsoring the Station Allows Us to Do More

This is an idea that we tried for the first time last November after SUNY Oneonta sorority Pi Delta Chi reached out to us about volunteering at the Kindness Station. After realizing the size of the group that we had to work with, I proposed the idea of having the sorority sisters volunteer on a Saturday night--a night when our current group of volunteers aren’t typically able to serve. Pi Delta Chi was able to commit to a Saturday, which made it possible to do the Kindness Station for two nights in the row for the first time since starting the station in 2015!

The outing went so well that we’d like to extend the invitation to other community groups to come and sponsor a night of the Kindness Station. It’s a great way to gain exposure for your group, get credit for community service hours, and of course, make a difference in your community.

Click here to learn about more benefits to volunteering.

What’s it Look Like to Have Your Group Sponsor the Kindness Station?

Officially sponsoring the station as a group is a little different than having an individual volunteer on their own, inasmuch as the arrangements will have to be made with Pastor Kaler beforehand. This way, we can make sure that there’s enough volunteers to pull it off. Planning ahead like this will also ensure that every volunteer will know what the Kindness Station is all about and end up with a job to do.

As a minimum, a group sponsoring the Kindness Station will want to provide coverage of five volunteers throughout the night. A typical night of service lasts from 10pm-3am. This can be broken down in a few ways: a team of five from your organization can commit to serving all night long, or arrangements can be made so that a larger group can take individual shifts at the station, or a group larger than five can serve all night long at the station and additional volunteer responsibilities will be added accordingly.  

Some of the ways you or your group can volunteer:

• Running/restocking the hospitality table.
• Welcoming people to the Kindness Station.
• Providing breathalyzer testing.
• Distributing free winter clothes.
• Canvassing downtown with “Kindness Baskets.” 
• Riding along in the cars and assisting with the rides.
• Driving people home (for trained volunteers only).
• Setup and teardown.
• And more jobs/acts of kindness can be created for larger groups. 

Currently, Friday or Saturday nights during the school year are available for having a group sponsor the Kindness Station, as well as nights when there’s a special occasion that calls for the service, like Saint Patrick’s Day, OH-Fest, etc.

To make arrangements for your community group, student group, church group, business, or any other group to sponsor a night at the Kindness Station, call Kaler at (607) 434-2564, or email rm.gigs@gmail.com. 

Kindness Team Wraps Up School Year With 12-Hour Kindness Extravaganza!

It was borderline reckless everything we gave away to downtown Oneonta at the last Kindness Station of the 2016-17 school year. The list includes:

• 190 bottles of water
• 83 Capri Sun juice packs
• Almost 7 gallons of pickles
• 70+ bananas
• 5 pizzas donated by Domino’s
• 73 packs of sandwich crackers
• 100 packs of Pop Tarts
• 100+ granola bars
• 2 pots of coffee
• 10 pounds of chocolate candy
• 150+ sticks of breath freshening gum
• 115 breathalyzer tests administered

And most importantly, 74 safe rides home!

#OneontaRides Kindness Station special #seniorcrawl edition! Find us in front of @LEAFcouncil. #SafeRides all night long 📞 6074342564 🚕 pic.twitter.com/4iSYpiNXXZ

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) May 11, 2017

Ending the School Year With a Big Party

The event that called for such a ridiculous display of kindness was the Senior Bar Crawl. Each year, our church gets in a rhythm of serving the community with the Kindness Station and #OneontaRides, a rhythm that keeps up with the weekend parties and special drinking events celebrated primarily (but not exclusively) by the city’s student population. The Senior Bar Crawl is special because it represents the last downtown outreach effort by the Kindness Team--sort of like a finish line for a big kindness marathon. When the crawl is over, we pack up for the summer and begin to recharge by actually getting sleep on Friday nights.

• 2015 Crawl: "Milestone: Giving Our 1,000th Free Ride"
• 2016 Crawl: "2,771 Safe Rides Given Caps Off 3-Year Volunteer Effort for #OneontaRides"

This year’s crawl began early, around 3pm. We wanted to serve the seniors from the time the crawl started to when the bars closed. To pull this off, more than 20 volunteers from the Kindness Team worked in shifts and kept operations going for nearly 12 straight hours.

Round 2 of #seniorcrawl with the Kindness Team night crew. The station is fully stocked and #SafeRides all night. #OneontaRides 📞 6074342564 pic.twitter.com/LHVojAXlEx

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) May 12, 2017

There were times during the crawl when the tent was so packed that it became difficult to maneuver. It was super chaotic, yet a ton of fun!

Kindness Was in High Demand

To give you an idea of just how big of a hit the Kindness Station was, consider the fact that the day prior I looked at the report from last year’s crawl to see just how much supplies I needed to purchase--it turned out to total three times more than what we pass out on a typical Friday night. Well, only 2 hours into this year’s crawl and we needed to make a grocery store run because we were running short. By the end of the night, we made 3 additional trips to the grocery store.

I knew we were in for a busy day, but I totally underestimated the popularity of some of the items on the hospitality table, like pickles! There was a constant line of people wanting pickles, so much so that we had to designate a volunteer to pass them out. Seriously, by the time the sun went down, we had gone through 6 one-gallon jars of pickles. At one point it was rather comical because it seemed like everybody on Water Street either had a giant pickle in their hand or were asking where to get one. One female student even told me that “standing outside the bar on a nice day while eating a pickle was like a dream come true.”

Another constant line that we experienced was for breathalyzer testing. In fact, we had so many people use the breathalyzer that the poor device ceased working after more than 100 uses. Russell Pergola, who was in charge of administering the BAC tests, observed how, “Almost everyone tested blew at least a 0.10.” Keep in mind that intoxication technically occurs at 0.08. Given the fact that the whole idea of a bar crawl is to have at least one alcoholic beverage at each Oneonta bar, these results certainly aren’t surprising.

Story From the Road #1: Helping a Girl Who Could No Longer Crawl

Overall the mood downtown was jovial, yet we did assist a few students that were severely intoxicated. The worst case we saw was actually the first ride of the day.

We got a call from a group of females that we previously interacted with at the station. While there, one girl in the group couldn’t stand on her own, so we directed her to a cot that we had set up for such a purpose. We were able to breathalyze her (which proved a difficult task due to how incoherent she was) and she registered at 0.17. We did our best to convince her friends that it would be best for her to call it a day and to go home. Unfortunately, nobody in the group was ready to call it just yet so they left the station to continue their crawl, taking the inebriated friend with them--but not before I could put a card in their hands with our phone number on it.

Not too long after, I got a call from the group of girls requesting a ride home. They were outside of Tino’s and their friend had experienced some major vomiting, both inside and outside of the restaurant. I was able to have a female volunteer to come with me to assist and within minutes we were there, helping the girl to her feet and guiding her to the car. Before we placed her in the car I was able to clean her off with paper towels, which meant thoroughly wiping down her front, back, arms, and hands. Thankfully, she had nothing left to spew by the time she got in the car, yet we were ready with barf bags.

The ride to campus went smoothly. We tried to convince the group that their friend needed medical attention and we’d be happy to take her to the ER, but the offer was turned down. Although, it was apparent that the girls were planning on cleaning up their friend, changing her clothes, and putting her to bed. So at least I could feel good that she was being taken care of.

Story From the Road #2: Sharing the Gospel With a Curious Friend

Later that night, we gave a meaningful ride to a young man who was eager to learn more about what we are about. He approached us at the Kindness Station because he really wanted to meet us and say thank you. It turns out that we’ve provided several safe rides home to his girlfriend all throughout the school year (many times when she was by herself).

We then gave him a ride home and that’s when he asked us about the purpose of our group. I replied by reciting the mission statement of The Redemption Movement, and one part in particular peaked his interest--where it mentions redeeming lost and hurting people. Earlier, he and I talked religion and he identified as Jewish, yet he didn’t know what I meant when I used the word “lost.” That opened the door to clearly explain the Gospel: how “lost” relates to sin and separation from God, how Jesus died to atone for sin, and how the word lost implies that whatever is lost is worth searching for and worth saving. He left the car and I felt a strong connection with the young man. It turns out that he’s a junior so we committed to continuing the conversation in the Fall when he comes back to Oneonta.

Additional Highlights

Additional highlights of the day include: dozens of seniors we gave rides to over the years stopping by the station to say thank you and goodbye (often punctuated by hugs), some great conversations about faith, and a Domino’s pizza party at closing time. Given the fact that we served hundreds of people over the course of 12 hours, we actually ended up with many more great stories than I have time to tell.

The Kindness Station is a Huge Success But a Huge Expense: Is it Worth It?

Looking back at the immense effort and expense it was for our small church to serve the community in such a big way (both for the crawl and throughout the school year), we have to stop and ask ourselves, “Is it all worth it?” After all, we've sacrificed a lot in order to make the Kindness Station happen every week, like not being able to afford amenities enjoyed by typical churches such as; an impressive building, a vibrant stage ministry, going to conferences, etc.

Indeed, when I look at The Redemption Movement’s use of funds, I do begin to feel like it’s rather irresponsible to spend so much on outreach. Although, soon after thinking these thoughts I’m often reminded of the sacrificial love shown by Jesus Christ, and how it was a joy for Him to serve others in reckless ways that were often scoffed at by the establishment of his day. After looking at the example and teachings of Jesus, I then consider how we use our time and resources to try and be the hands and feet of Christ and I say, yes, it’s all worth it.

What’s Next for #OneontaRides?

With the end of the school year, another chapter closes for #OnoentaRides, having provided 2,006 rides during the past year alone, and 4,777 safe rides total. 

That's a wrap for #OneontaRides 2016-17! 74 rides for #seniorcrawl = 2,006 rides for the year and 4,777 rides since 2013.#Oneonta #outreach pic.twitter.com/00A3ZugG50

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) May 12, 2017

We now go into a season of rest and fundraising. During the school year, it's extremely difficult to adequately fundraise while doing the work of providing rides on the weekends. So this is the window we have to hopefully raise the money we need to continue to show reckless kindness to our community.

If you would like to partner with us and make this upcoming year of providing safe rides and running the downtown Kindness Station bigger and better than the last four, then you're welcome to volunteer with the Kindness Team and donate to the cause!      

• Join the Kindness Team on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/941400949209700/
• Donate and help fund the 2017-18 school year: http://donate.theredemptionmovement.org/free-ride-oneonta

Oneonta Comes Together for Town & Gown Gala

On November 9th at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, a very special community event took place that helped bring healing and unity to the City of Oneonta. The Town & Gown Gala  was organized to bring together Oneonta's student and resident population after a rough start to the semester. The gala also aimed to bring comfort to both students and residents after a SUNY Oneonta student was critically-injured in an altercation last September, and the city faced a tragedy of their own after losing a beloved mayor in October. For the few hundred people in attendance representing both the town and the gown, virtually everybody walked away feeling a stronger sense of community--making the TGG a success!

What Made the Town & Gown Gala So Special?

There were multiple aspects about TGG that made it special for our city. First off, few events in Oneonta are like the TGG, which was alcohol-free and designed for the expressed purpose of bringing the two groups together while raising money for a community member in need.

Second, events of this size and scope where 7 bands perform and both colleges and multiple community groups participate, typically take months of planning. In the case of the TGG, the event was organized in one month because it was determined that, in light of the divisions the city was experiencing and the need of the injured student, if something was to be done, then the sooner the better.

Thirdly, the funding of the event made it unique. Since no one had the time to solicit donations and sponsorships, the event was made possible thanks to people, organizations, and artists stepping up and helping out because they were passionate about such an event taking place.

Oneonta is a Caring Community

Oneonta is a compassionate community that was saddened to learn about a student becoming injured last September. Therefore, when people heard about the fundraising effort, they were quick to support it. The support that Oneonta showed for student Tyler Gianacola is heartwarming and impressive. Over $800 was raised to help Tyler's family, and when it came time for the candlelight ceremony to talk about both Tyler and Mayor Miller, more than 150 people gathered in front of Foothills. At the ceremony, it was announced that over $500 was raised for Tyler and the crowd cheered. By the end of the following rock concert, the crowd cheered again when the donations grew to $800.

A Fun and Educational Social Mixer

The first two hours of the event was a social mixer that sought to bring together the community with education and entertainment. Various groups from both the colleges and the community were represented at tables, and several of the tables provided carnival-style games for kids. The games used tickets that could be redeemed for prizes like candy and toys, and even live goldfish were given away by OnMark, the SUNY Oneonta marketing club, as well as face painting provided by the SUNY Oneonta Student Advisory Council. Additionally, there was a drawing for a new television. To enter the contest, all one had to do was get twelve initials from the various tables. And to encourage people to socialize, the itinerary contained suggested icebreaker questions for people to ask one another.

As people got to know each other, there was live music featuring artists from both the town and the gown. Folk duet KJ Carney and Sky Miritello kicked off the gala with their sweet harmonies, followed by a set of acoustic blues from Heaven's Back Door. Closing out the social mixer portion of the gala was the upbeat and contemporary sounds of the student band Summer Symphony.

In between the performances from the bands were speakers from organizations raising awareness for social issues relating to the recent tragedies experienced by the community. Rebbecca Harrington from the Know Violence committee of SUNY Oneonta spoke about how violence affects everyone. Julie Dostal from LEAF spoke about the value of doing alcohol-free activities like the gala, and Donna Lange from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention educated the room about suicide.

The tone of the mixer was friendly and warm, and a big part of that was due to Abbey Koutnik in full clown apparel working the room with props and jokes. She even contributed wonderful balloon sculptures! 

A Warm Candlelight Ceremony 

The candlelight ceremony was the climax of the gala, with a large crowd showing up right before the candles were lit, almost doubling the crowd from the previous social mixer. The SUNY Oneonta Inter-Greek Council went above and beyond by organizing and running the fundraiser. Even though the wind and city code didn't allow for the use of paper lanterns like originally planned, they still managed to light enough candles during the ceremony to make it beautiful and memorable.

At the candlelight ceremony, Pastor Kaler Carpenter of The Redemption Movement spoke about how Tyler's injury personally impacted him and related the community's response to that of the Good Samaritan. SUNY Oneonta student and friend of Tyler, Nicole Jones, then read a prepared statement from Tyler's mother thanking the community for their support (Tyler was unable to attend the event due to his injuries).

Next up was Council Member Mike Lynch who reminded the crowd of both students and residents how much his friend Mayor Miller would have liked to have seen the community brought together like this. After a moment of silence was observed for Miller, Carpenter then invited everybody to file inside for a free rock show, and it wasn't long before the production room at Foothills was full of people waiting to hear the opening band Kardia.

The Foothills was Filled with Music

For the rock show, all of the bands played their hearts out and a sizable crowd stayed throughout the duration of the event. The room was full of positive energy as a crowd gathered around the front of the stage and clapped and cheered. During the music, people were having a good time as glow sticks were waived and people danced with balloon animal sculptures.  

Before Kardia played, G Winnard got the crowd warmed up with an upbeat selection of electronic music mixed with some sweet dance moves. Kardia then took the stage, opening their set with an intense drum-corps-style performance that teased the crowd with what they were about to experience.

Post by Kardia.

With the exception a cool Journey cover, Kardia played original songs that synched to an impressive light show.

There were three bands after Kardia, and two of them were student bands from SUNY Oneonta representing Red Dragon Records--Bray and Living Proof. Both bands were full of energy and had a harder sound that the audience responded well to. For Living Proof, the night was extra special; it was their first show and the message from lead singer Danny Cohen about not allowing substances to control one's life fit perfectly with the night's theme.

Post by Living.Proof.

In between the two Red Dragon bands was El Dred, a guitar and drum rock duo made up of Walton natives Ryan Eldred and Ben Ray. For El Dred's set, the crowd smiled got into it as Ryan's upbeat and catchy tunes commanded the attention of the room and got people dancing.

When the rock show was finished and the lights were flipped on, many from the crowd stayed afterwards to help with clean up, including students from the SUNY Oneonta service club Alpha Phi Omega who stayed until everything was put away. Overall, the gala was truly a remarkable event that was made possible because so many people were involved and helped out.


Click here to see Living Proof's First Set at TGG!      

TGG was a Turning Point for The Redemption Movement

For The Redemption Movement, the Town & Gown Gala was the biggest of many community events organized in the organization's brief history. An event like TGG was a natural progression of what a movement of kindness looks like. Pastor Kaler's approach to RM's outreaches has always been, "See a need, meet a need;" and after seeing the alcohol-fueled problems and risks associated with the city's downtown party scene, the strain that these problems were causing on community relations, and seeing tragedies like what happened with Tyler and Mayor Miller, stepping up to the microphone and attempting to meet such daunting community needs by organizing an event like TGG is a natural course of action for a church experienced in kindness and rock n' roll.

During Kardia's performance, guitar player Justin Wisner mentioned that this was the second time the Pittsfield-based band played Oneonta. Their first time was last December at The Redemption Movement to a much smaller crowd of 7 people. Throughout the evening, other artists shared similar stories about playing at the Ol' Storefront on River St. and working with Kaler to put on all-ages community rock shows. Many of these shows weren't well attended, and many community outreach efforts by RM have been done on a very small scale. Albeit, with each small show and small AoK, artists and people from the community walked away feeling loved and like they participated in something special. Therefore, when these artists, students, and community members who were reached with kindness by RM in the past were called upon to participate in a large-scale event like TGG, they did so without hesitation. In turn, hundreds of people were touched, which will lead to hundreds more being blessed--this is what a movement looks like.

Thank You

Raising $800 for Tyler is worth celebrating. It was cool to see Bray play to a large crowd after watching them grow as musicians and gel as band at small rock shows on River Street, and it was equally special to be able to provide Living Proof with such a special first show. KJ and Sky played one of the first shows at our church while it was still under construction and they're forever welcome at RM. Ryan and Ben are always such a joy to work with, and it was wonderful to make connections with new artists like Summer Symphony and Heaven's Back Door. I'm sure that we'll do more events together with our new friends in the future. 

A big thank you is in order to Bill, Sue, and Geoffrey at The Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center for donating the space, to Council Member Mike Lynch for taking a chance on a young church planter, to Steve Perry, Vice President of Student Development at SUCO for his valuable input, to the SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick student senates and the City of Oneonta Commission on Human Rights and Community Relations for supporting and attending the event. Thanks to Chris at EveningWith Designs for his amazing graphic work, to OnMark for their above and beyond promotional efforts, Libby and Ian from AllOtsego.com for the excellent write up. Thanks to all the community groups that participated with a table, and last but certainly not least, thank you to the helpers from the Redemption Movement (Laura, Michael, Keith, Jeremy, Greg, Angel, Katy, and Garland), who's help made the entire event possible.

Because of the efforts of everyone mentioned in this blog article, along with others that didn't get mentioned (you know who you are), it truly feels like Onoenta is a stronger and more united community.

"Cheers to the Town & Gown Gala on Nov. 9. The event, which included activities and entertainment, aimed to help improve relationships between the city resident sand college students ....While the Gala won’t solve all the town-gown issues, we applaud the effort in trying to bring residents and college students together and encourage more opportunities like that." --The Daily Star, 11-18-14

More pics from TGG!

Post by The Redemption Movement.