Sunday Conversation: Recent Episodes
Y94 (WYYY-FM)
Listen to NewsRadio 570 WSYR anchor Jim Donovan's chats with a wide variety of people who are all working to make Central New York a better place for everyone!
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA about the ban on plastic bags in New York coming up March 1 and answers a lot of questions about the ban. For instance: is it ALL plastic bags? Will I have to buy paper bags for my groceries? Are there more choices for reusable bags? Can I still recycle plastic bags even after the ban goes into effect? These questions answered plus a lot more too!
Jim talks with Michela Hugo with Diaper Bank of CNY about their continuing effort to help single and other moms of newborns with essential diaper supplies - something some families just can't afford.
Jim talks with Disney on Ice performer Jonna Holm about the company's "Celebrate Memories" production at the OnCenter War Memorial December 12th through the 15th.
Jim talks with Jeremy Miller with the Salvation Army about their annual Kettle Drive and how easy it is to use your smartphone to make a donation!
Jim talks with Amanda Melby, who stars in and is the producer of "Raising Buchanan," a dark comedy about the man considered by many to be the worst US president in history. Amanda talks about the film and how it came to be made. "Raising Buchanan" will be screened Friday night at 9:30 at the Redhouse Art Center.
Jim talks with Lynn Hy with the Food Bank of CNY about giving Chobani a hand with feeding the hungry in their own Southern Tier neighborhood and about Dunkin' Donuts donating a ton of coffee to give families trying to make ends meet a little something special!
Kenny Dees fills in for Jim and talks to Dan DeLucia with WellCare about their WellCare Wellness Champions competition.
Jim talks with Kathleen Mezzalingua with St. Agnes Foundation about her commitment to carry on the work to help breast cancer patients started by her daughter Laurie, who died from cancer 10 years ago, Kathleen also shares details about the organization's first-ever "The Promise Continues" gala October 24th at the Hotel Syracuse!
Jim talks with Robyn Smith with the Community Foundation of Central New York and Marbel Arce with Madison County's Community Action Program (CAP) about how CAP is helping county residents with crucial basic needs like housing, and how the Community Foundation is financially supporting that effort!
Jim talks with Jerry Cali, Barb Genton, and Sharon Connor, all finalists in the WellCare Champions competition, about how they make a difference in the community in organizing and promoting programs to help seniors get and stay healthy!
Jim talks with Chris Lajewski with the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps about a chance for the public to take a guided paddle ride around the lake and to see how it's been transformed!
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA and Kathy Carroll of Covanta about their recent event to collect mercury thermostats and thermometers!
Jim talks with Peter Plumly of the MOST about the Honeywell Summer Science camps going on out at Onondaga Lake this summer.
Jim talks with Laurie Black about the "Talk Read Sing" initiative, designed to get parents to talk, read, and sing to their children as early as possible, which aids in good early brain development.
Jim talks to Kristen Lawton with OCRRA about their latest "Shred-O-Rama" where the public can safely dispose of private information and about two items that end up in recycling bins that shouldn't be there - plastic bags and frozen food boxes.
Jim talks with Danielle Gill of Community Foundation of CNY and Rosie Yaichuk about how the organization WHOLE ME is helping Rosie's son Joel with his hearing challenges, and how the foundation in turn is helping WHOLE ME to work with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
Jim talks with Ellen Beckerman about The Haven at Skanda's mission and programs, as well as their upcoming "Little Moe 5K" run!
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA about how you can help clean up around your neighborhood or virtually anywhere in Onondaga County in honor of Earth Day!
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA about them gearing up again for accepting and selling compost as well as mulch, plus some tips on how knowing what goes in your recycling bin and what goes in the trash!
Jim talks with Michela Hugo of Diaper Bank of CNY about their new partnership with Crouse Hospital, who provide new mothers with diapers and details on how they can get help obtaining diapers if money is tight.
Jim talks with Syracuse City Ballet artistic director Kathleen Rathbun about their upcoming production of "Peter Pan" March 16 and 17!
Jim talks with Frank Ridzi with Community Foundation of Central New York and Toma Tracy of Interfaith Works about the foundation's support of a new program that sends volunteers to spend one-on-one time with nursing home residents, who often feel isolated despite being in a community of residents and staff.
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA about the do's and don'ts of how to recycle all the wrapping paper and what-not we deal with every Christmas!
Jim talks with Peter Dunn of the Community Foundation of CNY about their million dollar-plus donation toward ridding homes in our area of lead poisoning.
Jim talks with Beth Trunfio of the CNY Ronald McDonald about their "Season of Giving" event designed to get the public to donate cash and needed goods to aid the mission of Ronald McDonald House to be a home away from home for families away from home caring for children in the hospital
Jim talks with Danielle Gill with the Community Foundation of CNY and Jeff Wright with Move Along about the foundation's support of tennis and other activities for people dealing with mobility issues.
Jim talks with Anthony Ferrari with the Department of Health and Human Services about recent changes in regulation that will make it easier to know what prescription drugs cost and to get the lowest price on a prescription that you need to take!
Jim talks with SU student Austin Kriews about the "OTTOThon," a dance marathon that raises money for Golisano Upstate Children's Hospital!
Jim talks to Shavel Edwards with United Way about their "Care Package Project," where they are asking the public to donate personal care items like toothbrushes and toothpaste to the homeless.
Jim talks with Onondaga County Health Department medical director Dr. Quoc Nguyen about the flu - how serious it might be this year and why it's so important to get vaccinated against the flu.
I talk with Shavel Williams with United Way about their "Care Package Project," where they are seeking donations of toiletries and other items of daily use needed by the homeless and others who may not be able to afford them. Hear the full conversation on Sunday October 21st!
Here's a quick 2 minute clip of my conversation with Onondaga County Health Department Medical Director Dr. Quoc Nguyen on the flu. He talks about the high numbers of deaths nationwide last year due to the flu. Hear the full interview on Sunday, October 21st!
Jim talks with Kristen about OCRRA's upcoming Textile Recycling event at Destiny USA on October 20!
Jim talks with Sun Auto Group owner Todd Caputo about his "October For Others" campaign, where he plans to donate $5000 to worthwhile non-profit organizations in Central New York.
Jim talks with Merike Treier with the Downtown Committee of Syracuse about expanding their employee appreciation event from one day to a whole week, scheduled for September 17-21.
Jim talks with Ted Fox of Rosemond Gifford Zoo about the naming of the new patas monkey as well as other new additions to the zoo!
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton from OCRRA and Kathy Carroll of Covanta about mercury recycling and a special event August 13 that gives the public a greater incentive to find those mercury thermostats and thermometers around the house!
Jim talks with Lynne Dundas of The Haven at Skanda and Danielle Gill with the Community Foundation of CNY about how a Foundation grant for the Haven's "Summer At Skanda" kid's program has given more kids a chance at a unique learning experience!
Jim talks with school teacher Erin Emanuele about her impending trip to Honeywell's Space Academy. She talks about what she expects to happen and what she hopes she can take back to the classroom.
Jim talks with Ellen Beckerman of The Haven at Skanda about Family Fun Day June 16, where families can get a up-close look at the animals being rescued at the Haven and the way they harmoniously interact.
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA about their latest Shred-O-Rama, giving the public the opportunity to rid themselves of sensitive private information in a secure way!
Jim talks with Symphoria Pops conductor Sean O'Laughlin about the upcoming 2018-2019 season and some of the exciting productions that are planned!
Jim and Angela talk about the mission of Music for the Mission, and about the new song created by local musicians that benefits Music for the Mission's work, "We Are One."
Jim talks to OnTech Charter School's Ellen Eagen about getting the new school in the city of Syracuse up and running and the challenge of keeping high school students in school who might otherwise drop out.
Jim talks with Michaela Hugo about her success with CNY Diaper Bank, which is providing crucial help to mothers of infants who are choosing between buying diapers and buying groceries.
Jim talks with Dr. Sandra Sulik of St. Joe's about their recent "A" rating for patient care, and how it's motivating their medical staff to improve even more!
Danielle Gill from CNY Community Foundation and Beth O'Hara from PEACE Inc. talk about how money from the foundation earmarked to help one age group ended up in a program that did a lot more than that!
Kristen Lawton from OCRRA talks about the screening of the Anthony Bourdain film "Wasted! The Story of Food Waste"
Jim talks with Luke Dougherty of the United Way about the VITA program that provides free tax assistance and preparation for all families making less than $54,000 a year
Jim talks with Rachel Murphy with the Syracuse Central School District about Blessings in a Backpack, a program designed to literally put food in the backpacks of needy kids on Friday after school so they will have enough to eat when school resumes on Monday
Jim talks with Emily Young from the Onondaga County Health Department about January being Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
Jim talks to Danielle about a grant they provided to "The Positively Project," which works with schools to help give students a positive outlook on life.
Jim talks with Ellen Beckerman with The Haven at Skanda's "Horses for the Holidays" campaign to collect supplies like food and blankets for horses exposed to our Central New York winters!
Jim talks with Merika Tryor with the Downtown Committee about all the different activities to enjoy during the holiday season!
Jim talks with Lynn Hy with the Food Bank of Central New York about the many ways the public can help provide food to those in need this holiday season and year round too!
Jim talks with Kathleen Rathbun and Jean Leiker with the Syracuse chapter of the Autism Society to discuss the upcoming "sensory-friendly" performance of "The Nutcracker."
Jim talks to Laurie Black and Bethany Creaser with "Talk Read Sing" about their progress in helping parents to know that learning for children can begin almost at birth by using the concepts developed in "Talk Read Sing."
Jim talks with John O'Brien and Linda Cleary with McMahon-Ryan Child Advocacy Center talk about the work of the center and their big fundraiser event Kickoff For Kids.
Jim talks with Frank Ridzi of CNY Community Foundation and Timothy Jennings-Bey of the Street Addiction Institute about how a grant from the foundation helped Timothy launch a bold approach to reducing urban violence.
Jim talks with Nicole Ossevoort about her effort to work with Gingerbread Preschool to collect diapers and baby wipes for victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma, and hopefully Hurricane Maria as well. To donate, contact Nicole via her Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/diapersforhurricanerelief/)
Jim talks with Kristen Lawton of OCRRA about their latest "Shred-O-Rama" October 7 at the New York State Fairgrounds, where Onondaga County residents can get documents with sensitive personal information safely shredded!
Jim talks with Ellen Beckerman of The Haven at Skanda about their effort to rescue farm and non-domesticated animals, and their big upcoming "Generosity of Love" Fundraiser. Find out more about it at, https://www.thehavenatskanda.org/generosity-of-love/
Jim talks with Syracuse Stage Artistic Director Bob Hupp and Managing Director Jill Anderson about a new "Pay What You Will" opportunity for select Syracuse Stage performances!
Jim tallks with Max Batista with Cirque du Soleil about their upcoming performance of Verekai, which is set for November 15-19 at the Oncenter War Memorial.
Jim talks with Catherine about the 5th anniversary of Symphoria, some of their upcoming season, as well as a new Youth Symphony and conductor!
Jim talks with Onondaga County legislator Dave Knapp about September 9th's On Farm Fest 2017, Onondaga County's celebration of agriculture and farms in the county.
Jim talks with Maureen O'Neill of ACR Health about their efforts to educate the public about the opiod abuse and opiod overdose epidemic in Central New York and how they can be prepared by learning how to administer the anti-overdose drug Naloxone.
Jim talks with Lynn Hy about Food Bank summer programs as well as planned activities during the Great New York State Fair.
Jim and Dave talk about the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Races this fall, and the chance once again that age group records will be broken on what is becoming one of the most popular road races in the nation!
Jim talks with Jennifer about how the work of Dr. William Clark of the Clark Burn Center at SUNY and his wife Laurie will go on after their deaths, thanks to the couple's generous donation to the CNY Community Foundation, who will use the money to help others as the Clarks would have done!