- Hi neighbors.

Welcome to Look for the Helpers, portraits, and Community Service.

I'm Cynthia Tyler.

In every community there are those who step up to lend a helping hand, giving their time and putting in the energy to make life better for those around them.

They don't do it for the recognition, but because they care.

And it's what keeps our communities growing strong.

Tonight we sit down with two of our neighbors making a difference in the place that we call home.

Deb McSherry is a local animal lover and philanthropist with service roots in supporting people affected by the AIDS epidemic.

And Marty Nuen shares a long career of community support and is now a driving force behind the arts movement in Clayton, New York.

Please join me as we celebrate our local volunteers.

Today's guest is a very, very generous philanthropist here in the north country, so happy to have Deb McSherry with us.

Thank you so much for being here.

- I'm so happy to be here.

- Okay.

Now you have been in the north country a relatively short amount of time.

Correct?

You've only been here 20 years.

20 years.

Which in the span of things, I mean, - I know.

- Yeah.

So where's home for you?

- I'm a native Mississippian, but I love the north country, so it really is my home now.

- Oh, wonderful.

Now, when you were in Mississippi, we were talking earlier, you were telling me about you were a nurse.

- Yes.

- And you were, you taught nurses.

- Yes.

- And there was a very, very special thing that you did with those nurses.

Tell us about that.

- I worked with an organization with Grace House and the Episcopal churches in Mississippi and different organizations funded houses for people who were homeless with aids.

And back in the nineties and early two thousands, there were lots of them.

And so as a nursing instructor, I brought nursing students to Grace House to have picnics with the residents there to teach them that AIDS.

Patients were just like everybody else.

And they, the, I think the, the residents there enjoyed it and the students learned so much and I think it made, it, hopefully made an impact on the way they took care of people.

- Well, I'm sure it did, because then you said that you got some feedback from those nursing students.

- I still get emails from nursing students from long ago about those experiences and it, it was a positive thing for them because they still take care of people with AIDS and HIV and it, I think that it, it did impact them.

- Absolutely.

So that that whole service that that lit a spark in you.

- Yes.

And - So now, was volunteering always something that was in your family?

Was it a part of how you were raised?

- My mother was a volunteer.

She volunteered for everything because she was very gregarious.

And we grew up in a small, small community in southwest Mississippi.

And so PTA and all sorts of organizations, she volunteered.

She made cookies and she was always there.

So my mom taught me to be generous with my time and to reach out to help other people.

- And you certainly do that.

- So, - And that's extended here back into your time in the north country.

'cause you do so much here.

You're a huge supporter of PBS and you also have several different organizations that you here at home.

So we're gonna start with what I'm, I was so disappointed that she didn't bring a dog today.

That you are a part of the National Britney Spaniels Rescue and Adoption Network.

- Yes.

Tell us - About that.

- Well, my husband and I bought our first two Brittany puppies in Mississippi.

And we had not had dogs before and he had not had Brittany's.

And we loved them.

They're very high energy, but the very cuddly and loving.

And when they passed away, after we moved here, we bought two more puppies from Pennsylvania and we still have them.

They're wonderful, Ben and Hattie.

But we, as we aged, we decided we needed to get a little bit older dogs.

And so I called National Brittany Rescue and adopted a, a girl from Ohio who was 12 and had heart failure.

And then I adopted another one, and then I adopted another one.

And they finally asked me if I would like to volunteer as New York coordinator.

- Okay.

- So they put me to work and they did not have a coordinator in New York at the time.

And so that's, that is a part of what I do to volunteer for National Brittany Rescue.

- Okay.

So you basically coordinate, like if somebody needs a dog, they need to give up a dog because they're elderly or their owner's somehow not able to take care of them.

They contact you and - Exactly.

- You make sure that they get loving homes.

- Exactly.

That's, I have been on vacation in Utah, Colorado and received calls from people who needed to surrender their dog or adopt their dog.

And it, you're, you're never on vacation because it's important.

Absolutely.

It's, it's really important to the people.

And so it's - Because those are family members.

- It they are.

They are.

They are.

And surrendering a dog is very difficult for people.

It sure is.

And there are different circumstances.

So we, we try to be as graceful and gracious and make it as easy for people as possible.

- And that's wonderful.

And so you have not only taken care of these wonderful, wonderful animals, but you also work and volunteer for Cape Vincent's Food Pantry.

And I understand.

So you go right from taking care of the dogs right into the garden.

- Right.

So I, I worked with the Cape Vincent is fortunate to have a robust group of women and men who do a community garden in Cape Vincent.

And all of the vegetables and fruits that they grow go to the community food pantry, Cape Vincent, wonderful food pantry.

And we do volunteer there.

I used to grow tomato plants for the garden, but they somehow found, found their own.

But I often give vegetables for my own garden to the food pantry, but to neighbors.

So - It's, well, everybody, everybody loves fresh fruits and vegetables.

- They yeah, they do.

- Fabulous.

What, what has all of this volunteering done for you personally?

How has it enriched your life?

- I had to retire as, as a nurse practitioner.

I've always been busy and very forward thinking, planning about tomorrow and, and, and just active.

And when I had to retire at 62, I was devastated and needed something to keep me busy.

And that's when I got very, very involved with National Britney Rescue.

And there are, there are so many aspects of the volunteering with any rescue, but my particular rescue fostering is a huge component of volunteering with any rescue.

You have to have people who will foster a dog and, and to get 'em out of a shelter or get 'em out of a bad situation and to keep them and take them to the vet.

And so we are always looking for fosters who are willing to open their home to take a a dog in.

And I have fostered, my favorite part of National Brittany is transport.

We have a a, a rescue transport system that we will transport a dog up to 1400 miles.

- Wow.

- And we get quite a few dogs surrendered in, in the southwest Texas area because there are a lot of bird hunters there.

And with a lot of - Britney's Who's Britney's or sports dogs.

- Exactly.

- Okay.

- And the, the transport service just is phenomenal.

It you, we have people lined up.

If I have a Brittany in Austin surrendered, the people there sign up with the transport team and I have somebody adopting in on Long Island.

There are people along the way, the route who will drive an 80 mile the dogs for 80 miles.

- Oh wow.

That's amazing.

- And pass them along.

And being the last person on that transport is the best.

It's like Christmas.

- Oh.

- So to hand over that dog to a new family for their forever family.

Forever.

- Forever home.

- Yes.

It's wonderful.

- That is absolutely wonderful.

Yes.

So what would you say to somebody in your own words, well, how would you get them, inspire them to volunteer?

What would you say?

- It it is, many volunteer jobs don't require you to leave your home.

I vol my most of my Brittany work I do at home, fostering a dog you can foster in your own home.

You don't have to go out it, it is about opening your home and your heart to, to a dog or a cat if it's a cat rescue.

And what you get back from that experience is a hundred times more than you give.

- Oh, - It's immeasurable.

- That's absolutely wonderful.

So where can they find out more information on Brittany Rescue, - National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network?

Go online or in brand N-B-R-A-N online and it will tell you about the organization.

It's all volunteer.

We do have a 4 0 1 C3, so if you donate you can get a tax break.

We have auctions every year to raise money to take care of our dogs and to have for vetting and just get out and do it.

Take a first step.

- Fantastic.

Well thank you so much Deb for being with us today.

It was so wonderful talking to you and learning about everything wonderful that you've done in your life and for the north country.

Wonderful.

And we wish you all the success in your future endeavors.

Great.

Thank you so much.

With me now is Marty Yen.

Welcome Marty.

Appreciate you being here today.

- Delighted to be - Here.

Alright.

So as we've been chit chatting here, you've got quite the extensive history of volunteering and you weren't even here a likable you as you so affectionately put.

It was a faculty brat - Yes.

- Down at Syracuse University.

- Well, and that, you know, you learn a lot from your parents.

And my parents were very involved in their community and so I, you know, kind of follow in that - Footstep.

Right.

And you picked that up and then your career started, I believe you started working at the United Way.

- You That was one of my early, early professional moves.

It was, I worked for the United Way in Niagara Falls and started off as a planner and then ended up running the United Way campaign there - And - Then did it in Rochester and, and ultimately in Elmira.

And so, you know, I had probably one of the best experiences meeting all of the volunteer leaders in all of those communities.

And it just so you know, really enriches your life to, to see people who are so committed to helping others.

And, and I had a natural inclination to do so.

So it was, it was a good, great - Fit.

It was a great fit for you.

Yes.

Yeah.

- Great fit.

- Now I now you had earlier as we were chatting, you had this fantastic idiom that you mentioned something about being successful in your communities.

- Well, you know, if you're gonna have, and I talked about my business, but business leadership, if they want to be in my judgment, successful in their communities, part of that responsibility is to weave their cause or their mission or their organization into the fabric of community life.

'cause when they do that, then they have stakeholders who really want to support them and underwrite with their either customer relationship or whatever you wanna do business with somebody who cares about the community and something other than just themselves.

And there's an interesting quote about that Rosalyn Carter that dates me, but Rosalyn Carter, I think once said, one who is wrapped up in themselves makes a very small package.

And I said, Hmm, ain't that the truth?

- Rosalyn was a very wise woman.

Absolutely she was.

But it's, it's, it's very important that you did mention that the business weaving itself into the community because as we've touched on so many different kinds of volunteering in this program, it's so it's something that's critical to mention that businesses are a part of this community and businesses can help support organizations.

Now I understand that one of the businesses that you had was an EMT service.

- Yes.

I had the ambulance service in Syracuse for a number of years and it's critical to to to have a lot of public trust in the ambulance service.

So I knew the best way to do that, especially from the experiences I had in the United Way, is to lead first and, and, and indicate that there's no question about how much you care.

And if you care as an executive, so will your organization and your s organization will be respected.

And when you, when you're respected and then whatever you're selling or whatever your service you're providing, people have confidence in it.

- And that is held tr time and true to the community for, for years and years and years.

It is a very solid piece of wisdom.

Well, so - From to Tocqueville - Yeah.

- Way back when the United States was forming, realized that volunteerism was a very fundamental value.

- That's right.

- That, that was unique to America.

- That's right.

And of course you, and you carried that spirit with you because you ended up leaving Central New York and you came up here - North country - To the beautiful thousand islands.

You have a house out in Clayton and Absolutely fantastic.

And you started volunteering in the north country?

- I did.

- Alright.

Where did that journey start?

- Well, it started at the Samaritan Hospital Foundation and I was involved with that for about 18 years.

Then my wife was very involved in the Thousand Island Art Center.

So I did help them with the strategic plan.

And then she subsequently passed away and, and I took her board seat.

So, and I had - That all of the family.

Yeah.

- I had that until about, well, first of the year of this year, some, I don't know, nine terms, nine years or so.

And we, we've embarked on a new facility there.

And I, - I had very exciting, - I had the pleasure of becoming the chair of the design committee.

- Oh.

- So I can I I have inside scoop on what it's gonna look like.

- Well, we have seen some of the pictures going up there and it's an absolutely fantastic addition to the community.

And you must be very proud of the fact that that's, that's not easy to do.

Ground, ground root builds a building in, in a place like that.

That's a tremendous undertaking.

- Well, I think it's transformative.

Absolutely.

And it's gonna be a, a major asset to the community.

You have, Clayton is very lucky.

It's got the wonderful opera house that has the Antique Boat museum.

It has, you know, thousand Island Land Trust, which which is a - Wonderful Yes, that's right.

You're a part of that too.

I, well, - I, I did, did a little stint at the Land Trust, but the Thousand Island Art Center just brings, brings a community community in year round.

So we have the summer residents and then we have the year-round residents, and they meet really at the, at the art center through classes of all kinds.

We have 90 different classes a year.

A wonderful kids track.

Absolutely.

It's fantastic.

It's just a track.

That's wonderful.

- Wow.

- And I'm very proud of it.

I'm very, very proud of the, the way that that institution has grown and developed and matured.

- Mm.

So Marty, what are some of the challenges that you have faced in your volunteer work?

- Oh, wow.

Well, one of the most significant ones, I, when I had the ambulance service in Syracuse, there was an elementary school right behind our building.

And I was terribly concerned about the, the kids there.

It's a, it's a very disadvantaged community and there's lots of kids who do not have responsible role models, especially males in that community.

And so one of the things that I did was, as a business leader is I adopted that school as little elementary school and the kids.

What we did was, I was concerned that when the kids' behaviors, which through no fault of their own really sometimes become very antisocial, that's usually a, a, a product of their home life.

And they get suspended.

Well, what happens?

They get suspended and have to go back to the home that generates the problem in the first place.

- Yeah.

- So I, I created a room inside the, the building, my building and said, why don't we have the home bound teacher who's responsible for all those kids on suspension?

Why don't she go pick up the kids at the school, bring them over to my building where they can see a responsible adults working.

They, they, they're out of the noise of, of a classroom.

They can concentrate on behavior and on their schoolwork.

And when they do that, they don't miss a trick.

When they get back, once their suspension's over, they're con they're more confident because they haven't, you know, they haven't fallen behind - And they're given a safe place to, to nurture the seeds basically.

- Well, it's, it, it's right.

Yeah.

And, and again, you know, hope that it made some impact.

Well, seeing those kids function or dysfunction and it just breaks my heart.

So I, I had fostered a whole bunch of them, and if I have time for a little story, I - Can say Absolutely.

Tell us.

- Well, I took, I a friend of a family, a very di dysfunctional family.

Three boys all had, all three of 'em had different fathers and they all were in incarceration for violent crimes, all three of them.

So these little boys really had a tough go.

Mm.

Their mother was pretty severely disabled.

And so I'd take 'em fishing over one night at Lake and, well, I took Benji one time and he, I drank some soda.

We drank some soda out on the fishing boat.

And then we, when we got back and I put the boat on the trailer I took to clean up boat, I got the pop cans out and put 'em in the trunk.

And I said, when we get back to your house, you can take these pop bottles and take 'em down to the store and you get the money for it.

Well, we get back to his, his house and there's no pop bottles in the back of the car.

And I said, Ben, I was about to give him my Ben Franklin lecture on, on, you know, saving.

And, and so he, I said, what'd you do with the pop bottles?

He said, I put 'em in the trash.

And I said, Ben, why did you put 'em in the trash?

He said, what are the poor people gonna do?

Hmm.

At that point I stopped and said, man, this is the last time I'm ever gonna be judgemental.

- Wow.

Well obviously whatever influence you had was working because he was thinking beyond himself.

- Well, and that's - The, into the greater community - And that's the real key to course to volunteerism.

It's - Yes, - It's getting, as Rosalyn Carter said, it gets, gets you beyond yourself.

- Exactly.

- And when you do, the world is so rich, it's so beautiful and people are so kind and so good and causes are so important.

- That's right.

- And if you have energy, talent, treasure, you know, even blood, give it for heaven's sakes, it, it's no fun if you don't share it.

- What a completely elegant way of com encompassing everything that we do here.

That is so well said.

Absolutely fantastic.

Now, we've talked about the challenges.

We've talked about everything that you've given as a community.

What's a moment that you really look to as the, a bright inspiration?

Say you're having a day struggling and you just need something to boost you.

What's a really fantastic story that, obviously you just shared one that was really phenomenal, but what's that one golden moment for you?

- I don't think there's any particular one.

I think that if you remember that there is an angel on your shoulder and if you're not feeling very, if you're kind of blue or I learned this when my wife died, that if you kind of look over on that, on that angel, you know, whether it's on the right or left shoulder, I don't know.

But if you look at that angel for a second and think of the all of the happy times, the, the moments that gave you the greatest joy and smile.

And when you smile, it just all of a sudden gets you in a different place.

And when you volunteer, sometimes it's not so easy.

Sometimes it's pretty sad.

But I've always found that at the end of the day, there's such a wonderful sense of joy that comes.

Not it's, it's not from, it's what you get from volunteering.

It's, it's, it's a joy that, that that is, is so gratifying.

And not in a braggadocious way, but in a kind way, in a gentle way to just say, you know, maybe I've done my part today.

- Could not have said it any better.

Absolutely.

Beautifully said.

So, of all of the organizations that you're still volunteering at, you got the TI Art Center, the Thousand Islands Land Trust.

They, are they still looking for volunteers over there?

- Oh, of course.

- How can they get more information on where to volunteer?

- Well call any of those places.

'cause they all have volunteer directors or, or people who are seeking people to, to help all the causes.

The think of the Art Center and the Samaritan and, and the Tilt.

They, they're just wonderful things.

And if you wanna just, just help put grids out on a shoal out in the middle of the St.

Lawrence River to help the one of these birds nest safely from, from predators.

That's kind of an interesting way to give it.

Spend a morning.

So - There's, yes, that's absolutely true.

So there's all kinds of ways that people can help.

They just need to reach out.

- All they have to do is walk outside their door and - Wonderful.

- And you shouldn't be lonely anymore.

- Absolutely not.

Marty, thank you so much for being with us today.

I know I have been completely moved by what you've shared with us today and we really, really appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

- It's a pleasure to be here and I think so much of PBS and I'm so sorry that you're going through the struggles You are.

But our treasure can help.

- Well, we appreciate that.

Thank you Marty.

Thank you.

Thanks for joining us today.

It's a reminder that bears repeating.

No one achieves anything alone.

The world needs a helping hand.

The world needs, you go out and make a difference.