This newsletter is brought to you by Human Resources.
 Have a suggestion or lead? Send it in !
Tutors/Child Care Providers Needed
Cornell working families are seeking a variety of virtual education and care options for their children for the upcoming academic year. Work/Life within Cornell Human Resources is collecting information about individuals seeking work as a tutor, teacher, or care provider. The virtual tutoring/teaching opportunities are especially ideal for the retiree community.

  • Tutors & Teachers (Pre-K to 12th Grade): If you are interested in tutoring or teaching remotely or in-person, complete this information form

  • Child Care Providers (Babysitters, Nannies): If you are interested in caring for children in-person, please complete this information form.

For questions or additional information, contact Diane Bradac, Cornell Work/Life Consultant, at [email protected].
Special Retiree Event
Ezra Cornell: From Poverty to Pioneer
Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

Ezra Cornell changed the face of higher education in America when he founded Cornell University. Called "the first American university" by historians, Cornell was radical for its diverse student body, broad curriculum, and nonsectarian nature. But how did the penniless son of an upstate potter create the Ivy League institution we know of today? Learn about Ezra, his impact on Ithaca, and his fascinating career as a farmer, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, politician, and philanthropist.

This program is presented by Corey Ryan Earle ’07, a visiting lecturer who has taught a 400-person class on the history of Cornell since 2011. A Cornell alum, the 13 th Cornellian in his family, and a Cornell history buff, Mr. Earle is currently employed in the office of Alumni Affairs and Development. 
In the Garden
Explore Composting At Home
The Master Composters of Tompkins County have found many people are enjoying new ways of composting at home. Summer is a great time to start your own composting project. Become creative in the backyard with Get Your Green Back , fork ‘em over with Food Scrap Recycling , start a worm bi n , or learn more at the CCETC Resources Page . There are additional resources at the TCPL , a local Facebook group , and you can always call the Rot-Line at 607-272-2292x124 for help with questions.    
colorful-flowers.jpg
Cornell Co-Op Virtual Gardening Classes
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County is your resource for information on soils, site improvement, plant selection, proper plant care, eco-friendly practices, integrated pest management, composting and so much more!

They offer free or low-cost gardening classes all summer. Check out these upcoming choices:





Food Preservation Zoom Classes
Cornell Cooperative Extension Saratoga is offering a series of free food preservation classes taught by Diane Whitten, CCE Nutrition Educator and Cornell Certified Master Food Preserver.

  • Friday, July 31, 11 am, Quick Pickling: Learn tips and techniques for successful pickling, including making a crisp pickle. Pickling ingredients will be discussed. This class will cover the basics of canning in a boiling water bath or steam canner, including equipment needed. Register

  • Friday, August 14, 11 am, Pressure Canning Vegetables, Meats & Soups: Learn the procedures for safely canning low-acid foods, such as vegetables, meats, and soups in a pressure canner. This class will include a discussion of dial gauge vs. weighted gauge pressure canners and how to use them. Register 

For additional information, contact Diane at [email protected] .
flowers2.jpg
Blueberries are coming into season now in the Finger Lakes! Find a list of U-pick blueberry farms in Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, S. Cayuga, Tioga and Tompkins Counties. As with all U-pick farms, it's a good idea to call ahead to confirm crop availability.  
Stay Active & Engaged
Cornell Language Resource Center
The Language Resource Center hosts conversation hours in many languages, and the schedule runs through August. These are led by speakers of the target language and offer an opportunity to use a language you are learning, outside of class, in an informal, low-pressure atmosphere. They are open to any learner, but are probably most useful to those at an intermediate level or above.

Have fun listening to and speaking in a language you are learning! Gain confidence through experience! Just using your new language skills helps you learn more than you might think, without instruction or correction. Come to Conversation Hour in your language and enjoy!
Connecting Plants and People
Please join Dr. Christopher P. Dunn, Elizabeth Newman Wilds Executive Director, on a virtual tour of Cornell Botanic Gardens with an emphasis on a new Asian Summer Garden that is now in the planning stage. This new garden will highlight some plants of considerable importance in Asian gardens, especially peonies, and will offer opportunities to interpret their cultural importance.
 
Cornell Botanic Gardens is one of the iconic features of the university. It has inspired generations of Cornellians to appreciate gardens, natural areas, and the broad diversity of plants that grace our gardens, beautify our lives, and provide us foods, fibers, medicines, and other products.
 
Partner:  The Cornell Asian Alumni Association
Date/time : Thursday July 30, 2020, 12:00 pm
Cost:   Free but pre-registration for the webinar is required. The webinar will be recorded.

Also check out a narrated tour of the gardens around the Nevin Welcome Center and the Fall Creek waterfalls, emphasizing the natural history of the gorge.
Ridenour Lotus Pond and Garden Tour
Saturday, August 8, 2020, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Behind this suburban home on Warren Road in Ithaca is a hidden treasure. Nancy Ridenour’s lotus pond is nestled between beautiful annual and perennial gardens and is filled with lotus blooms. Elegant flower stalks rise above the water’s surface and wave in the breeze. Additional features of the gardens include copper and cement sculptures carefully placed throughout the gardens. This is a garden to visit, savor, and experience .Also visit Lotus Studios on the property to view photographs of the lotus and other flowers.
The pond is at its best before 2:00 pm, so visit early if you can.

For directions and more information, please visit the event site .
Walk This Play - Self-Guided Theatrical Experiences
Ithaca NY’s Cherry Arts and Wharton Studio Museum, in collaboration with the History Center in Tompkins County, proudly present Walk This Play , two unique local walking-audio theatrical experiences. They can be downloaded and accessed for the first time without advance tickets and experienced whenever desired. 
 
In both Storm Country and The Missing Chapter , audience members walk about a mile over the course of an hour while listening to original headphone-plays based in the hidden histories of Ithaca’s neighborhoods. Hundreds of audience members enjoyed the original runs of these unique open-air theater experiences, and now for the first time those who missed out can experience these works on their own phones or digital devices, and on their own schedule. 
Help the History Center Preserve History
The History Center needs your help with a couple of exhibits this summer:

  • Women Working - Help complete this exhibit to be unveiled later this year! Send pictures of women working in Tompkins County, past and present. Email pictures with a description of who is pictured and their job to [email protected]
  • Documenting the Impacts of COVID-19 in Tompkins County (Archival Collection) - Visit www.thehistorycenter.net/research to learn about our ongoing archival collection related to the impacts of COVID-19. Submit your own pictures, videos, and written reflections of this time to [email protected].
Caring for Others
COVID-19 Vulnerability & Mortality in Nursing Homes: Why Systemic Changes are Needed Now
Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 12:00 pm

How can we better protect loved ones in long term care from COVID-19?
In many states, nursing home patients account for 40% of COVID-19 related deaths.

Karl Pillemer, professor of gerontology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Hazel E. Reed Professor in the Department of Human Development, will be part of this free, hour-long webinar sponsored by the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA). The webinar examines strategies for lowering illness and death rates among this highly vulnerable population and proposes immediate solutions and need for a national planning task force. 

Cornell Caregiver Support & Education Network
You are warmly invited to attend virtual meetings of the Caregiver Support & Education Network. Caregivers connect monthly to share the challenges and joys of caregiving, exchange resources, and occasionally listen to speakers presenting on topics of interest to caregivers.

Our caregiving meetings, workshops and webinars are made available through Zoom so you can join us from the privacy of your own office or home. Registration is required. Email  [email protected]  and a Zoom link will be sent prior to the meeting. 

Next meeting will be Thursday, August 20th.
Additional Resources
Managing Your Finances Through COVID
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
Offered every Thursday through September 3 from 5:00-6:15 pm
The current COVID-19 outbreak is having a profound negative effect on our economy, and many of us will experience financial crises and hardships. Along with the obvious loss of income, there are other factors that come along with these types of situations that affect us and our decision making around money: emotional stress, confusion, perceived loss of control, and loss of confidence.

Strategies on increasing income, and tools to maximize our current resources to care of our needs will be shared. Also covered:

  • Explain how values influence financial decisions
  • The B.E.S.T. budget and how to create one
  • Tools and resources to help you manage your money

Register now - only ten spaces available per workshop.
Misc. Articles and Resources
Cornell University | 607-255-0388 | hr.cornell.edu/retirees | [email protected]