Spring 2005
Our History
In the mid 1990's the Wiley family of Amber, NY decided to share their fifty acres and home that they loved with someone considered less fortunate. Through a family care placement, Beth, who wanted more than anything in life to live in the country and have a cat, moved into their home. What they learned together over the next two years has been the inspiration for Amberations.
They learned there are not enough opportunities for the disabled in our society to positively interact with the natural environment. People like Beth have almost no opportunities to impact their surroundings in a positive and personal way. One of Beth’s favorite things to do was to gather buckets of rocks and spend hours arranging them in intricate patterns worthy of the finest of art galleries.
Recently Sean Kirst wrote an article about Beth in the Post Standard. Sean spoke about how, since her return to city life, one of Beth's missions has become to rid her neighborhood of fallen leaves; raking and raking till nighttime comes. Simple opportunities to get outside and impact their surroundings, to interact with their environment and have some control over their activities in a positive and creative way is lacking in the lives of many people like Beth.
Our Goals
In 2003 Amberations, Inc. was formed. In the summer of 2004 we were granted 501 (C3) — Not for Profit status. Our purpose is to provide a site where mentally and physically challenged individuals can come and impact society and their selves in a positive way.
Our first phase of growth will involve providing approximately twenty of our acres to individuals and groups so they can plant, garden, dig, arrange rocks, rake leaves, walk on paths, build sculptures, or just sit and enjoy the environment.
We want to give some control back to the participants, control being something very lacking in many of their lives. We hope to be able to provide, within the first year, a shade pavilion, a hand pump well, and some gardening tools.
Approximately two years from now we hope to renovate an existing barn on the property providing the opportunity to have some small livestock on our premises, interaction with non-judgmental creatures being an extremely therapeutic past time.
We hope to build a shallow trout pond with an adjacent large wooden deck to hold rocking chairs, tables and benches for our participants rest and relaxation.
The final phase of our current plans are to winterize the barn so individuals can participate in craft activities in a sheltered environment year round.
What We Need
We hope Amberations will become a place of beauty that all members of our community will enjoy. We are so grass roots (in a very literal sense), our needs are many. The Syracuse University Law Clinic has worked with us for almost three years to get us to the point where we are at: official and ready to send you this letter. Most notably Ivy Lam went way above and beyond the call of duty - assisting with our endless paperwork even after she had officially graduated (thank you again Ivy!).
Now we could use as many individuals as possible to show your support. We could use help with developing our grounds, getting the word out that we are here, legal assistance, organizing our Fall Festival, or expanding in other ways. We will need help with some earth moving equipment to do some initial landscaping and maintenance along the way, help with our well and shade pavilion, we will need tools, and seeds and plants but...at this point our biggest need is a difficult one. After months of phone calls the bottom line seems to be about $2,000.00 for anyone to even consider providing us with insurance.
We would love a big company to call and say they have decided to donate our first years premium (and we'll give you lots of publicity)...but since we have called most companies and that hasn’t happened yet we are asking for you, the individuals reading this newsletter, for some financial support. Included in this newsletter is a membership form. If you could show your support you can affect your society in a very real and positive way. Anyone contributing is invited to share 1n our experience, enjoy our grounds, and you will be sure to receive our future publications. Please help us make a difference!
Who We Are
Our current board of directors consists of: Gloria Wiley - Gloria (with the help of her very supportive family) has brain stormed most of the ideas for the formation of Amberations. It is she who dealt most with the system providing services for Beth and saw the need for something more. Having served for almost ten years on the board of the Otisco Lake Community Association she has also seen how far that organization has come in impacting our community and how much more can be done. Constantly wanting to give back to
society, this is her latest avenue.
Martha Dickey — A resident of the Marcellus community for years, Martha has been the source of endless support and enthusiasm for the dream of Amberations. The first stopping point for all ideas, Martha keeps us grounded. She fends off discouragement when need be and keeps us in touch with reality and the true purpose of our mission.
Anne and Paul Brittenham — Anne and Paul have personally felt the need for a place like Amberations. Having spent years living in the Rochester area they were surprised how little our area has to offer for the population we are targeting. Anne and Paul recently completed a beautiful log cabin in the hills west of Otisco Lake and have committed to lending their extensive personal skills to further the cause of Amberations.
