Amsterdam Community Dollars for Scholars wishes you and your family all the best this holiday season!

All of us at ACDFS are thankful for another wonderful year supporting the students in our community.

At the end of our second year, the community donated more than $50,000 to support student scholarships and creative educational programs!

A special thank you to Ms. Sophie Picciocca for her very generous gift establishing the Sam Picciocca Memorial Scholarship. Through Ms. Picciocca's generous support, Amsterdam High School will field a varsity and junior varsity MasterMinds team again this year. The gift also enabled students in Kindergarten through 12th-grade to participate in the Odyssey Of The Mind program, and we look forward to the regional competition in March 2008. Congratulations to the Lynch Literacy Academy boys for finishing third at the 2007 Odyssey Of The Mind regional competition!

Community support and gifts to ACDFS have provided $8,000 in scholarships to eight Amsterdam students in the past two years! These scholarships are very special to the recipients because they represent the good wishes and support of the neighbors, friends, and family in our community. All of us at ACDFS congratulate the talented students in the GASD. Our goal is to provide every student living within the GASD with a scholarship for post secondary education or training! We believe that all of our students can be successful with the community's continued support and generosity.

Plans for the 2008 Taste of Amsterdam will begin at a meeting held on January 16 at 6:30 in the AHS Commons. Anyone interested in participating as a volunteer or celebrity waiter, providing entertainment or food, or helping with the preparations is welcome to attend this open meeting.

The 2007 Taste Of Amsterdam was a HUGE success with more than 1,000 people attending. As usual, we couldn't do it without the support of restaurants and local business and the help of many people.

A big thank you to Big Daddy's Grill, Bill's Wholesale Beverages, C.P's Family Restaurant, Crowning Touch, Crystal Risorante, Eden's Gourmet Restaurant, Emmy Lou's, Good Fellas Pizza, GWIB, Happy Daz, Lanzi's on the Lake, Michael's Restaurant, Nicolino's Restaurant, Pasqualli's Restaurant, Pep's Bakery, Polar Freez, Riverside Pizza, Rosito's Bakery, Shorty's Southside, Skyview Lanes, Sport Island Pub, Windmill Diner.

ACDFS gratitude goes out to our Collegiate Level sponsors for their generous support! Thank you Ship and Copy, Dr. Filanova, Amsterdam Family YMCA, Noteworthy, Oakes Framing, Union College, & Key Bank.
 

Thank you celebrity waiters, GASD teachers and coaches, Maj. Coombs, and all of the talented students who made the evening entertaining!
 

I am particularly grateful to the ACDFS volunteers and board members for all of the hard work, diligence and patience! I am especially thankful for Ms. Kathy Bryk and Ms. Carol Filanova who are my right and left hands.
 

Thank you to the AHS janitorial staff, school principals, and GASD administration for your enthusiasm and helpfulness.

ACDFS and I look forward to the 2008 Taste of Amsterdam and delivering more opportunities to the deserving and talented students in our community.

Please keep ACDFS in mind for your charitable donations. Donations can be sent for the 2008 scholarship collection to ACDFS, c/o 11 Liberty Street, Amsterdam, NY. 12010
 

All of us at ACDFS, Thank you for this opportunity to serve the community as we move toward an exciting and positive future.


Warm Regards,

Mary O'Connor

ACDFS Board President