Sage President Speaks at Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood Event

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood's Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Reception on Wednesday, May 20, featured a speech on the critical need for accessible reproductive health care by Dr. Susan Scrimshaw, President of Sage Colleges, and the recognition of five UHPP "Diamond Trustees." Additionally, ten UHPP volunteers were honored for their exceptional contributions, including two who have volunteered for twenty years.

President Scrimshaw was the featured speaker at the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition event last evening, May 20, at the college's Opalka Gallery . Scrimshaw received her Masters and PhD degrees from Columbia University in Anthropology and has many years of professional work and leadership in the field of public health, serving as the dean of the School of Public Health and professor of community health sciences and anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as well as associate dean of public health and professor of public health and anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). In her speech, she shared anecdotes and statistics from studies she and her students had completed in Latin American and the United States examining such issues as female sterilization, male and female attitudes toward family size and use of contraception, the effective provision of family planning services and the relationships between access to family planning and abortion.

UHPP is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year. As part of that celebration, the agency created a new donor tribute designation, the "Diamond Trustees", honoring those who have given a total of $75,000 or more in their lifetime. The first inductees include Phoebe Powell Bender, Edward J. Gibson, Mildred P. and Toge S.K.Johansson (deceased), Judith Grunberg and Charles W. and Barbara C. Manning.

Also honored at the event were two supporters who have served as UHPP patient escort and community outreach volunteers for twenty years. Dr. Penny Axelrod of Nassau, New York began volunteering for UHPP on October 30, 1989. In her application, Penny noted that she had been the principal of a secondary school for mentally ill adolescents in New Orleans and had worked closely with the local Planned Parenthood to implement a decision-making, sexuality course for these students. She also stated "I admire the work that Planned Parenthood has done to educate females about their reproductive choices. As an educator, I believe that knowledge is power. As a pro-choice individual, I want to spend time working on behalf of this position." Over the last twenty years, Penny has served as a lobbyist and fundraiser, but has also served as a patient escort, written letters to the Editor, assisted with "Get Out the Vote" drives and worked the UHPP table at community events.

Not present at the event, but also recognized was Elayne Gold of Clifton Park. UHPP President/CEO Patricia McGeown noted that "Elayne is an attorney and has a very full schedule of legal work that keeps her busy days and many evenings. Still, except for a brief period in 1991 when her son was in the hospital, she has been a consistent patient escort for UHPP since 1989."

Over 100 volunteers give of their time and energy to Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood each year. The UHPP Annual Meeting pays special tribute to those who serve as patient escorts and community outreach volunteers. As McGeown called their names, she noted these volunteers "come out in the rain, the snow, in the heat and the cold to welcome our patients on days of anti-choice picketing and those who reach out to participants at a wide range of events from the jam packed Lark Fest to the African American Family Day and the Columbia County Fair. These are truly our fearless advocates who don their pink t-shirts and face the crowds-both friendly and hostile-to extend our mission." Recognized in this capacity were Linda Leue of Albany, Dianna DeFreest of Troy, Anne Swartwout of Albany, Andrew DiGiacomo of Stuyvesant, Nora Adelman of Athens, Dwight Smith of Averill Park, Carol Stenger of Glenmont and Stancia Cramer of Athens.

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood (UHPP) is a community-based non-profit organization providing advocacy, education and medical services for reproductive health care since 1934. In 2008, over 11,000 patients made 22,257 visits to UHPP health centers located in Albany, Hudson and Troy. UHPP health educators present over 500 education programs reaching over 6,000 youth and young adults each year. UHPP services are delivered with special concern for the underserved.