Ithaca

Supporting Newcomers to Ithaca

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The Sophie Fund’s 2025 “Cupcake Button” fundraising campaign collected $1,119.00 for the Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR) organization. The campaign was spearheaded by several Cornell University student organizations: RISEUP Cornell; Cornell Circle K; Pre-Professional Association Towards Careers in Health (PATCH); Alpha Phi Omega Gamma Chapter, and Hotel Graduate Student Organization. Student leaders presented the donation check to IWR Executive Director Casey Verderosa at a luncheon at the Statler Hotel on February 20.

IWR Executive Director Casey Verderosa receives the “Cupcake Button” fundraising check

“RISEUP volunteered to support IWR because any help towards organizations that support refugees is crucial in this current political climate,” said Harmony Guan, RISEUP’s mental health committee lead.

“It is a great cause and a way to get the community together to collectively support and spread awareness,” she added. RISEUP stands for Realizing Integration, Support, and Education for Underserved Populations.

Click here to make a donation to Ithaca Welcomes Refugees

“We really appreciate everything that you all are doing,” Verderosa told the gathering. “Thank you for highlighting this issue and giving it attention. It’s really needed at this time.”

In the past 10 years, Verderosa said, IWR has aided more than 250 refugees from more than 15 countries. The organization helps them find housing and provides them with furniture collected in donation drives, linens and other housewares, and a two-week supply of basic groceries.

IWR operates “response projects” to assist refugees in their self-stated resettlement goals, most commonly finding jobs, enrolling children in school, taking English classes and driving lessons, and locating medical care.

IWR runs the Global Roots Play School to provide a nurturing environment for preschool age children while caregivers work, go to English classes, and perform other resettlement tasks.

IWR was established in December 2015 as an all-volunteer organization responding to the global displacement crisis in support of Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga, a federally designated refugee resettlement agency. IWR then increased its operations in 2021 after Catholic Charities closed its resettlement effort due to reduced refugee flows during the first Trump administration and the Covid-19 pandemic.

IWR holds new volunteer orientation sessions two to three times per year for needs ranging from supporting home move-ins, organizing donations drives, driving and/or accompanying newcomers to appointments, childcare, and interpreting. Volunteers are also sought for helping with events, communications, and fundraising.

Volunteer with IWR: Fill out an online form here and be contacted about future orientation sessions.

Donate items to IWR: Contact IWR donations team at welcome.home@ithacawelcomesrefugees.org.

Cornell students supporting Ithaca Welcomes Refugees

Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, thanked Verderosa for IWR’s work and expressed appreciation for the student organizations’ efforts to support IWR’s mission.

“The federal government’s crackdown on immigration has created fear and anxiety even for people who are legally in the United States,” said MacLeod. “Ithaca Welcomes Refugees provides practical support to new arrivals, but just as important it sends them a message of solidarity and compassion. Acts of kindness large and small benefit the mental health of the greater community.”

The Sophie Fund organizes the Cupcake Button campaign and the related Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest each fall to promote mental health awareness and raise monies for local nonprofits supporting community mental health. Donors receive a Cupcake Button featuring the image of a cupcake created by Sophie Hack MacLeod, a Cornell art student who died by suicide in 2016 for whom The Sophie Fund is named.

Since 2017, the Cupcake Button campaigns have raised a total of $8,786.66 for nine local nonprofits supporting mental health: Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County; Mental Health Association in Tompkins County; Advocacy Center of Tompkins County; the Village at Ithaca; The Learning Web; NAMI-Finger Lakes; Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca; Ithaca Free Clinic; and Ithaca Welcomes Refugees.

UPDATED Tompkins Mental Health Support Resources

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The Mental Health Support and Crisis Services resource for Tompkins County has been updated for 2026.

The guide is a hyperlinked listing of essential local services for suicide prevention, psychotherapy, addiction recovery, sexual assault and domestic violence, and support groups. Click on the links for more detailed information about available services and programs.

The brief guide is compiled every year by The Sophie Fund in collaboration with Tompkins County Whole Health, Cayuga Health, Guthrie, and the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County.

DOWNLOAD PDF DOWNLOAD SHAREABLE Page 1 Page 2

Click HERE for other mental health guides compiled by The Sophie Fund

Support the Chill Challenge!

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So you thought it was cold outside? Spare a warm thought—and a donation—for the brave souls taking a polar plunge in Cayuga Lake on New Year’s Day to collect funds for addiction recovery.

Let the polar plunge begin!

The 11th Annual Ithaca Chill Challenge: Dip or Dodge! aims to raise $50,000 for Ithaca Community Recovery (ICR), a nonprofit organization that provides a safe, affordable, and welcoming space for people in recovery from addiction.

CLICK HERE to make a donation to the Ithaca Chill Challenge

ICR has served as a home base for the recovery community for more than a quarter century. Located at 518 West Seneca Street, it provides 12-step programs, recovery-themed yoga, other support services, and fellowship every day of the year. ICR helps build a vibrant community of care and resilience.

The Ithaca Chill Challenge has been a beloved tradition since 2015, merging fundraising with fun as hundreds of participants raise money from friends and family. The event includes cake, prizes for the top fundraisers, and awards for best costumes.

Chill Challenge of New Year’s Past

The human polar bears will jump into Cayuga Lake from the Ithaca Yacht Club at 1 p.m. on January 1. Donors decide their participant’s fate: in making a contribution, they either pledge to “dip” them into the icy waters or let them “dodge” the plunge.

Spectators are welcome—”bring a camera,” the organizers say. The Yacht Club is located at 1090 Glenwood Road in Ithaca. The lake’s water temperature is expected to hover just above freezing on New Year’s Day; the weather forecast projects the ambient air temperature around 15 degrees Fahrenheit and the “feels like” temperature around 6 degrees.

Vying for Best Costume Award

“The Ithaca Chill Challenge is a vital part of what makes our city thrive,” said Mayor Robert Cantelmo, one of this year’s participant-fundraisers and an event speaker. “This event brings our community together for a day of fun and camaraderie, while raising essential funds for Ithaca Community Recovery, which is a backbone institution for public health. Supporting recovery is a core investment in the health, safety, and future of every one of our neighborhoods.”

Another speaker is John Rowley, a retired Tompkins County judge who was instrumental in founding the Tompkins County Family Treatment Court in 2001.

“In my experience, a stable, safe space like Ithaca Community Recovery is an indispensable element of long-term healing and restored citizenship,” said Rowley. “ICR offers a critical second chance for individuals and their families to rebuild their lives free from judgment. The Chill Challenge is how we, as a community, fund that foundation.”

Veronica Johnson is the chair of the Chill Challenge Committee.

“This event is much more than a quick dip in the lake—it’s a powerful commitment to recovery in Ithaca,” she said. “For 25 years, Ithaca Community Recovery has provided a safe, non-judgmental space for healing, and the Chill Challenge ensures we can continue that essential work.”

CLICK HERE to make a donation to the Ithaca Chill Challenge

“Friend of Children Award” for The Sophie Fund

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The Sophie Fund received the 2025 Friend of Children Award from the New York Association of School Psychologists at NYASP’s annual conference on November 13.

“The Sophie Fund has demonstrated unwavering commitment to transforming the lives of young people facing mental health challenges,” said Conference Co-Chair Taylor Ayres at the NYASP awards ceremony. “This exceptional nonprofit organization works tirelessly to create a vibrant community where young people thrive by supporting and enhancing mental well-being throughout the greater Ithaca area. Their innovative work exemplifies the spirit of this award by placing children’s well-being at the center of everything they do.”

Ayres cited The Sophie Fund’s “comprehensive approach, which includes implementing impactful mental health initiatives, reducing stigma around mental illness, advancing a Zero Suicide ethos, and serving as dedicated community advocates.”

Beth Taplitz, an Ithaca-based conference committee member, thanked The Sophie Fund for “your compassion and willingness to always be a resource for support whether it’s sharing resources via email, talking on the phone, or paying for professional development for local professionals.”

Taplitz added: “In Ithaca, we have seen and experienced The Sophie Fund’s community outreach first-hand, with students at our local schools and the larger community.”

Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, expressed his gratitude for NYASP’s recognition. He said the award was especially meaningful because his organization regards school psychologists as true heroes on the front lines every day meeting the challenges of youth mental health. He noted that the digital era and the accompanying spike in youth anxiety and depression makes the work of school psychologists even more difficult and necessary.

Beth Taplitz, Scott MacLeod, Taylor Ayres

NYASP’s 2025 conference, “School Psychologists Blazing Trails Together,” took place at the Downtown Ithaca Conference Center from November 13-15.

The Friend of Children Award is presented by the NYASP conference in appreciation of a local individual or organization whose dedication and work supports the lives of children and their families.

Per the tradition of supporting a local charity that aligns with its mission, NYASP also donated $1,258.10 in proceeds from its conference raffle to The Sophie Fund.

NYASP’s mission is to serve children, their families and the school community by promoting psychological well-being, excellence in education, and sensitivity to diversity through best practices in school psychology.

The Sophie Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and enhancing the mental well-being of young people in the greater Ithaca community. It is named for Sophie Hack MacLeod, a Cornell University student who died by suicide in Ithaca in 2016.

At Cornell, a Haunted House for Mental Health

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The Senior Class of 2026 at Cornell University will not be spooked when it comes to talking about mental health. Class leaders recently threw a pre-Halloween Haunted House party to raise awareness and fight stigma, give first-year students a chance to de-stress, and collect donations in support of The Sophie Fund.

Zoinks! It’s a Zombie!

Students braved the rainy, chilly evening and lined up down the block for the October 25 “Haunted House on the Hill” event, held at Alpha Zeta, a co-ed, honors, social, and professional fraternity devoted to the advancement of agriculture and the life sciences.

Many arrived in costumes, such as a group of friends who dressed up like characters in the Wizard of Oz. One student put bat wings on their black cat, who got into the eerie spirit by perching herself in a window of the fraternity house.

Waiting for you

One of the amusements was an Escape Room, which required participants to sink their hands into mysterious boxes for the key to unlock the door—only to be startled to find themselves fishing in piles of sand and tanks of slime. Then there was the Zombie Walk, where attendees made their way through a gauntlet of streamers populated by Cornell seniors dressed as ghouls.

Zombie Walk

“I remember actually being scared from the Zombie Walk, and the zombies were even my friends!” said Alexa O. ’26. “I enjoyed the free roaming actors like the one with the pretend chainsaw,” said Bre S. ’26. “The doctors by the front with the body on the table were super scary,” said Emma D. ’28.

Cornell alum Miguel B. ’24 enjoyed being back on campus. “The haunted house felt like it brought together so many of my friends and people from all across campus for a fun night,” he said.

Scarecrow surgery

Promotions for the Haunted House read: “Come for a good cause and stay for a good time! Get ready for an evening that you won’t forget full of spookiness, fun, and philanthropy. We hope to see you and scare you.” The event was open to the Ithaca community as well as Cornell students.

The organizers said they lit upon the idea for a fun evening as a way of supporting students who may have become stressed in their first semester on campus not only due to usual factors like homesickness and academic workloads but also the sudden deaths of two fellow first-year students.

The organizers estimated that 250 students attended the Haunted House event. It raised more than $1,231.00 for The Sophie Fund, a mental health advocacy organization named for Sophie Hack MacLeod, a Cornell fine arts student who died by suicide in 2016.

Haunted House volunteers

The organizers said they selected The Sophie Fund due to its work in the Ithaca community as well as on the Cornell campus. They said they were moved by the story of Sophie and also wanted to honor the life of a fellow Cornellian. “We admire your continued dedication to promoting mental health in the Ithaca community, especially with the college students. It is our honor to support the fund and its mental health initiatives,” the organizers said.

The Sophie Fund said it was “incredibly touched by this gesture to spread some joy and support mental health for your campus peers and the Ithaca community at large. You make us proud! Thank you!”