"Before I Die” Program Concludes in Delhi

 On the very last day, people came up to the “Before I Die” boards in Delhi’s Courthouse Square to post up their personal dreams and aspirations…..like about 1,000 people before them ever since the program was launched on 9/11…the National Day of Service and Remembrance. Started in New Orleans in 2011 by a young artist named Candy Chang, who was troubled by a personal crisis and was seeking a way to express her thoughts, Before I Die has spread to over 70 countries in 34 languages on over 500 boards throughout the world.


7 community organizations, representing a diverse group of Delaware County people, joined together to support this program:  The Delaware County Office of the Aging, Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, the Delaware County Veterans Service Agency, Delaware Academy Central School District at Delhi, SUNY Delhi, The Arc of Delaware County, the First Presbyterian Church of Delhi---plus the valuable support of the Delaware County Maintenance Department.

The program allowed anyone to step up, pick up a piece of chalk and share their goals, dreams and personal thoughts in a very public, dramatic way.  An earlier program last year was successfully held on the campus of SUNY Delhi.  “We decided that it would be much more of a community program to move this meaningful idea into the community where everyone could participate,” said Elizabeth Sova, SUNY’s Director of their O’Connor Center for Community Engagement.

As the boards were being taken down last Friday, Amanda Green, a resident of Delhi and part of the team that launched the program in September at an assembly for Delaware Academy high school students, said “While it was sad to see the boards come down, so many people had an opportunity to share their dreams and thoughts.  Today I posted that my goal was to become a Teacher’s Aid in a local school---- it felt great to share my dream”.

Each day members of the community support team stopped by the boards to make sure there was plenty of chalk and room for people to post up their dreams.  Special kudos are due to Justin Foster, the SUNY Delhi faculty member who led a team of his students to construct the boards, install them in the Square on 9/11 and then remove them last week.  “It was a special commitment to our community,” said Justin.

Members of the sponsoring team included Rev. Sarah Hooker & Renee Maxwell of the First Presbyterian Church, John Boecke of the Veterans Service Agency, Tammy Christman of the Catskill Area Hospice, Delaware Academy Superintendent Jason Thomson and faculty member Abigal Oliver, Sally Kauffman/Becky Townsend/Steve Finkel from The Arc of Delaware County, Wayne Shepard of the Office of the Aging, Elizabeth Sova  from SUNY Delhi,  valuable support from the County’s Board of Supervisors Chairman, James Eisel, Christa Schafer and the County’s Maintenance Dept.’s Pete Montgomery, plus important technical help from SUNY’s Nicholas Wagner.  Everyone felt that “these are the types of programs that bring our county together in a positive, caring and productive way,  and are very important for the overall welfare of the county.   During often challenging times, we all need to work together for the best outcomes and results for everyone.”