There are many places, people, and things that this community has made a huge impact. Boris is no exception. I moved here from an extremely small town and when I saw this 12ft skeleton at first during Halloween I thought, damn that's awesome! Too bad it'll be taken down come winter because well, obviously it isn't Halloween anymore. However, that would not be the case.
You may be asking, how did Boris become this huge sensation here in the Southern Tier, and in all honesty rather viral? Well, looks like someone decided that they wanted to make a semi-scene. Basically, someone complained during the Christmas season, as Boris would say, "the real life Grinch" and since then, Boris has been here to stay. Boris has been everywhere at this point to be honest. They were on 98.1 the hawk, WBNG (our local news station), a Utica radio station, , Spectrum news, there was no where in NYS that you did not see or hear of Boris the 12ft Skeleton. There is so much more information and you can find it on www.borisetheskeleton.com Not only has he been here to stay, but they have also done several different fundraisers for the community.
What are some of these fundraisers? Well there's a list so, hold on tight because I will be going through a large majority of them. There are several different awareness groups that they have assisted in promoting such as Autism Awareness Month, Brain Cancer Awareness Month, then you have programs they've assisted such as a donation drive of hygiene products, backpacks for Northern Rivers Foster Care, and so so many more. You can also find more information on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/12footskeleton Boris-the-Skeleton became our communities or at least one of our largest volunteers in the area. The reason why is incredible. I asked Scott Varcadipane along with his fiance Samantha Dalla-verde what made them begin volunteering and why continue to do it? Well, back at the beginning of 2020, no likely really, January of 2020, Boris' creator was involved in an awful electrical accident. He was then saved by the basketball coach of the school that he was working on the electrical for. He saw him in distress, knocked the ladder out from underneath him in hopes that it would knock him free from the electricity, which luckily it did. After several weeks in the burn unity in Syracuse as well as 11 surgeries on both hands combined, also therapy , he was down and out about his career and coming down to knowing that things weren't going to be the same in his life again. However, he was given a second chance at life by the basketball coach that ended up rescuing him. He has now made it his top priority, or mission, to spread that back to the community and help as many other people who need that extra hand. So now, he continues to volunteer his time and energy into giving back to the community.
"Everything I give back to represents a part of my life or my fiance's life that means a lot to us and our family."
I asked whether or not Scott was satisfied with his volunteering experiences so far and it was an absolutely he does! "Everything we do is for specific reasons in our life." He says that volunteering all has a meaning and special part of why they are who they are today. His favorite part about volunteering for the community is seeing the smiles on people's faces. Then all the children that are looking up at Boris and stating how cool and amazing that he is always changing for the season and holiday. Most importantly is the handshakes from people thanking him for selflessly giving his time and efforts to help as many people as he can. Changing or going back to fix anything he has done or experienced he wouldn't change in regards to volunteering. Boris, "he has to do with the honesty and genuine attitude and personality we have with everything." Scott goes on to say, "My fiance and myself are both a huge part of Boris. She is what has held me together through all my bad experiences and medical problems since my accident."
Currently they are working on another fundraiser for school supplies! And that's where I would like to spread the word. There are 3 separate locations in which Boris has set wishlists for said supplies. They are Walmart, Amazon, and Target. You can also donate through venmo and paypal! They recently appeared back on WBNG for their recent fundraiser for school supplies. "Last year, Boris-the-Skeleton was able to fundraise more than $2,100 for Horace Mann Elementary and donate enough school supplies to the entire school." per WBNG. You can find this new report at this link. https://www.wbng.com/video/2023/07/29/boris-the-skeleton-seeking-school-supply-donations-you-can-help/
If you can PLEASE help in the drive for these schools because, you see, a large portion of people think Skeletons are a bad thing. Hence, The Grinch who tried to ruin the Christmas Skeleton, but sometimes, thanks to amazing community members, they can make Skeletons into a positive and uplifting entity. I want to take this post and thank Boris for everything that they have done for the community and for those who have been directly influenced and affected by Boris. There is so much more to this story and I HIGHLY encourage you to go to their site that I have mentioned earlier in the post as you'll be just as amazed as I am/was. You can see Boris at 2309 Country Club Rd., Endicott, NY 13760 if you happen to be in the area.
Sending much encouragement from your local blogger <3
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