WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 29, 2018 17
BUZZ
Glendale native pens book of short stories about neighborhood
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
Glendale writer Craig Schwab
is back with his latest work,
“Glendale NY – USA”, which
gives readers his take on life, death
and everything in between.
In the same vein as his third collection
of short stories, “Glendale NY”, Schwab
was inspired to pay homage to the
neighborhood that he has called home
for the last 55 years. But for this body
of work, the author explained that he
wanted to communicate how Glendale
is “like every other town in America.”
“The collection brings to life the
human element of what we’re going
through in this country,” said Schwab,
who began writing the short stories
soon aft er “Glendale NY” was published
in 2016.
Schwab who describes himself as
“observant to a fault” drew inspiration
from people in his own life when writing
the short stories. He explained that
the fi rst and last stories were based
on the birth of his second grandchild
and the death of his dear friend, which
both happened in November 2018.
Sandwiched between those stories
are other “tidbits of Americana”
including a story called “Linda Laurel
Lee,” a tribute to his friend who
collects rocks in her spare time and
“Smile” which takes a humorous look
at Facebook and its eff ects.
His eldest son Kevin is featured
on the cover of the book standing in
front of an Edward Hopper Mural.
The author manipulated the original
image on the computer to give it a
painted eff ect.
“He could be standing on any small
street in the world,” said Schwab about
the reasoning behind his cover choice.
The author shared that a goal when
writing this collection was to bring
levity and positivity to his readers
who may be oversaturated with criticism
fi lled writing. He said that he
tried to stay away from stories that
were too politically charged, but added
“comical insight” to the stories he did
include.
Growing up, Schwab always wanted
to become a writer. When the Vietnam
era veteran joined the army, he
had plans to become a journalist but
said that it never panned out.
Aft er Vietnam, he jumped into the
workforce as the head of informations
systems for several companies, though
he knew he wanted to write for a living.
In 1997, the author wrote his fi rst
collection of short stories called “In
the Forest by the Light of Day” which
were from the times he was a “member
of an online music appreciation digest.”
To date, Schwab has written four short
story collections, fi ve plays and two
novels among many other works.
Despite just having released “Glendale
NY – USA”, Schwab is already
working on his next novel, “Queens
Buddha,” about a 12-year-old girl who
is reincarnated as Buddha.
“Glendale NY – USA” is available for
purchase on Amazon both as a paperback
and for Kindle e-book readers.
Image courtesy of Craig Schwab
Part “Glendale NY - USA” cover.
Jackson Heights nonprofi t co-founder
honored for helping local immigrant families
BY CASSIDY KLEIN
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
Jessica Chacha, the co-founder of the
Jackson Heights-based nonprofi t Together
We Can Community Resource
Center, was named a 2018 WellCare Community
Hero by WellCare of New York.
Chacha was awarded for her organization’s
work in supporting immigrant
families.
The vision of Together We Can is
to “create a community center with
culturally sensitive programs to meet
the needs of the resource deprived
and multi-ethnic families of Jackson
Heights, Corona and Elmhurst,” according
to Chacha.
Chacha worked with Families Building
Community, a resource support
center in Jackson Heights, from 2008
to 2014. Through this experience, she
“fell in love with helping the community
by offering support services
and linking families to necessary
community resources,” according to
the Together We Can Facebook page.
The experience made Chacha
realize there were needs not being
adequately met for immigrant families.
Many families did not know where to
go for help and were overwhelmed, so
Chacha, along with her friend Shanon
Getzel, founded Together We Can in
2017 and started a grassroots nonprofi t
in the heart of Jackson Heights to address
the lack of service coordination
in northwest Queens.
Six individuals throughout the
New York City area were honored
by WellCare of New York, which is a
healthcare provider. The WellCare
Community Heroes awards honor
community members and healthcare
professionals who “take action to improve
communities,” according to John
Burke, president of WellCare of New
York. All honorees received a $1,000
donation to benefi t a charity of their
choice.
“At WellCare, we recognize there
are many factors that affect the
everyday decisions people make
about their health and well-being,”
said Burke. “We applaud these outstanding
individuals whose tireless
efforts and dedication go beyond
healthcare to help those in their
communities live better, healthier
lives.”
Other community heroes recognized
at the awards were Joseph
Corace, Rocio Garcia, Nakiykia “Jada”
Hawthorne, Camara Jackson and
Stephen Ritz.
Photo courtesy of Patti Flesher
Caption: Jessica Chacha (r.) was
honored by WellCare of New York
for her work with Together We
Can Community Resource Center,
which serves immigrant families
in Jackson Heights, Corona and
Elmhurst.
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