United Helpers Presents Helen S. Randles Scholarships

OGDENSBURG – Three high school seniors who are looking to enter the health care field were recently honored by United Helpers with the presentation of our annual Helen S. Randles Scholarships.

The $750 scholarships presented by the Society of the United Helpers, are funded through an endowment created by the late Ms. Randles, who established the scholarship more than 45 years ago.

This year’s winners included students from Madrid, Canton, and Ogdensburg.

Rylee McCallus of Ogdensburg, will be attending SUNY Canton, where she is enrolled in the school’s nursing program. She is one day hoping to become a nurse practitioner working in labor and delivery. She is the daughter of Danielle McCallus.

Kayla Booth of Lisbon, will be attending SUNY Canton and entering the school’s nursing program. Ms. Booth said she is one day hoping to become a specialty nurse, however she has yet to choose a specific field. She is the daughter of Shane Booth and Kelli Brislan.

Both Ms. McCallus and Ms. Booth are current United Helpers employees, who work as Direct Support Professionals.

Angelie Bush of Madrid, will be attending Nazareth University and enrolling in the school’s Occupational Therapy program. She is planning to become an Occupational Therapist. She is the daughter of Brian and Tina Bush.

Society of United Helpers Vice President Patti Wood chaired this year’s scholarship committee and praised the recipients at the presentation, even reading from one of their essays.

“I think this is the first time we’ve done this,” she said before reading an excerpt of Ms. Bush’s essay. “Typically, we will talk a little bit about Ms. Randles, but this year one of our recipients wrote about her in their essay.”

“It is impressive how Ms. Randles served the United Helpers organization for over 45 years as a Board Member, as President of the Society of the United Helpers, and in many other capacities during her tenure with the organization,” Ms. Bush wrote. “If I can achieve just a portion of what she did, I will consider myself successful.”

Ms. Wood said the path to success is one that all three students are already headed down, a point echoed by United Helpers Chief Operating Officer Stacey Cannizzo.

"The people we are honoring here today are the future of United Helpers,” she said.

The Helen S. Randles Scholarship is awarded each year to three students from St. Lawrence County, who are furthering their education and planning to enter the health care field. Ms. Randles’s hope in creating the scholarship endowment was that the recipients would one day return to become United Helpers employees. 

The winners of this year’s Helen S. Randles Scholarships came from Ogdensburg Free Academy, Canton Central School, and Madrid-Waddington Central School. Three $750 scholarships are presented by the Society of the United Helpers each year from funds generated by an endowment created by the late Ms. Randles. Seated, from left, Rylee McCallus from Ogdensburg Free Academy, Angelie Bush from Madrid-Waddington Central School, and Kayla Booth from Canton Central School; second row, from left, Scholarship Committee members Darlene Liscum, Dr. Edward Gordon, Committee Chair Patti Wood, Molly Pressey, and Yvonne Lewandowski.