COME TOGETHER CLARION April 23, 2016 Clarion Borough: 6 th Avenue Schedule of Events 9:30 am 5k Registration 10 am 5K Race 11 am Opening Ceremony 11:30 am Inflatables Open Come Together Clarion (CTC) highlights what is great about our county, and the people who work so hard bring it to life. Clarion County is a great place with a lot of natural beauty. CTC gives us all a chance to gather and have some fun, play together, and honor the volunteers who work among us to make our communities strong, and successful. Bring your friends and family and enjoy some time in the community. Be a part of the celebration; join us at Come Together Clarion! 12 pm Community Activities Begin 12:30 pm DRIVE Opens 3:30 pm Closing Ceremonies & Awards A little event history for you Our event began because students at Clarion University wanted to recognize the great things about our county and do something meaningful with the community who gave to them a home away from home. With a lot of planning, hard work, and support from local businesses, organizations, and the university, the idea blossomed into the celebration we have today. The various pieces and parts of our vision are outlined for you in this newsletter. Each section offers a way for people to get involved in making this our most successful year yet. If you have questions about the event or participating in it, please send an email to Maria Russo at M.R.Russo@eagle.clarion.edu.
5K for 5 Causes Are you a runner? Do you take life at a more of a leisurely pace? The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon have partnered with Come Together Clarion to offer a 5K Walk/Run to start the day in a healthy way, and support five different non-profit organizations at the same time! Participants can register in advance, and the race is open to anyone who wants to participate. The race will be officially timed by Runners High from Grove City, PA. There will be a registration fee, and all relevant information will be posted on the Come Together website. You may also visit the Sigma Phi Epsilon website at www.sigepatclarion.weebly.com For an early inside scoop, or to see how you can get involved, contact J.M.Hannold1@eagle.clarion.edu. The Brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon announcing last years 5K winners. Thank you to our 2016 partners (so far)! Clarion Borough Farmer s National Bank Clarion University Student Senate Dave s Tiltbed & Storage Jones Party Magic Charitable Deeds Clarion County Library System Clarion County Food Pantries Sigma Phi Epsilon Partnerships make Come Together Clarion possible! DE Sports, Inc. CU Center for Leadership & Involvement CU Students Association CU Parent & Family Services Cotton Creations Darlene Hartle, Sharon Borovick, & Shari Wiser PAGES Clarion First United Methodist Church *If your group or organization would like to contribute an idea, activity or otherwise pair up to enhance our program, please let us know. All are welcome. 2
Neighborhood Star Awards Are you or someone you know a Neighborhood Star? Neighborhood Stars go above and beyond, working to make life better for citizens and friends in Clarion County. People in your neighborhood may be doing star-worthy things right now! This year there are awards in the following categories: Animal Rights & Welfare Economic Issues & Opportunity Education & Child Welfare Environment & Agriculture Disaster Relief & Planning Clarion County residents may nominate each other or themselves for these awards by filling out applications online at www.clarion.edu/cometogether Applications are due by April 10 th. Nominations are welcome from all around Clarion County. All nominees will be notified and invited to attend the closing ceremonies at 3:30pm on the day of the event. For more information, please email Maria Russo at M.R.Russo@eagle.clarion, or Ashley Cassano at A.L.Cassano@eagle.clarion.edu. Health & Wellness Human Rights & Social Issues Senior Care Veterans & Military Support 3
Games & Activities The purpose of Come Together Clarion is bringing the campus and community together. There are a large number of children and families attending, and our goal is to make sure everyone has a blast. Old or young, big or small, everyone should be smiling! Clarion University Parent & Family Services sponsors inflatables for children of all ages. Also, we will be having a photo booth and more table games and activities. We want everyone to enjoy the day even if you are working a table: take turns working the table so everyone can enjoy the fun. Our activities are down the middle of 6 th Avenue and in the parking lot of the First United Methodist Church. Currently, we are looking for local businesses, churches, community groups, and student organizations to host an activity or game for visitors at Come Together Clarion. Activities may be geared toward any age group, and can include games, crafts, and other entertainment you might see at a street fair. Our only restrictions are: you cannot sell anything, you can t serve food, and everything must be family appropriate. Creativity and community pride are always encouraged on this service-oriented day. Past activities have included lawn games such as ring toss and beanbag toss, face painting, Guess How Many Marbles, mask making and balloon animals. Tables and chairs will be provided by the First United Methodist Church committee, all other materials, supplies, and/or prizes must be supplied by the participating organizations. For more information on hosting an activity, please email Sarah Watters at S.J.Watters@eagle.clarion.edu. In lieu of prizes, you may request to give away tickets for our community raffle baskets. Please ask Sarah if you would like more information about this. 4
DRIVE Another way Come Together creates partnership is with our collection drive. DRIVE is a large-scale effort to gather items from community members for organizations throughout Clarion County. In the past we have had organizations collecting items and donations such as: Performances & Entertainment Children s Clothes Eye Glasses Pet Food, and Supplies Socks for Soldiers Books As a part of DRIVE, we are hosting Together We CAN, collecting food and personal care items in efforts to benefit county-wide pantries. It is our hope to increase the stock of the pantries before local K-12 schools let out for the summer, and parents go back to providing their families three meals a day. DRIVE will be set up in the Farmer s National Bank parking lot on 6 th Avenue in Clarion. Donations will be delivered in a Drive Thru format, and cars can continue onto the alley when they re finished. If you are interested please contact Mike Cesare at M.D.Cesare@eagle.clarion.edu. Do your spring cleaning early, swing by the store on your way to CTC, and make a donation to help your community while you play with friends and neighbors! A band from the community performing at last year s event. Part of what makes the day so grand, is watching our community members do what they do best: Shine! In years past, we have had performances by local dance studios, high school, and college dance, and choir groups, and other musical, vocal, and dance performers. Now we want you to be a part of the fun. We are looking for local chorus, show choir, and band directors, or Clarion Community performers. Please consider joining this year s Come Together festivities. We are inviting musical acts, and other performers to come, and perform on April 23, at our small stage on Main Street. For small acts of one or two people, we have a small stage that goes across the crosswalk area at 6 th & Main. For larger groups, church choirs or cheerleading squads for instance, we have the street area on 6 th Avenue in front of the stage to allow for more movement. Time slots will be broken up into 10-15 minute intervals. If you or someone you know would be interested in performing and want more information contact Maria Russo at M.R.Russo@eagle.clarion.edu. Together We CAN 5
Community Quilt & Art Contest This project showcases the collaboration among members of the community and Clarion University students. The process takes several months to complete from design to final stitching. We first determine the design and theme, then purchase materials from Cotton Creations, a local quilt and fabric supplier. Then we re off to our local quilters to begin the stitching process. After the initial stitching is complete, the designs are ironed on to each square and transferred onto the fabric. At this point, students and community members color in the designs on the fabric. After all the pieces are colored they go back to the quilters who finish stitching the front of the quilt. When the front is complete, the quilt is sent to a longarm quilter who attaches the back. The quilt is displayed at various locations throughout the county to build awareness and support for Come Together Clarion. The theme for our quilt this year is The Mascots of Clarion County Schools. This quilt will be raffled off at the event on April 23rd. If you are interested in raffle tickets, or if you would like to host the quilt at an event, email able@clarion.edu for information. Tickets are $2, or 3 tickets for $5. The photo on the top right is a depiction of the quilt that will be raffled of this year. It could be yours check back at 3:30 on April 23 rd to find out who the lucky ticket holder is! Clarion University is an affirmative action equal opportunity employer ABLE: Advisory Board For Leadership & Engagement Gemmell Student Center Box #8 840 Wood Street, Clarion, PA 16214