Hundreds Attend Lenape Tech Fall Family Celebration

by Jonathan Weaver

Lenape Technical School, in conjunction with Holy Family Institute in Ford City, continued their decade-long tradition of Community Awareness Day last week.

For more than two hours, families were able to receive information on local services as well as spend a night of fun with free food and refreshments.

It was Holy Family Institute Director Brian Anderson’s 10th year in-attendance.

“Our goal is really to celebrate families, children and bring them to a place where maybe they wouldn’t otherwise talk to these agencies that help kids and families,” Anderson said. “This is an opportunity in a casual setting to maybe spark a question they otherwise couldn’t have asked.

“The vendor requirement here is that they have to be helping families in some way.”

Lenape Tech 12th Grade English Teacher (and School Librarian) Roni Luke organized the event’s volunteers. She estimated more than 500 people attended the event before local Boy Scouts clean up.

Students from more than a half-dozen trades – including Allied Health/Sports Medicine, Cosmetology and CADD/Pre-Engineering – assisted during the evening.

Students part of the school’s National Honor Society, SADD and LEO Clubs also volunteered their time.

“We have a lot of help from our students. We had over 50 kids sign-up – probably more like 75 kids –to help (October 24),” Luke said. “They come in different shifts.

“Some of them do it for community service hours – we have a couple of kids here shadowing. Nobody gets paid, and everything here (was) free, so everybody volunteers their time.”

Lenape Learning Support Teacher Deb Takacs praised local students for volunteering.

“It seemed this year there were more people than ever that volunteered – more students,” Takacs said. “When I got down here at the end of the day, the tables were covered, a lot was done – and then as vendors came, students would help them unload their cars - which was really super-nice. That didn’t happen in past years because we didn’t have as many kids that stayed, but this group of students has really been wonderful – really pitched in.”

The Bridging the Gap program at the Kittanning Salvation Army gave out nearly 300 books in the first 90 minutes of the event.

A total of 25 nonprofit agencies and local businesses were among the exhibitors in the gymnasium – also including the Community Action Mentoring Program, NexTier Bank and UPMC.

In addition to checking out each of the booths, visitors were able to climb the rock wall, decorate pumpkins and receive free family photos in the school library.