Outreach+Committee


 * __About the Outreach Committee:__** The Outreach Committee of the coalition is responsible for planning activities involving the full community, as outlined in the Coalition's plan. Members names are listed below.

August 30th 8am municipal bldg. conference room
 * __Next Outreach Committee Meeting:__**

Items needed: Sand and garden boxes Students playing background music Ceramony outline – invite people in recovery to tell their story and person who lost a loved one Outreach to invite key leaders in community – faith Programs Refreshments and decorations (table clothes) Table & chairs White lights Tents Chain of Life PR cards post cards and flyers September- Back to school night table for outreach at PVC and CHHS October - Supporter of Red Ribbon Week Fall Fest October 28th November- Candlelight Vigil November 17th December- January- February- March- PVC & HS Game Night April- Prom and Alcohol Awareness Month May- June-
 * __Candlelight Vigil- November 17th 6-8 PM__**Fill out work permit to use the park at the village office
 * __Send volunteer letters to key leader__**(Kathy to get key leader list)Committee agrees that we would like to request Wayne to draft letter to re-introduce coalition, request attendance and/or participation at upcoming events. Enclose the calendar. Include a picture of Wayne. Wayne can keep a database of volunteers and contact them himself or forward the info to the Volunteer to follow up and send emails. Also, request in letter that throughout the year there is a member in their group that can act as a liason to disseminate information/flyers to their members.
 * __Recruit Volunteers:__**Schedule two of our monthly meetings during the year in the evening at 7pm.
 * __Sustainability of low cost events:__**In future, ask local clubs and groups to share sponsorship (contribute to the cost and provide volunteers)
 * __Handbook:__**Draft is approved to present at the monthly meeting.
 * __Fall Event:__**Outreach would like to do a Fall Fest on October 28th (last day of Red Ribbon Week) at Sanasqua Park. We would like to invite the school to join us and have their Fall sports teams do a parade to kick off the event.Needs:Rec – bathroom open and garbage. Croton and Auxiliary Police- traffic EMS Fire Dept.DJ on Doms flatbed truckConcession stand.
 * __Discussion:__**Do we continue to do big events? We should move to self-sustaining low cost events, charge minimal fee. Committee discussed importance of continuing to provide healthy alternatives. Ellen suggested that we outline a schedule for the year to provide to village and school and post on the website. Ask Mark to join us for a meeting to talk about how Rec and Outreach can partner together to create more opportunities for 8th-10th graders.
 * __DRAFT 2011-2012 CALENDAR__**

Outreach Committe Meeting Minutes April 5, 2011, 8-9:45am, Municipal Building, 2nd floor Conference Room
 * __//Minutes from April 5, 2011//__**


 * Review of PVC Game Night, Friday, April 1**
 * Number of students participating: 40
 * There were a couple of incidents that were reported for disciplinary action, which raised the issue of whether we had adequate supervision. *Michael Plotkin, Assistant Principal at PVC, has offered to work with us in planning future PVC events to assist with this issue. At future events, we should have assigned posts rather than general area supervision.
 * We should consider simpler games (like the ones organized by Mr. Plotkin) rather than spending money for things like the laser tag.
 * Laser tag was used quite a bit.
 * Need to coordinate more carefully with other organizations in town, particularly rec dept (which had a skating trip the same night)
 * Rec Dept skating trip likely had little impact on attendance since mostly 5-6th graders went skating and our event was targeted to 7-8th
 * Need to figure out a better method of ensuring use of building use and resources (despite having filed building use form, still had conflicts and still didn't have use of the basketballs at first)
 * Should we focus on 8-9th grade activities? perhaps at CHHS to ease transition for 8th graders?
 * Consider drop-in (no overnight) with no need for permission slips
 * Consider including fundraising component to our events (seems to draw a crowd)
 * Consider permission slips as done by rec dept: permission slip completed for first event; includes waiver and medical information. Held onto for the year; covers all rec events.
 * Volunteers: need more; set up booth at Vassallo Fest and SummerFest; collect emails. Information to be available: calendar of events; types of support (tasks) we would be looking for
 * Can our calendar become more comprehensive, including the events of other groups?

//Follow-up// -Cliff will send invoice from DJ to Ginny (done) -Ginny will contact Susan about Building Use -Ginny will contact Kusum about including an annual permission slip in the summer back to school packet -Ginny will check (again) on getting Coalition events included in the information kiosk -Ginny will check on ways to add others' events to our calendar (rss) We should make sure we're listing in the following newsletters/bulletins: PTSA (deadline for May: April 29) Police Association Churches Gazette/Gary Cahill School Reflections Rec Dept has activities for 5-8th graders every Friday night. If we have a big event, they can cancel for that week or build off of our event. (For instance, with Vassallo ending at 7pm, they might choose to do something later in the evening). Their events are posted on the Village website.
 * Publicity**
 * Coordinating with Rec Dept**

As noted above, events with less structure and lighter commitment (not overnight) might be more successful. Some ideas: Open basketball Open field night in the late spring-early fall
 * Future Events**

Rain date: May 27 (rather than move to indoors) Elements: DJ, Student bands, Athletes in a competition Needed from school: 4 ping pong tables; basketball hoop and balls; a generator Needed from village: picnic tables, closed parking lot, safety cones, use of electricity, cleaned park and parking lot, generator, trash bins Needed from Holy Name: 10 tables, 10 chairs, use of outdoor water spigot It was agreed that we would ask each entity to transport their own property to/from the event.
 * Planning for Vassallo Fest, May 20**

The following is a list of support, relayed as follows: To Village, Ginny met with Abe Zambrano, Village Manager on Friday, April 8 To School, Ginny emailed Kusum Sinha and Susan Dullea on Friday, April 8 To Holy Name, Ginny confirmed with Debi Braddick by email on Monday, April 11

John and Cliff have tents we can use to cover the check-in table We have burlap bags.

//Follow up:// Tony will ask for EMS support Ginny will meet with Abe re Village support, convey need for school support to Kusum Debi will coordinate with Holy Name Debi will check on others' calendars for potential conflicts with 5/20 and 5/27 dates Cliff and John will work on securing the golf carts for the foggle course Ginny will send check list and Vassallo Park layout to the committee (they can also be found on the "Events" tab on the wiki

Next meeting: Tuesday, April 19 at 8am. Ginny, Cliff and Ellen will not be able to attend; Kathy B not sure. Tuesday, April 26 was set up as the follow-up date.

Outreach Committee Meeting Minutes March 29, 2011, 8-9:15am, Municipal Building, 2nd floor Conference Rooom
 * __//Minutes from March 29, 2011//__**

Cynthia, John, Debi, Cliff and Ellen and CHHS TLC “staff” team are all able to attend the full event. Kathy can help with set-up and Greg can be there after his office closes at 7pm. (Giuseppina will be heading to Binghamton with the Destination Imagination teams! Good luck to all!( Concern was expressed that there had not been enough publicity about this event. Parents had not yet received a K12 Alert about the event. (Subsequently, a notice was sent to 7-8th grade parents. //Action items:// Ginny will check with Ellen about K12 alert Ellen will bring sign-in/out sheets
 * //__Discussion regarding Friday, April 1 PVC Game Night__//**
 * Who’s Available?**
 * Publicity/Student Attendance**

The question of a Pizza/Beverage was raised. The Committee was unclear if this had been noted in the flyers. After the meeting, Ellen reminded Ginny that this had been mentioned in the mailing that had been sent to parents and a couple had included the fee ($5) with the permission slip. We will use the same system we had used at CHHS (handing out tickets to those who have purchased the pizza/beverage). //Action items:// Cynthia will give Bella Paula’s a heads-up that we will be placing an order on Friday night for delivery at 6:30pm. Cliff will bring a cooler and ice for beverages. Ellen will bring concession items from her office. Ginny will check with Kathy about tickets (Done. Note: They should be in a basket with the concession items in Ellen’s office.)
 * Food**

The Laser Tag unit will be set up in the 3rd floor gym. This will facilitate the delivery of the unit, which can be brought in to the third floor directly from the back of the building. High School students will assemble the laser tag teams downstairs and escort them to the 3rd floor and back. We want to ensure that students don’t end up wandering the building. The new/2nd floor gym will be divided in two. The DJ will be set up in the near right corner of the gymnasium.
 * Activities**

//Action item// : Cliff will ask John G, the DJ, about the availability of karaoke and ask him to bring the set-up if he has it.

Open gym basketball will be set up on the far side of the divider. The equipment is kept in closets accessible to custodial staff, not in padlocked cages as they are at CHHS, so there should be no problem. //Action item:// Susan will ensure that we have access to the closet where the basketballs are stored. (Done)

Ginny reported that the application for use of the park had been submitted to the Rec Department. Ginny is waiting for a reply from Abe Zambrano in response to a request to meet about this event. It was confirmed that we would need the following support from the village: //Action item:// Ginny to follow up with Abe.
 * //__Vassallo Fest__//**
 * Electric outlets
 * Barriers
 * Clearing of the parking lot for the event
 * Park and parking lot cleaned prior to event
 * Assistance with transporting ping pong tables and basketball hoops from the HS/MS and back. (Perhaps village could transport to the event and school the return, to avoid having to go into overtime hours.)

There was discussion of the high level of effort and expense to mount the types of events we’re currently hosting, which seem to generate only light interest and attendance. The committee would like to work on a different format for the ’11-’12 year. Do something monthly and stick with it. Consider the following: movie night, open gym, family night, open mic. Perhaps pair with fundraising for a cause (either local or global). Could host at various locations around town, to minimize the burden on any one entity and to involve more entities in the community (Asbury, Village Parks, Holy Name, schools, churches/temple, Premiere Athletic Club were all mentioned as possible sites). Displaying local talents (student musicians for open mic, showing student-produced “shorts” on movie nights) was also discussed. Perhaps the use of raffles or the like would encourage participation. Susan discussed her current leadership development initiative with the team captains, which has a focus on leading community-based projects. We need to incorporate a wider set of students and we can look to partner or intersect with this effort as it evolves.
 * //__Discussion of Future Plans__//**

Tony reported that he had spoken with Abe about allowing the Coalition to hang banners in town as other organizations do. Abe agreed that this would be possibleMembers of the committee were concerned that we place banners appropriately. For instance, we don’t want a banner about Vassallo Fest down at the train station or along Rt 129, since it would imply an invitation to the commuters. If we want to restrict the message to the community, we need to place outside the high school or other location with limited visibility to non-community members. On the other hand, messages such as the parent education initiative (“Be A Parent, Not A Friend”) would be appropriate to place anywhere. //Action item:// Ginny to contact Marco or Janine to learn more about size and materials requirements.
 * //__Signs and Banners__//**

//__Minutes from March 1, 2011__// __Time__ - Start at 8pm; Breakfast at 6am; Students depart at 7am __ Food __ - No outside food or beverages will be allowed. __Fees__ - Free admission, movies, popcorn, breakfast __Flyers__ - Teen Council to post around school with posters, Ellen to post on school website, Daily Orange and send out Connect Ed msg. (No one volunteered to check if info can be posted on village web and send out/post it.) __Permission slips__ - Ellen will work on a draft with Ginny to have finalized/approved by school/coalition by end of this week. All teens require a permission slip whether they are staying over or not. Sign in & out at the door. Permission slip to be available and returned to guidance office; posted on the district website. __Contact number__ - use the technology office phone (closest to rotunda) __Games__- Committee agreed to purchase a few new paddles and ping pong balls as we can use them at upcoming three events. Teen Council sorted games on Monday - received approx 10. __Movie Survey__ - Ellen to be done in CHAP 3/11/11 __Movie Screen/Technology__- Cliff to work with school and Matt Pucci __Food snacks__ - Kathy to go to BJs; will coordinate with Giuseppina. Coalition will offer more of a selection as outside food/drinks will be prohibited __Pizza__ - charge $5 at the door for those who want pizza (package - slices and 1 water) Give ticket (Kathy to acquire a spool) __Volunteer coordination__ - Debi __PR__ - Debi to contact Gary to put info in newspaper prior to event and invite him to come to the breakfast to take pictures and do a write up afterwards. __T-shirts__- Teen Council designed and got a quote - Ellen to submit order by 3/2/11 of 37 shirts at $10 each plus $120 screen print expense approved by Ginny. Shirts to be received by 3/16 __Breakfast__- sponsored by Croton Police Assoc. and Croton Diner Eggs, bacon, sausage, homefries; __Rolls__ to be picked up at Ossining bakery __Building Usage__ - For 3/18 need to check about use of sternos at the school, Cheerleading Mats, Hire a custodian, check if we can use and give out technology office tel # and use that line during event for parents to be able to contact the school. For 4/1 event need to check that we have two outlets in 3rd floor gym. Notes: Cliff to confirm DJ for $300 for 4/1 Laser Tag event. Discussion about Vassallo Fest 5/20 asking early in advance that School District and Village Recreation work together to bring ping pong tables, bball hoop and possibly generators and tables/chairs to the park. Also, we will need support from village as follows: barricades, making sure park is clean beforehand.

//__NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, MARCH 14 8AM in Municipal Bldg Conference Room__// //(submitted by Ellen Hackett with additional notes by Ginny Loughlin)//

//__Minutes from February 8, 2011 (submitted by Ellen Hackett)__// Location/time: Croton Municipal Building, Small Conference Room, 8-9:20am Attending: Anthony Tramaglini, John Nikitopoulos, Cliff Gabrielsen, Greg Schmidt, Debi Braddick, Kathy Brechner, Ellen Hackett, Susan Dullea, Cynthia Lippolis

__Discussion of Chairperson for Committee:__ Group agreed that it would be beneficial to have a Chairperson Responsibilities would include: Take minutes (could be emailed to Ginny for her to post on Wiki), send out email meeting reminders to members and be a liaison back to Ginny and Janine as needed. Debi was nominated, respectfully declined. Susan offered to help whoever was chair. Still in need of a person to fill this position.

__General Discussion__ Members discussed the idea of the Coalition asking for people to sign up for “tasks” or “projects” rather than to be on a committee. Volunteers are more inclined to help with a short-term event than attend on-going meetings. Ellen will ask Ginny to put Outreach Committee on next Coalition meeting to ask for volunteers!

__Event Dates:__ **//HS Sleepover originally scheduled for 3/11 – will now be 3/18//** Three Teen Council members (one who initiated the idea) would not be able to attend on 3/11, Ellen also would be not be able to attend until 11pm and is available on 3/18. 3/11 is also quickly approaching; pushing event off will give committee more time to plan. **//Laser Tag at PVC originally scheduled for 3/25 – will now be 4/1//** Committee did not want the 3/18 and 3/25 event to be a week apart so they decided to push the date to 4/1. This does conflict with Destination Imagination but no date would meet the needs of all. Ginny also stated at a previous meeting she would not be available on 4/1 however Ellen would not be available on 3/25. Some members thought it would be important for Ellen to be there to help coordinate/organize student involvement/Laser Tag teams.

**__SLEEPOVER EVENT 3/18 PLANS:__** Cliff looked into Hen Hud events – they have all students sign permission slips and watch “approved” R rated movies **__PERMISSION SLIPS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/POLICY: Ellen__** Ellen will draft and distribute flyers and permission slips with Ginny through the school. Permission slips will be available at Guidance, Main Office, Village and School libraries, school and village websites, can be turned in advance or at the door. All students MUST sign IN & OUT at the door! Committee agreed event is open to all district and village residences and guests that are high-school aged. Event is “open” from 8-11pm – “lock down” is from 11pm – 6am Check box on form – my child will NOT be staying between 11pm – 6 am. Are we going to have a way for parents to call school to check on if teen is at event??? **__MOVIE SELECTION: Ellen__** Committee agreed that Coalition “approved” R-rated movies could be shown as long as it was noted on the permission slip Movie selection- Teen Council will choose 10 movies and have all teens in CHAPS vote on the top 4 movies to be shown- discussion in CHAP will “talk up” event and get students interested! **__PRESS COVERAGE: Debi__** Debi offered to contact Gary at Gazette to have him put Laser Tag and Sleepover events in HS in advance to publicize the event. **__FOOD: Greg/Kathy/Cliff/John/Cynthia__** PIZZA: **Cynthia** offered to collect $ the night of and call in/organize pizza order.Rather than do a pizza order, the Committee wants to charge $5 at the door to cover 2 slices of pizza and 1 water per teen. Teens would be given 3 raffle tickets for these 3 food items

RAFFLE TICKETS: **Kathy** to buy more, **Ellen** to bring in what she has in office FREE POPCORN: **Greg** to get all popcorn supplies and bring machine DRINKS/SNACKS: Water and mixed junk food snack packs to sell (**Kathy** BJs) BREAKFAST: **Cliff/John** will talk to Croton Bagel store (or Dunkin Donuts) to have order ready by 530am.Can coalition pay for bagels/juice for all students? BJ SUPPLIES: **Kathy** to go to BJs to get plates, cups, napkins, cc,butter,juice, junk food snacks, cases of water

**__BUILDING USE / SET UP:__** **Susan** will complete bldg. use form, event 3/18 7pm – 7 am, she will talk to Greg/Lou at CHHS about Screen and Laptop for movies **Cliff/John** volunteered to follow with technology to make sure all is set for movies

SMALL GYM: open bball, vball OLD GYM: Wrestling mats to be put down, movies played on screen, need to figure out lightening for adequate supervision ROTUNDA: Refreshments, popcorn and ping pong tables CAFETERIA: Set up like a lounge with couch furniture and board/card games

**Kathy** will set up donation box at CHHS for people to donate “old/used” board games and cards. Teen Council will pick them up and sort through. After meeting, Kusum approved Connect Ed to be sent out. **__LASER TAG GAME NIGHT AT PVC 4/1:__** HOURS 5-9PM – John will call to reschedule the laser tag tent, check availability of new date Committee agreed event will be for 7th&8th grade only – anticipate minimum of 100-125 out of 250 students may attend of 7th&8th grade– at HS event last year 4 hours accommodated 130 students. **__DJ__**__: **Giuseppina**__ nominated to look into and book a DJ. Kathy to ask her. **__BUILDING USE FORM: Susan__** **__SET UP:__** Old gym: Laser Tag – two teams upstairs at a time New gym: DJ, couches, ping pong tables (set up same as dance last year) Food: Free popcorn, water for sale, charge $5 at door for 2slices/water – give out 3 tickets for 3 items

Meeting adjourned 9:20 AM Next meeting scheduled: 3/1 at 8am at municipal bldg. small conference room (Minutes submitted by Ellen Hackett, posted by GL)

//__Minutes from January 25, 2011__//

Location/time: Croton Municipal Building, Small Conference Room, 8-9am Attending: Cynthia Lippolis, Ginny Loughlin, Greg Schmidt

In considering plans for the upcoming CHHS and PVC events, the suggestion was made to provide more creative food offerings. Should we consider something more like a cafe? We should also ask the students what foods they'd like to have available.

Re CHHS Overnight. Ellen has confirmed the availability of large screens we can use to show movies. Additionally, the suggestion was made that we have numerous board games available, like Pictionary, Taboo, Trivial Pursuit, Balderdash, Battleship. Look to have games that would lend themselves to participation in teams as well as individual.

Re Vassallo Fest: the suggestion was made that a presentation or letter to the Village Board might facilitate some bridge-building in preparation for this event.

Suggestions for future activities, such as coffeehouse, open mic nights, etc: Partner with youth groups at the various houses of worship and move toward each group hosting an event at their church/synagogue/meeting house.

//__Minutes from January 4, 2011__// Location/time: Croton Municipal Building, Small Conference Room, 8-9am Attending: Debi Braddick, Kathy Brechner, Susan Dullea, Cliff Gabrielsen, Ellen Hackett, Cynthia Lippolis, Ginny Loughlin, Giuseppina Miller, John Nikitopoulos, Greg Schmidt, Anthony Tramaglini

Three upcoming events were discussed.

1. CHHS OVERNIGHT/SLEEPOVER EVENT The request from the students was the following, based on a //Teen Leadership Council// meeting on 12/21/10. (reported by Ellen Hackett via email):

**BIG GYM-** Big screen/sleeping bag room- movies all night to run at 8:30 PM, 11:00 PM, 1:30 AM and 4:00AM. TLC picks 10 movies and have student body vote on their top 4 choices in a CHAP a few weeks before the event. Discussion in CHAP will help promote/talk up event. I told TLC movies would have to be PG-13. **SMALL GYM-** Open Basketball and Volleyball (rotate between the two depending on interest) **HALLWAY-** Concession Stand and Ping Pong Tables **CAFETERIA**- Lounge - place to sit and hang out - have "self-run" games/activities, cards available. Set up with rectangle tables (not cafe tables so it looks different.) If possible move some school couches in there too.

Misc: No DJ - can have music playing in small gym and/or hall and/or cafeteria. Lock down from 11pm to 6am so students who can't sleepover can come from 8-11pm. Maybe do a simple breakfast from 6-7am inviting community sectors to join us?

In addition to the activities, we need to provide tie-ins to the coalition's substance/alcohol-free message and purpose. Some suggestions were to have a ghost walk, shoe display or paper cutouts (people-shaped) to indicate lives lost to alcohol and drugs during the time of the event. Other possibilities: posters, messaging in the hallways; foggle-type activities. Ellen will check with the Teen Leadership Council to see what they feel would be effective and authentic.

Suggested date: Friday, March 4 (in between winter and spring sports seasons). Susan will check on availability and potential conflicts with planned PTA events. Audience: all high school-aged residents; need to reach out to private/parochial students (village website/listserv, coalition page on district website) Security: one custodian, volunteers (how many?); permission slips with a contact number provided to parents (Susan's office #?); students required to sign in/out. Costs: custodian overtime (can be from $52-71/hour, per Susan's recent research); large screens for use in big gym and cafeteria for movies; food

Required follow-up: Susan will check on building availability for March 4 and also confirm regulations about after hours building use (number of chaperones required, etc). If the building is available, she will file the building use form. Cliff will check with Hen Hud about the procedures used for their overnight events (permissions, coverage, security) John will check with vendors on the cost of large screen rental Ellen will discuss the alcohol/drug-free messaging possibilities with the TLC Ginny will check on insurance once the date is set. Open: we did not discuss who would provide the concession.

2. PVC LASER TAG EVENT Request to tie this in with Wellness Week at the middle school (week of March 28). Dates considered: March 25 (conflicts with CHHS musical performances); April 1 (conflicts with Destination Imagination competition in Syracuse; potentially involves 10% of the middle school students). Inflatable Laser Tag would be placed in 3rd floor gym. Students would sign up prior to the event. In the downstairs gym: ping pong, couches, food, potentially a dj. Demand for this event is high, so we discussed extending the rental hours to 6 (4-10pm).

Suggested date: Friday, March 25, 4:30-10pm (see details on next line) Audience: all middle-school students; 5th/6th grade from 4:30-6:30pm; 7th-8th grade from 7-9:30pm? or 7-10pm? Costs:Laser tag rental, Food, DJ (potentially)

Required follow-up: Ellen will check on building availability for March 25. If the building is available, she will file the building use form. John will check with vendors on availability and cost of inflatable laser tag. Ginny will check on insurance once the date is set. Open: we did not discuss who would provide the concession.

3. VASSALLO FEST

Suggested date: Friday, May 20th (only conflict: theater class performance)

Required follow-up: Ginny will check on the availability of the park on May 20 and file request if possible

OTHER BUSINESS: Ginny agreed to research the total cost of the Candlelight Vigil. This will be available at our next meeting, set for January 25 at 8am at the Municipal Building in the 2nd floor conference room.

Meeting was adjourned at 9am.

(minutes posted 1/4/11 by Ginny Loughlin)

//__Minutes from November 4, 2010__//

Location/time: Croton Municipal Building, Small Conference Room, 8-9:30am Attending: Debi Braddick, Kathy Brechner, Susan Dullea, Mark Duncan, Cliff Gabrielsen, Ellen Hackett, Cynthia Lippolis, Ginny Loughlin, Giuseppina Miller, John Nikitopoulos, Greg Schmidt, Anthony Tramaglini At the meeting on November 4, we reviewed and refined plans for the Candlelight Vigil on December 2. The content of that discussion was incorporated into the planning document for the event; please click on the link below to review the document. //__.__//

//__Minutes from October 19, 2010__// //Location/time: Croton Municipal Building, Small Conference Room, 8-9:45am// //Attending: Susan Dullea, Mark Duncan, Cliff Gabrielsen, Ellen Hackett, Ginny Loughlin, Giuseppina Miller, John Nikitopolous, Greg Schmidt, Anthony Tramaglini//

Further conversation about the candlelight vigil, now called Candlelight for Hope, on Thursday, December 2, 6-9pm. Beforehand: Parking spaces along fence adjacent to Holy Name parish hall will be roped off to keep safe passage between Vassallo and the building. Vigil from 6-6:45pm. Fire pit (contained, no open fire) will be going as participants arrive. (Ginny will ask Abe about this.) White lights (all on the committee who have them are asked to bring a string) will be placed on the tree behind the stage, where this is a limited amount of power. Acoustic music, a capella on the stage -- perhaps they should open and close. (Ellen will reach out to student musicians.) Need sound system (microphones/amp): could use the PVC wireless that we used for the survey presentation on 10/18; check with Michael. Could also consider using the large system from CHHS; check with Ivelaw Carrington. Have a welcome tent (John/Cliff) with white lights. There will be a check-in at the tables (2, to be provided by ?). Participants will be invited to write on a paper loop (Ellen) in memory of someone lost, in support of someone struggling or in celebration of someone in recovery. Loops will be added to a chain that will have been begun by students at school during CHAPS in November. Candles will be provided (Ginny); candles should have protection for hands and a shield from the wind. Candles will be lit. Faith leaders will be asked to provide words of hope. A couple of people to give 1-minute talk about their experience? Particpants will be asked to place the candles on the stage (sand in garden boxes? florists green foam? Ginny will research possibilities).

Afterwards, we will proceed to Holy Name for coffee, hot chocolate, hot cider, baked goods. (John will check with Black Cow about coffee; Giuseppina will reach out to parents for baked goods.) Acoustic music, live and recorded. Need portable cd or mp3 system. (Ginny has one.)

If we stay outside for coffee, etc, we will need additional lighting. The Village has one light on a stand.

The event will be promoted in the following ways: 100 posters/1000 postcards (Greg); outreach to the faith communities (list of contacts will be assembled at the coalition meeting; Ginny); recovery community, mental health professionals (Ellen); PTA newsletter (Ellen).

Costs: $300 printing/publicity; $200 candles; ? paper loops; ? garden boxes/sand (can we borrow from a garden club or garden center?)

//__Minutes from October 5, 2010__// Location/time: Croton Municipal Building, Meeting Room, 8-9am Attending: Kathy Brechner, Mark Duncan, Cliff Gabrielsen, Ellen Hackett, Cynthia Lippolis, Ginny Loughlin, Giuseppina Miller, John Nikitopolous, Greg Schmidt, Anthony Tramaglini

At the outset of the meeting, we discussed the need to reach various different groups or cliques at CHHS. In particular, some students who feel like they're using the village properties for healthy reasons (playing baseball on the fields, etc), feel like they're not welcome or have been actively prohibited from such use.

We agreed that we would like to have four events primarily led by the Outreach Committee, listed below, and that we would be willing to support other student-led events, on a smaller scale.

__Vigil, December for the Community__

An opportunity to gather to remember those lost to alcohol and substance abuse, honor survivors and recognize those currently struggling. Need a lot of candles and lights. To be held at Vassallo Park, with a coffeehouse at Holy Name of Mary afterward with acoustic music and desserts, coffees, etc. This will be proposed for Coalition support at the meeting on October 6. Date: Thursday, December 2. Vigil, 6-7pm; coffeehouse, 7-10pm. Provide materials on safe holiday tips. Would like to get all members of faith community involved to offer a message of hope. Can we coordinate in some way with the Lights on For Life campaign? Need to:


 * gain support of Coalition (accomplished on 10/6/2010)
 * secure space/permission (Holy Name and Village)
 * find musicians (contact Ivelaw Carrington at CHHS)
 * contact members of faith community
 * develop publicity

__Laser Tag, for the Middle School, January__

Similar to last year's event at CHHS but for the younger students Overnight at CHHS with Games, for the High School, February Games and movies with doors locked at 11pm (no further leaving or entering the building); ends with early morning departure. Vassallo Fest, at Vassallo Park, for the community, Spring (April) Similar to 2010 with more adult volunteers!

__Some program ideas that might be appropriate as student-led events:__

Open field night Open gym/court night Open mike nights

__Other program ideas for 2011-2012:__

1) Croton Night at Van Cortlandt Manor
 * during the Blaze
 * coordinate with a Community Spirit Week (window painting, etc)
 * hay bale maze
 * for all age groups; make this community-wide

2) Support for a school-led homecoming event Other ideas that were raised in the course of the conversation: 1) Holidayfest with singing, shops open, hot chocolate, etc in center of village 2) Community ice skating (at Duck Pond, Bear Mountain, Buchanan or other local site) 3) Donkeyball; concerns were raised about animal rights 4) Other opportunities to raise funds and awareness for a particular community concern (Updated GL 10/14/2010)
 * provide education
 * testimony from former professionals (Greg has a patient who might be willing to help with this)
 * program to help coaches identify substance use among players (does school do this now?)
 * could we rent a portable rink?
 * if Bear Mountain, would we skate during regular hours or reserve a block for Croton only?

//__Minutes from September 28, 2010__//

Location/time: Croton Municipal Bldg, 2nd Floor Small Conference Room, 8:00-9:30am. Attending: Kathy Brechner, Cliff Gabrielsen, Ellen Hackett, Ginny Loughlin, Giuseppina Miller, John Nikitopolous, Greg Schmidt; Anthony Tramaglini arrived for the last few minutes of the meeting.

The meeting opened with brief conversation about changing the structure of our committee and finding someone within the committee to chair. This was followed by a more general conversation about the state of the coalition itself. There was concern and confusion about decision-making and the seemingly conflicting need for this committee to be nimble in making events happen in a short time frame. Ginny expressed that it was the general understanding among the planning team that the events or plans made by any of the committees should be passed by the coalition for assent prior to going "too far" down the road with execution.

There was significant disappointment and frustration about the bonfire/homecoming event that had been discussed by the committee at the beginning of the summer. There was a lack of concurrence about the project plan that had been agreed to at the July meeting and some members expressed their strong feelings that the project had been misrepresented to both the athletic director and village personnel. This highlighted the need for minutes of committee meetings.

Members suggested that if we want to involve parents and students together, that linking to sports, particularly football, would be important. Possible tag line directed to parents: If you care, be there! It was agreed that we should also make sure that our events and coalition education efforts reach to all students, not just athletes.

Members also expressed a desire for a global, strategic conversation at the upcoming full Coalition meeting on October 21. There was a request that the following be added to the agenda for that meeting: What's our purpose? What's our decision-making structure? What are the barriers to our success? Suggested solutions?

While there was concurrence that we had accomplished some objectives in Year One, there was also concern that the Coalition was focusing on fun events rather than grappling with real problems. There was conversation about the intent of the events, which was to build visibility, affinity and engagement; the next step would be to pursue workshops, deeper discussions and community education efforts.

Members felt that the Croton Library did not work as a Coalition meeting space. It was difficult to hear across the room. Asbury Methodist, Holy Name of Mary and St. Augustine's were all mentioned as possible alternate locations.

Ellen and Cliff will be meeting with the students; SADD and UChoose will meet together for general meetings and then the groups will split off to handle the planning of particular events and activities. Ellen mentioned that already there was interest among the CHHS students for some specific activities, particularly a Sleepover at school, a second Vassallo Fest and still great interest in a bonfire.

It was suggested that other community members should be added to the planning team. Evening meetings were also suggested, to encourage participation by those not available during the day. The committee members agreed to meet as a committee again on Tuesday, October 5 at 8am to plan a year-long timetable of events and activities. (updated GL 9/29/10)

//**__2009-2010 Accomplishments Include:__**//

////Game Night at CHHS// for High School students, March 12, 8pm-12midnight. Thanks for your help! Over 130 students participated in this incredibly successful event.//

////PVC Dance// Support of PVC 5th-6th and 7th-8th grade dance, March 19. The coalition provided financial support for this event, co-sponsoring with the Student Council, which did a great job organizing. The coalition provided popcorn to students throughout the afternoon and evening; all families received the Coalition fact sheet; 7th and 8th graders received stressballs with the coalition logo at the end of the dance.//

////Information Table at CHHS// On April 22, the Coalition will set up a table during lunch periods to hand out popcorn and information about the coalition.//

////Vassallo Park Festival// for the community, especially 7-12th grade students, May 21 in the late afternoon/early evening.//

//For status on the planning of these events, click on links.//

//T-shirts for U CHOOSE students have been ordered!! //

//Click here for a checklist for 2009-2010 coalition events:// ////Events Chart////

//**Per a student's suggestion, the Outreach Committee Members are listed below:**// ////Teen Leadership Council//// //Debi Braddick - Lions Club, Holy Name of Mary// //Kathy Brechner - Parent// //Giuseppina Miller - Parent// //Cynthia Lippolis - Business Sector// //Greg Schmidt - Business Sector// //Susan Dullea - Athletic Director, Croton-Harmon Schools// //Mark Duncan - Croton Rec// //Art Neff - Croton Rec// //Cliff Gabrielsen - Croton Police// //John H. Nikitopoulos - Croton Police// //Ellen Hackett - Student Asst. Counselor//