Author: Danny Ludovina

As the fall season greets us by transitioning to cooler weather, ridding us of mosquitos, and snow forming in distant mountains, one may have a sense that time has begun to slow down. The harvest season is upon us, and timing is just right to celebrate life together. However, instead of heading out to the fields, we here at CommUniverCity have ventured throughout our community to provide a cornucopia full of organizations and active community members to come together and show continuing support for safe, healthy and sustainable lifestyles.

Safe & Green Halloween just completed its 10th annual celebration on Friday, October 21st at McKinley Elementary school! This event first started with humble beginnings, as it was created to address safety concerns for young children celebrating Halloween around the McKinley neighborhood. A seed has been planted, growing awareness of the importance of maintaining a strong community relationship.

Year after year, more members of the community became involved with the event, which led to its reputation to bring in more organizations to share what knowledge they may have to offer with the community. This growth had a snowball effect and as of this year, Safe & Green Halloween had opportunity to share its values with an estimated 500 participants from the community surrounding McKinley Elementary school! This event has evolved from safety concerns for its peers, to reinforcing the strength of relationships between the people, the students at San José State University, sustainable local businesses, and the city of San José. The people have taken it upon themselves to change their community for the better, and after 10 years of progress, we are delighted on how far we have come together.

Many of the participants shared that they learned the importance of recycling and a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables! We want this trend to grow, and to do so, we ask for the support from the community to unite behind a common message of sustainable living to make the most of this opportunity for positive impact.

Please visit our website to become involved in next year’s Safe & Green Halloween. For any inquiries or to share some thoughts, please direct your email to this year’s Project Coordinator at: Danny@cucsj.org

Warm regards to our partners and sponsors for helping to make this event possible:

• The City of San José
• McKinley / Bonita Neighborhood Association
• CORAL
• McKinley Elementary School
• San José State University
• Mi Pueblo Food Center
• Olinder Park Neighborhood Association
• United Way
• Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
• Center for Community Learning & Leadership