Safe & Green Halloween: Community at its Core

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.

sgh-1 — *San José State University’s ERC created an entire Halloween photo-booth for students, with spooky and fun props included!*

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.

1st Place winner in upcycled costume contest, materials used included newspapers and paper plates — **1st Place** winner in upcycled costume contest, materials used included newspapers and paper plates

2nd Place winner; materials used included paper — **2nd Place** winner; materials used included paper mache

3rd Place winner; materials used included newspaper and cardboard — **3rd Place** winner; materials used included newspaper and cardboard

4th Place winner; materials used included cardboard — **4th Place** winner; materials used included cardboard

5th Place winner; materials used included tissue paper and newspaper — **5th Place** winner; materials used included tissue paper and newspaper

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.

Children learned the importance of safety on Halloween from our SJPD. — *Children learned the importance of safety on Halloween from our SJPD*

*Children learned the benefits and importance of healthy food options*

Watershed Man provided a fun game to teach children the difference between recycling — *Watershed Man provided a fun game to teach children the difference between recycle, waste, and hazardous materials*

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