Dear Neighbors, Not having a porch is not an obstacle to entertaining and enjoying Halloween Trick-or-Treaters. The Town Watch Task Force welcomes Volunteers and/or Donations of Time, Talent &/or Money to HALLOWEEN 2013.We welcome College Students, Seniors, Apartment and Dorm Dwellers to "sit" with us. Last year “Horror-cane Sandy” almost killed the event, but… we learned that it is possible, with extra effort and money to take all the decorations down on 10/29 and put them all back up on 10/31, and still achieve an amazing event and thousands of happy visitors. This year, St. Francis de Sales School has agreed to host The HALLOWEEN, in their already scary Basement-Gym-Basketball Court. This will be a more temperature comfortable for volunteers, remove the weather risks to sets, and provide a place to snack and a primitive bathroom. But… to avoid interfering with Gym classes, it limits us to very brief windows, Wednesday 10/30 after 4 PM through 4 PM Saturday 11/1, for concentrated volunteering. It does permit the addition of a Thursday day activity for the K-8 school. Every kid will enjoy a tour and treat. Plus the CYO can use the sets for a Friday night dance. Volunteer opportunities are: Fundraising – can anyone help me set up "Crowd Funding", perhaps a KICKSTARTER or USA PROJECTS site?When I started 15 years ago, this cost about $1.00/visitor, it is now more like $3.00 / visitor, and we average 2,400 visitors / year. Press Release and Coordination with neighbors, community associations, Frats and Sororities, UCD, the Police, the UC Lists and calenders. Start now, work from home, do what you can to promote the event. Please remember to send the kids you know to our event. Help with a trip to a Wholesale Store, (3,000 candy bars, 2,000 pieces of fruit, etc. are BIG loads). A Trip takes 1-2 hours. Fruit is picked up on Halloween, for freshness. Candy can be picked up any time Wednesday afternoon, (10/30), through 1 PM on Thursday/Halloween. The ideal volunteer is strong and has a Driver’s License. Bonus if they have their own vehicle. Help move the decorations from a garage on Cedar near 48th and move them to SFDS parking lot, where the Boy Scouts will carry them down to the gym. Wednesday evening, (10/30), from about 4-8 PM. We can accept 1 hour each from several people but would love continuity for people who can donate the entire evening. The ideal volunteer is patient and limber. Boxes are light, but stored in a dark, over-crowded garage. A few Drivers with their own vehicle would speed things along. Strong Boy Scouts will do the steps on the Gym end of the trip. Decorate! I would like creative, artsy people to accept responsibility for their own set & scene.Our inflatables, include: Giant Pumpkins, a 20’ Pirate Ship, a “Haunted Forest” of 4 trees that is also a tunnel over 7’ tall, Death on a Motorcycle, a 6’ tall witch, giant Spiders, etc. We are also famous for our Cemetery, CSI Exhibits, the Surgery (sometimes a Dental Office) and Dooley’s Deadly Diner. Links to photos http://picasaweb.google.com/campionef/Halloween2010SetsVolunteers#Conceptual people can delegate much of the physical work to “worker bees”, (teens earning community service hours). Past, brilliant success was achieved by the Kocher family of Hazel Ave. They took my props and made an intriguing, fun, punny and spooky “Diner”. The big push is for Wednesday evening, 10/30 from 6-9 and Thursday-Halloween day from 10 AM-3 PM, whatever hour(s) you can spare. We need an ARTIST – after 15 years the wonderful Dragon’s Head has disintegrated. I would love to put a “Face” on the 60’ long, snaky body, (sewing donated by CJ Kelly). I think a large sheet of foam board with a Dragon face painted there-on, could work, depending upon how it is hung. (It will also be easier to store!) Other ideas are welcome. I’d need someone to commit now, and deliver it before 10/25. Be the GC – We need one or two “stage carpenters” folks who know their way around duct tape, ropes, hooks and pulleys. Wednesday evening, (10/30), from about 6-9. Act as Ambassadors and if needed Bouncers, to steer folks to the new, next-door, location and to control the line. Show up Thursday about 4:30 PM and leave when we clear the line (about 8 PM). Distribute treats. This is easy. This is an ideal job for seniors, or families. Volunteers wait for the visitor to say “Trick or Treat” and respond with “Happy Halloween” and a treat. Show up 10/31 at about 4:30 PM and leave when we run out (about 8 PM). Each station can have one seated person and one, or more, active runner(s). Act! “Actors” bring the sets alive. Families and Frats can coordinate as Pirates for the “Shipwreck”,or as Wait-Staff and Customers at “Dooley’s Deadly Diner” or Scarecrows at the “Poisoned Pumpkin Patch”. "Actors" must commit 10/31, 4:30-7:30 PM. We prefer all volunteers to come in costume, but can loan some costume items. Photograph (digitally) – every visitor, plus all of the volunteers and the sets.Dads are willing to take kids around on Halloween, so the photos become a huge gift to kids who might not otherwise have “family” photos. The Picasa Photo-site allows kids to revisit their pictures later, and… they can do so from computers at schools and libraries.We need people who have their own cameras and are willing to upload their cards to the Picasa site. We can provide technical support. This is best done in teams with one person helping to establish good poses and the other shooting the photos. I would also love to see someone produce a “documentary” of the parade through the gym. I especially want some video and YouTube clips of PHILLY THRILLER dancing."Photographers" must commit 4:30-7:30 PM on 10/31. Can work as a Team, as long as there is continuous and overlapped coverage. Do Quality Control and FX Supervision. We need people to circulate, with a list, to make sure stations are attended, machines are working and filled with smoke and bubble potions, and all “scaring” is forward so the place does not jam up. "Supervisors" must commit 4:30-7:30. Pack! Saturday, 11/2, from Noon-4 PM. If you can differentiate between a spider and a pumpkin, you can help sort and pack. You will be paired with Cub Scouts who can do the bending and climbing. Manage the Trash & Recycling. In the past, UCD has taken boxes away for us. We need folks to break boxes down into manageable piles and to get all the trash bagged and up to the Dumpster area. It is helpful if breaking-down is ongoing, during the event, so that rubbish does not distract from the scenes. The big push, getting rubbish out of the gym, will take place, Thursday night. If every volunteer takes one box out, as they leave, the job will be well begun. Return items to storage 48th & Cedar. Saturday afternoon (maybe 2-5sh). We need people able to carry boxes up, out of the gym and drive them back to 48th St. Volunteers are welcome to help a little or a lot and may join us in an "After-Party" dinner.We plan Lasagna or Pizza, Chili, Hot Soup, Sandwiches and hot & cold Beverages.Volunteers should be done in time to enjoy any later parties on campus and downtown that they might want to attend. For those who have not sure what we do for Halloween, there are many albums at my link:http://picasaweb.google.com/campionefIt will open to “Thumbnails” of Albums, you can click on any of many years of Halloweens.Some of the more useful links may be: Sets & Volunteers of 2010http://picasaweb.google.com/campionef/Halloween2010SetsVolunteers#At this link, you can get ideas for how you could improve upon my amateur efforts. Keith Angelitis’ HALLOWEEN Pro-Shots of 2009 Trick-or-Treaters http://picasaweb.google.com/campionef/Halloween2009ProShots# This link shows some PHILLY THRILLER Zombie dancers who volunteer.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5CSnVOa4vc This will be my last year, so I hope it is even more fabulous than in the past. I also hope some person or institution will step up to take it on for future years. I will loan the decorations. It is appropriate to note, that Cynthia Preston, our local QUEEN of HALLOWEEN, was the inspiration, driving force and fund-raiser for the past 19 years. Her work on behalf of TOWN WATCH AND THE SQUIRREL HILL SUB-STATION are legendary. This year, she was too sick to create her fabulous gift bags. But she has done some effective fund-raising. She will be unable to attend this, the 20th year of her Spook-tacular, and I hope she remembered for working tirelessly, year after year, so that our neighborhood kids had a SAFE and HAPPY Halloween. I would be delighted to forward any “Thank Yous” or special memories; you have, of yourself, or your kids, at her Halloween events. My family has committed time and energy, the expense of storing the sets, and $2,000 / year toward “full-sized-candy-bars”. I hope to match+ our contributions within the community, maybe through “Kickstarter”, so that we can freshen decorations and supply additional treat stations and photography, bring the sets alive and entertaining, to make this a special and meritus happening. In the short term, you may mail checks to me, Elizabeth Campion at PO BOX 23632, Phila, PA 19143. If we raise extra money, I’d love to see funds go to SFDS, (toward improvements to the gym they loaned, and to develop a working kitchen, since they do so much good, with food). The benefits of this event include: Having a fun time while doing good; Including older kids and whole families in a memorable event; Recording the event, so that kids without photos or computers at home, can re-live the memories at computer labs in schools, public libraries and. when they grow older on their own computers; and Providing a meritocracy and common ground, where the wealthiest and poorest have the same experience of “Holiday”. It is important to note that the party ends around 8 PM, so for those, who like me, love Halloween, there is time to go out to Adult parties after you’d done your good deeds.We do not want to pull anyone away from their own porch, but hope that folks living in apartments or dorms will welcome the opportunity to give and receive the thrills of a happy Halloween. Please forgive duplicate posts. Please share this widely, and e-reply privately, if you know e-addresses for insiders at local Community Service Groups at the nearby Universities and High Schools, please send them to me. I’d love to involve some of the local college kids. I am confident they would have fun while doing good and imagine youthful energy as a wonderful contribution. Thanks for your time and attention to this matter.Happy [email protected] Elizabeth Campion PRUDENTIAL, FOX & ROACH REALTORS, LLC 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, Suite 406 Phila, PA 19103 and 850 Library Road, Suite 106 Newark, DE 19711
215-790-5653 Philly Office 302-368-1621 NCC, DE Office 215-880-2930 Cell [email protected] or [email protected] for Rental questions Link to Photos of available Listings and public, 'social' photos: www.PicasaWeb.google.com/CampionEF To check out all PFR and Multiple Listed Properties and to review CONSUMER NOTICE, link to www.PruFoxRoach.com Your referral is a welcome compliment. Thank you, I wish you all the best now and into the future!
