We're happy to announce commenter, Neil as the winner of the Kindle Fire! With many entries and a lot of great ideas, the competition was challenging for Amanda to pick just one. But she did, and below provides a few words on the the winning project and what it'll mean to the community. Also, is the carefully thought out idea that won Neil the prize! And, heck, he's right. Dunk-a-Politician might just carry the whole event itself.
Thanks for all those who participated. ATMpa is excited to follow the next steps Amanda has for MediaPAMatters and will provide information on their new website as it becomes available.
The purpose and meaning of this effort speaks volumes of the great residents Media has and their enthusiasm that makes this town a better place for everyone. It's a pleasure to have been able to contribute to this contest and raise awareness for a host of issues, all of which are important.
Contact mediapamatters@gmail.com for further information and updates!
Amanda's note:
Great ideas, everyone! Thank you for spending the time to think about our community.
And the winner is....
Neil - Great ideas! You are right - Everybody wins with The Big Community Carnival! Or Fair? I love the idea that we can invite multiple local organizations to participate and generate fundraising while at the same time holding a family friendly event. It will be a huge undertaking, but I am ready to put my time where my mouth is and work to facilitate this event and enroll the town to get involved and have fun creating change. Thank you for your contribution! Enjoy your kindle!
Neighbors, my goal is to continue working on bringing these ideas alive through a collective of volunteers called Media PA Matters. I am working on developing a website to collect suggestions like YOURS in an ongoing fashion. Voting will be enabled on the website, and the NEXT project will be determined by votes. In the meantime, if you would like to contact me to volunteer your time and brainpower, please feel free to contact me at mediapamatters@gmail.com.
Thank you, and see you at the fair!
Amanda
Neil's Recommendation:
Media is generally well-served by non-profit organizations. My guess is that any new org would have to compete with an established group or serve a more niche audience. An event serving a more limited audience may make fundraising more of a challenge. An event benefiting an existing organization would have to be organized in conjunction with that organization but has the advantage of established support and goodwill.
But challenges are good, so here are some ideas of what to raise money for:
- Media Borough used to sponsor monthly concerts at the Borough Hall until funding was lost. The community could use broad-based support for the arts - which could incorporate concerts and other events specifically aimed at teenagers. The Theater, the Community Center, the Borough Hall and even the Youth Center could all be appropriate venues - but some kind of community concert series at the Theater could work really well.
- The community playroom in the borough hall is a well-loved space, but is no longer open on weekends or in the evenings. Funding to reopen this facility during those much-needed times would benefit parents with small children who would have space to take their children, especially when the weather isn't suitable for playing outdoors.
- By way of established charities, I wanted to echo all of the previous suggestions - there are many worthy causes in the area. I'd also like to add one of my own: Legal Aid of Southeastern PA provides quality legal representation to low-income, elderly and vulnerable people in the area and also empowers them to solve problems without legal representation (http://www.lasp.org/).
Deciding HOW to raise money is harder and probably depends a lot on which particular organization you decide benefits. What would work great for the SPCA might not work so well for the Youth Center (and vice versa).
Concerts and bake sales and 50-50 raffles seem to be the usual fare but I'm going to go all out and suggest some kind of Big Community Carnival. Take over Barrall Field - have lots of different stalls, games and events. You could even invite a number of local non-profits to devise their own fundraising stalls - that way everybody benefits.
As well as incorporating the concert/movie/raffles there could also be a dunk-a-politician booth (I'm sure readers of this blog in particular would pay good money for that) and all manner of other attractions. Sure, it would be a huge, huge undertaking, but with the right support from the council, residents and local charities it could become an annual event to rival everything else Media offers.
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