Springwells Village and UNI Celebrate Halloween and Fall Tree Planting
November 13, 2010 |
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Over 500 Attend UNI's 13th Annual Halloween Party
 | | Families head into All Saints Neighborhood Center for UNI's 13th annual Halloween celebration. |
Two Saturdays ago, October 30, UNI hosted a community gathering to celebrate Halloween as well as the Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos. This annual event has been organized for the last 13 years through a strong partnership with Madonna University's School of Nursing.
This year Madonna University students took advantage of the mild weather and organized activities both inside and outside, at All Saints Neighborhood Center (ASNC) and the neighboring Springdale Green Playlot. They set up informational tables related to health and over sixteen different activity stations. Children and teenagers, many in costume, were able to paint murals, color, get their faces painted, play card games, decroate pumpkins and cookies, play broom ball, and learn about the history of Halloween and similar holidays around the world. Reading Is Fundamental donated hundreds of books for the youth to choose from after having their "bingo" cards filled in by visiting five or more activities.
 | | Nursing students from Madonna University organized dozens of games and activities for the event. |
A new addition to the party this year included a Day of the Dead altar on display inside the Center. Young people enthusiastically lined up for the chance to add names of loved ones to the altar and the ofrendas. Also a first, Billie Wayne Strothers of the Old School Revival band set up his sound system in the Springdale Green Playlot and deejayed for the pleasure of everyone in attendance.
UNI staff also used the event to do a bit of social marketing, heavily promoting the link between UNI and the City's weatherization program that invests up to $7,500 per household in insulation and other energy-saving steps. "Many of the homes in our neighborhood have no insulation whatsoever resulting in residents paying as much to heat their homes as UNI pays to heat the neighborhood center," said Dennis Nordmoe, UNI Executive Director.
All in all, between the space at ASNC and Springdale Green, the celebration was a great success as over 500 children, teens, and adults came out to enjoy the festivities. Nordmoe was pleased with this year's attendance, noting, "Successful social events of this scale build community solidarity across ethnicities and would be impossible had we not built a park."
UNI would like to extend a big thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make this year's Halloween party a success, including Madonna University's School of Nursing,
 | | UNI intern Latoya Hall and Marygrove College's Chris Collias help paint murals. |
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) through Southwest Solutions, the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern Michigan, Billie Wayne Strothers, and Great Lakes Health Plan.
 | | Young people line up next to the Varga Pavilion to decorate cookies with volunteers from Madonna University. |
 | | A young tiger joins a festive broom ball race using small pumpkins. Races took place in the Springdale Green Playlot. |
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Fall Tree Planting a Success, UNI Partners with Greening
 | | UNI partnered with the Greening of Detroit for a Fall tree planting in Springwells Village. |
Over 60 volunteers, including high school students, college students, and residents, gathered last weekend in the bitter cold of a November morning with one mission in mind: planting trees paid for by a grant to UNI from DTE energy.
The Greening of Detroit gave a demonstration of the planting process early on a Saturday morning and provided all of the outdoors tools necessary for a successful event. After the demonstration was complete, volunteers took a few moments to warm themselves with coffee and tea from Cafe con Leche and then enthusiastically got to work.
 | | Ali Ali, Fran Ivanaj, and Esam Almawri from UM-Dearborn stand in front of a newly dug hole. |
Much to the delight of residents and homeowners, volunteers could be seen up and down the streets digging holes, planting trees, laying mulch, and watering the newly planted trees.
After every tree was planted and watered, volunteers were then invited back to All Saints Neighborhood Center to take a break from the cold and enjoy water, apples, and lunch courtesy of Great Lakes Health Plan.
In the end, between the hours of 9:00am and 1:00pm volunteers were able to plant all thirty trees down Lawndale Street, Mason Place, and Mandale Street. In
 | | L'Anse Creuse High School students Jessica Baarck and Courtney Tononi stand by the tree they are about to plant. |
addition, a new layer of mulch was added to the base of trees from last season's planting event. The day was a great success and both UNI and the Springwells Village residents, all of whom agreed to care for their new trees until they are self-sustaining in approximately three years, extend a thank you to the volunteers and organizations that made our Fall tree planting possible.
Saturday's volunteers included residents and members of the Springdale/Woodmere Block Club, students from Lawrence Technological University, students from Wayne State University's Project Volunteer, members of the Beta Alpha Psi Kappa Sigma Chapter from UM-Dearborn, buildOn students from Western International
 | | Wayne State University students Allyce Grover and Patrick Wloszczynski spread mulch at the base of a newly planted tree. |
High School and Henry Ford Academy, students from L'Anse Creuse High School, as well as staff members from UNI, GTE, the Greening of Detroit, and Towers Watson. The staff of Towers Watson not only helped plant trees, but also provided a generous donation of school supplies to compliment UNI's after school and adult education programs.
Additional thanks to Cafe con Leche for providing coffee and tea at a discounted rate and Great Lakes Health Plan for donating waters and lunch for every volunteer!
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Detroit 300 and the S/W Block Club Support Tree Planting
On October 7 the Detroit 300 Community Patrol paid a visit to the Springdale/ Woodmere Block Club to discuss the power of community-based patrolling. As a part of their commitment to action, the representatives of Detroit 300 started a collection right then and there to support UNI's Fall tree planting event. A hat was passed around the meeting room and the members of Detroit 300 along with numerous Spingdale/Woodmere residents donated to the cause. Thanks to the significant collection, UNI was able to offer all of the trees and morning refreshments at no cost to property owners or volunteers. |
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UNI Welcomes New Marketing and Fundraising Expertise Looking to expand our marketing and fundraising capacity, we recently welcomed Sue McAlpine to the UNI team. A graduate of Hillsdale College, McAlpine studied Marketing and Business Administration before going on to over 20 years of professional experience in marketing and advertising. As an avid community volunteer, she looks forward to grant writing and raising funds for a truly community-based organization like UNI. McAlpine is currently engaged to Mike Wehby, has two daughters, two stepsons, a great dog, and enjoys spending time with her family and gardening. She recently completed her second half-marathon, a course that included running around the perimater of Belle Isle, across the Ambassador Bridge, and through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
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UNI in the News
Listen to UNI Executive Director Dennis Nordmoe talk about park accessibility for children of all abilities on WDET's Craig Fahle Show! UNI is featured 31 minutes into the program; download the podcast here. |
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All Saints Neighborhood Center 8300 Longworth
Detroit, MI 48209 |
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