MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Hundreds of area residents attend 12th annual Midtown event to celebrate community spirit
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Daziaha Lundy met with with some school friends, played games and dined al fresco Saturday at the Midtown Make A Difference Day.
“It’s fun,” said Lundy, who was at the street fair with her aunt, Shanelle Ruffin. “A lot of my friends from school are here, so I’m hanging out with them, walking and talking and having fun.”
The 12th annual event attracted hundreds of residents from the Midtown and surrounding area to Franklin Street for a day of fun, food and community fellowship.
Local non-profit organizations and county service providers, along with entertainers and those offering children’s activities, gathered for the block party-type event near the Everett Hodge Midtown Community Center.
Members of the Kingston Police Department, including Chief Egidio Tinti, were on hand creating identification cards for
parents in the event their child goes missing and the Kingston Fire had one of their trucks parked on the street for kids to climb into and get a feel for what it’s like to sit behind the wheel of a real fire truck.
Under a canopy, Jeremy Michael Bermunder, 6, who came to the event with his uncle, Philip Lindsey was getting his face painted by members of the Bruderhof, and five-yearold Tah-T-ona McDonald made modeling compound at one of the many booths that lined Franklin Street.
This year’s event is being held in memory of Sandra Thompson-Hopgood, co-founder of Midtown Make a Difference Day and former director of the Everette Hodge Community Center.
“It’s a day of celebration,” said Megan WeissRowe, the event organizer, saying the day provided an opportunity for the neighborhood to “come together” and learn how they can make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
Weiss-Rowe said the theme for Saturday’s event was “the ripple effect,” in honor of Thompson-Hopgood.
“The idea with the ripple effect is that every good deed and every way we can help others can be paid forward,” said Weiss Rowe, adding that Thompson-Hopgood did “a lot of great things” for the community.