CAARSEA Looks Back at 2021
Welcome and thank you for visiting the CAARSEA website and for subscribing to the monthly e-newsletter! Below are the December updates from the CAARSEA team, information about upcoming events, and opportunities to get involved.
As of this month, we are officially recognized as a nonprofit entity in Pennsylvania! We are excited about the continued growth this offers and opportunities to organize, fundraise, and continue supporting our community goals. The past several months we have spent formulating committees and getting organized as a larger group. It’s amazing to see how far we have come!
The Fundraising committee is getting ready to ramp up efforts as we are now an established non-profit organization. We plan to connect with local businesses to request donations and support for our community needs. At this time we have CAARSEA magnets and Yard Signs available for purchase, using the “BUY STUFF” link on our website. Our Social Media and Marketing Committee has been working hard on our website, and we encourage you to take a look around to learn more about us and our mission. Many enhancements are coming soon!
Our Policing committee recently met with Chief George Metz and Mayor Yaniv Aronson in the Conshohocken Borough. They discussed policy upgrades the police force implemented after the George Floyd incident and their partnership with the Montgomery County Mobile Crisis Unit. All are invited to attend the council meeting at the station scheduled for January 19th, 2022 at 7 pm at the Borough Hall, 400 Fayette Street. CAARSEA is beginning to organize a town hall event with Chief Metz and is hopeful to put this event on the schedule after the new year. Stay tuned!
This month the Homeless Outreach team celebrates one year of monthly outreach events to our neighbors in Norristown! The team would like to thank the community for their continued support and donations. Through the help of donations and volunteers, they provide lunch, toiletries, warm weather clothing, shoes, snacks, and more to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We are happy to request the need for more tables and volunteers at these events due to the number of donations we receive. This will continue to take place the last Saturday of each month from 12-2 pm outside at the Norristown Transportation Center. Additionally, the homeless outreach committee is working to collaborate with the Montgomery County organization Your Way Home to continue to advocate for our neighbors experiencing homelessness and establish long-term resources and housing options.
We want to congratulate Jamina Clay, Gail Plant, and William Winchester Jr. who were recently elected to serve on the Colonial District School Board! To fill one recently opened Board seat a Special Meeting was convened on Thursday, 12/16/21 to publicly interview 16 interested candidates, which included several neighbors who are part of our CAARSEA community. By a vote of 7-1, the Colonial Board of School Directors selected Conshohocken resident Sharon Marino to fill the vacancy. A CAARSEA member, Ms. Marino brings more than 20 years of educational experience from her work in the School District of Philadelphia, where she has served as a teacher, coach, and principal. Her areas of interest and expertise include continuous improvement, family engagement, and equity. The CAARSEA Youth and Schools committee encourages our members to attend monthly School Board and Committee meetings, as well as the District’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee meetings to advocate for equity and support our students. Your voices are important! To join the Youth and Schools committee in its work, please contact Monica Salvia.
On Sunday, December 12th, CAARSEA hosted a virtual event for the community. The event was titled, “Constructing Helpful Conversations: Engaging with others who hold different views, advocating for your beliefs, and protecting yourself in the process.” A recording of the event is now available for those to view who could not attend. The Community Engagement and Events committee is open to collaborating with community members and organizations for ongoing events. Please reach out to us for more information. We would love to hear your ideas!
If you have not already, please click to complete the “Get To Know Us” form. There are numerous ways to get involved in CAARSEA, no expertise necessary. Please feel free to connect with us to learn how!
We look forward to continuing to share our monthly updates with you and are excited at the opportunities the new year will bring. Wishing our community a wonderful holiday season and a joyful start to the New Year!