On May 10, 2008, the 1st Annual Martinsville Community Day was held on the Square in downtown Martinsville. The day included several youth-focused activities, a “fair” of local service organizations, and a blood drive.
The main youth event was a Lemonade Stand Competition and had 16 kids ranging from ages 4 – 13 that participated in setting up lemonade stand businesses. The kids sold an estimated 150 cups of lemonade and rose over $225 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Morgan County.
The other youth event was an idea fair and contest. There were six ideas submitted from kids ranging from ages 5 – 11. The ideas submitted were:
- Free ice cream given out by local vendors on the square to raise community awareness about the businesses on the square.
- Baseball batting cages in Martinsville.
- Places for kids to do arts and crafts in Martinsville.
- Improving the animal shelters. Help with cleaning, provide more space, and raise donations for the animals.
- Mini-stadium for youth sports in Martinsville.
- Indoor shopping mall with name brand / national stores.
All kids that participated in the events were awarded prizes. It is estimated that the cash value of the prizes donated exceeded $2000.
The “fair” of local service organizations brought out 15 different groups. The organizations that participated in Community Day were:
- American Camping Association
- Boys & Girls Clubs
- Central Indiana Regional Blood Center
- Gentry Martial Arts
- Martinsville Kiwanis
- Martinsville East Middle School – Learn & Serve
- Morgan County Autism Foundation
- Morgan County Recreational Alliance
- Morgan County Recycles
- Morgan County Special Olympics
- Morgan County WIC
- Tender Loving Care Animal Hospital
- U.S. Army
- YMCA
- Youth As Resources
The Central Indiana Regional Blood Center had a blood drive during the afternoon. Eleven units of whole blood were donated. A quote from Dave Nash of the Blood Center:
“Eleven units of whole blood can be divided into three useful portions and can help as many as 33 patients. Each donation is useable for up to 42 days. Only 5% of the population donates blood, so each donor is part of an exclusive lifesaving network.”
Without donations from within and around the community, the May 10th event would not have been as successful. The donations provided included:
- Kroger – Gift cards to purchase lemonade stand supplies
- Marsh – Gift cards to purchase lemonade stand supplies
- Bender Lumber – lumber for lemonade stands
- Sign Here! – Community Day signs
- Gentry Martial Arts – martial arts prize packs
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Morgan County – Indianapolis 500 Qualification tickets
- Barbara B. Jordan YMCA – Summer Youth Program Memberships
- Indianapolis Colts – jerseys, footballs, and souvenirs
- Citizens Bank – prize cooler full of goodies
- Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra – 2 vouchers (good for 2 tickets each)
- Dancers Edge – gift certificates
- Cummins – door prizes
- Plunkett Family – Indianapolis Indians tickets
- ComedySportz Indianapolis – family comedy club passes
- Art Gallery & Framing – free art lesson
- Cathy Day (Hoosier author) – two autographed novels
- Ace Hardware – lemonade stand supplies
- Kellers Office Supply – printing of event flyers
- Boundless Design – event flyer design
- Squish Design – youth flyer design and website
- Indiana Venture Center – financial support
- Art Work by Elizabeth – face painting
- Super Sport – discounts on Event Staff t-shirts
- Indiana Small Business Development Center – literature on services
- Indiana Economic Development Corporation – copies of INBiz magazine
- Ron Stanhouse – use of Kivett building for YMCA Relay for Life fundraiser
- Joanne Weber – use of building for Event Headquarters
Donations of prizes and materials for the Martinsville Community Day exceeded $3000 in value.
The organizers of the 1st Annual Martinsville Community Day would like to thank all of these people and organizations for their generous contributions. We would also like to thank the numerous volunteers who supported and assisted with this event.
Mark your calendars for the 1st Annual Mooresville Community Day event, tentatively scheduled for July 12, 2008. If you would like to receive notifications about future events, please “Contact Us” at www.morgancountycommunity.com.
A special thanks to all of you for participating in this community experience. Without you, there would be no reason for this event. We hope you enjoy yourselves!
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