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| Wilma Patterson hands out candy to children. Wilma, who received supports from TRC, walks in the parade every year. |
Jamestown’s annual holiday parade was another tremendous success, with TRC again playing a major part by sponsoring the event for the sixth straight year.
A total of 107 organizations (with more than 200 units or floats) participated in this year’s parade, held December 3. This year’s them was “Wide World of Christmas”, with organizations encouraged to incorporate the holiday traditions of other countries into their float designs.
By virtue of being the title sponsor of the parade, The Resource Center and TRC Foundation are able to have their parade entries appear near the front of the procession. This year TRC had two units – our traditional Toys for Tots float (appropriate because TRC coordinates the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots drive in Chautauqua County each year) put together by TRC’s Employment and Rehabilitation Services, and a “Reindeer Games” float created by TRC’s Residential Division that featured a miniature hockey rink in recognition of the fact Jamestown was preparing to host some exhibition games in conjunction with the World Junior Hockey Championship.
TRC’s floats were accompanied by a number of employees and people with disabilities who receive services from the agency. Some staff members and service recipients carried banners bearing the logos of The Resource Center, TRC Foundation and Toys for Tots, while others handed out candy to children watching the parade.
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| Staff members from TRC’s Intermediate Care Facility on Foote Avenue in Jamestown take a break from their “Reindeer Games” to pose for a photo. |
The parade and holiday celebration are organized each year by the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation. For the third straight year, Jamestown-based musical legends 10,000 Maniacs performed a concert outside City Hall prior to the start of the parade. There were also a tree-lighting ceremony, fireworks and the “Snowball Drop”, in which pingpong balls bearing discounts from area merchants were released.
The Resource Center gives back to the community in many ways throughout the year, with dozens of employees and individuals with disabilities volunteering to assist charitable organizations. But the most visible sign of TRC’s support for the community is its annual sponsorship of the Jamestown Holiday Parade. This was the 11th annual parade, and The Resource Center and TRC Foundation have been the parade’s major sponsors for the past six years.