Rocking the block: Residents turn out for back-to-school event
‘It’s a great thing to give back’
Mikaila, 3, gets her face painted as a butterfly during the Prospect Park Block Party Wednesday. She attended with her mom, Tiona Thomas, and two siblings for the back-to-school giveaway and face painting. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor
Junior, 9, waits on customers at the lemonade stand he and his friend Kalana were running on Wednesday at the Prospect Park Block Party. The pair decided to set up the stand at the event to gather donations for “people that help the community,” Junior said. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor
Mikaila, 3, gets her face painted as a butterfly during the Prospect Park Block Party Wednesday. She attended with her mom, Tiona Thomas, and two siblings for the back-to-school giveaway and face painting. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor
Junior, 9, waits on customers at the lemonade stand he and his friend Kalana were running on Wednesday at the Prospect Park Block Party. The pair decided to set up the stand at the event to gather donations for “people that help the community,” Junior said. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor
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When friends Junior, 9, and Kalana, 7, decided to help out at the Prospect Park Block Party on Wednesday evening, they did not expect their lemonade stand to attract as much business as it did.
"We saw that they needed help and we wanted to help," Junior said about their participation.
The pair served cups of regular or watermelon lemonade for $1 donations. Junior said that they agreed to donate the proceeds to "homeless people, people who don't get presents, churches, the police and firefighters."
"We want to donate to people that help the community," Junior said.
Almost an hour into the two-hour event, he said that they had made over $40 so far and hoped to hit $100.
Organized by the Blair County NAACP and Booker T. Washington Revitalization Committee, the party saw about 400 to 500 people pass through. Many of them arrived not just for the festivities, but also for the back-to-school giveaway organized by Tyisha Williams, who owns N-Famous next to the park.
"Some people were lined up since 4 p.m.," Williams said, adding that all 300 of the backpacks were given away in about 20 minutes.
The backpacks included items such as notebooks, pencils, pens, binders, erasers and, for the older kids, washcloths and toiletries for their gym classes, Williams said. Last year, she gave out 200 backpacks.
With five kids of her own, Williams said she knows how hard it can be to raise children.
"Coming out of the pandemic, it's hard," Williams said. "I saw a lot of kids in my neighborhood that were in need. I wanted to get it done. It's a great thing to give back."
After posting in various Facebook groups, about 20 people donated items and she paid for the rest out of pocket. Now she won't be accepting donations until the end of July 2024.
"It's definitely something," Williams said. "I didn't expect it to go that fast or for there to be so many people. I just want to say thank you to the community members that did donate because it takes a village to raise these kids."
The party also offered different vendors selling trinkets, jewelry, snow cones, popcorn and ice cream. One popular booth had kids and their parents waiting to get their faces painted.
Tiona Thomas, whose 3-year-old daughter, Mikaila, was getting her face painted as a butterfly, said that she saw the event posted on Facebook and decided to bring her three kids. Before face painting, they had waited in line to get backpacks.
"She's having a blast," Thomas said of Mikaila. "She's been wanting to do it for the longest time. She wanted to come just for (facepainting)."
"I've just been walking around and seeing what everyone has to offer," Thomas said. "I even reconnected with a few people."
Destyni Davis said she decided to tag along to the block party to hang out with a friend.
Blair County NAACP President Andrae Holsey said that the primary goal of the block parties were to build strong communities, which fights discrimination. The parties also serve as opportunities to spread awareness of Altoona's comprehensive plan surveys and to promote the Talent Show of the Arts, which is taking place Aug. 19 at the Gables building.
"We want to bring people out of their houses," Holsey said. "There are many beautiful communities with beautiful cultures in Altoona, and we want to bring them out to connect with each other."
This is the first year that the NAACP has taken over planning the block parties, as they used to be solely organized by the Booker T. Washington Revitalization Committee.
"Don Witherspoon was instrumental in building that committee," Holsey said. "The least we could do is help strengthen their reach."
Holsey said that having four block parties every summer and one pumpkin patch in the fall will continue for a long time.
The last block party of the summer will be held at Booker T. Washington
Park on Aug. 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. It will also be a rededication of the memorial to Donald Witherspoon.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.