The CARE (Chemical Abuse Reduction by Education) Committee of the Six District Educational Compact has awarded its CARE Community Award of Appreciation for 2006 to Downtown Akron Partnership in recognition of 10 years of First Night Akron.
First Night Akron has drawn nearly 200,000 New Year's Eve revelers to its alcohol-free, family friendly celebration of the arts over the past decade.
In accepting the award for Downtown Akron Partnership, communications director Sarah Steidl invited members of the audience to suggest new programming for First Night that would encourage greater participation by junior high and high school students. She pointed to First Night Idol, a local version of the hit reality show open to area high schoolers, as an example of programming that has successfully attracted a teen audience.
"We're making a special effort this year to entice even more teens to the celebration with events geared toward them," Steidl said. "We would welcome the help of those who work with teens every day."
The more than 80 attractions at 18 downtown Akron venues included visual and performance artists of all genres as well as many interactive hands-on activities geared toward younger children and their families.
Mary Jane Stanchina, the Compact's executive director, praised First Night Akron for showing students that alcohol is not required for a good time.
The Six District Educational Compact is made up of Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Kent, Stow-Munroe Falls, Tallmadge and Woodridge school districts. The annual awards dinner, held at the Roses Run Country Club in Stow on March 23, also honored educators and community members from the Compact school districts for their support of programming aimed at keeping students off drugs and alcohol. CARE is an education, prevention, intervention and referral program in the Compact schools.
The Downtown Akron Partnership's mission is to promote and enhance the cultural, artistic, recreational, and commercial vitality of the downtown Akron area. Since its inception in 1995 the Partnership has been a catalyst for enhancing the downtown environment with programs such as First Night Akron, Operation Neat Streets, and comprehensive marketing and branding campaigns.
