Over 100 individuals, organizations, and community groups registered trees that will be decorated for everyone's enjoyment.  The community can plan to enjoy the traditions that have come to be part of the event including Evergreen, The Talking Tree, the woodcarvers and rug hookers, fingerprint plaques, The Little Children's Shoppe, and the reading aloud of The Polar Express. Visitors can also look for the photo wreath display to continue their ongoing tradition or take part in a new tradition by taking a photo with Santa. Families can enjoy an exhibit of student artwork from Lima City Elementary Schools in the museum's auditorium.  

One local council works together to provide the resources that children and their families can use in a time of need.  The Allen County Family and Children 1st Council is made up of more than 40 agencies,, organizations, and parent representatives. Their goal is to coordinate systems and services while engaging and empowering families. Monday the group received an update about Allen County Juvenile Court.

That’s what the students at Bluffton University found out about today from 2010 graduate, comedian, and author Andrea Flack-Wetherald. She wanted the students to understand that good things are still possible, but people who are empathic to critical issues can get overwhelmed by the state of the world today. Flack-Wetherald says the improv way is to support your scene partner, by listening to them and possibly pivoting to what they have said.

It was feeling rather scary and festive for a Halloween party Tuesday night at the Bradfield Community Center in Lima! The Friends, Allies, & Neighbors network known as FANS, the Employment Service's Club, and Voices of Prosperity partnered together to host a Halloween party for the community and individuals with developmental disabilities.

The Community Developmental Screening has a new partner and new location to help parents see if their child is on track.  The Early Intervention Specialists at the Allen County Board of DD and Rhodes State College are teaming up to put on the biannual screenings at the Borra Center for Health Sciences in downtown Lima.  The screenings are for children birth to five years old. Parents were able to have their kids checked in nine different categories, including hearing, vision, speech, and motor skills.  Which gives them the chance to address any concerns that they have. Besides being a great resource for parents, the developmental screening is a benefit to Rhodes’ students too.

They make it possible to serve needy families, and the West Ohio Food Bank held its annual all-agency meeting to touch base with those on the front lines of preventing hunger.

The West Ohio Food Bank is updating its hours of operation.

Kayla Monfort with Activate Allen County explains, "There's just so many partners and so many collaborators are coming to the table to really look at these issues and that's really a testament too the work of Activate but also the work of so many community partners that are willing to come to that table, willing to have those conversations and put the work in to what it takes to improve the health of our youth and our entire community."

After working for kids at Allen County Children Services Board and then senior citizens at Mennonite Home Communities in Bluffton for 37 years, Laura Voth decided she need to find another purpose in life and in her small way try and make the world a better place.

Juneteenth Chair Marc Wright explains, “This is fun, it’s entertaining, it’s about learning about other cultures. Just really a celebration of that culture as very important in our community to ensure that we are speaking and learning about different cultures in our community to bring unity and celebrating us is the main focus of this.”