Community Day is a time when the Town of New Castle highlights the very best of our community. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chappaqua, Community Day fosters connections and a sense of belonging. Local organizations and businesses set up tents and tables to share information and to engage our residents with fun activities. New Castle United for Youth is excited to take part in Community Day to help bring awareness of our coalition and its work.

For Community Day 2021, NCUFY is highlighting why community connections are important. Being connected to a community, be it a geographic community or a community of people who share your interests, values or goals, is an important protective factor. People who are connected to a community thrive! A sense of belonging helps support mental health, sharing ideas and experiences leads to personal growth, and having personal connections improves overall health and can lessen the vulnerability to addiction or other unhealthy use of alcohol or other drugs. 

To create a visual representation of the importance of community connections, NCUFY is sponsoring a Community Weave at Community Day 2021. We are inviting each of the twelve sectors that make up our coalition – Youth, Parents, Schools, Faith, Law Enforcement, Business, Media, Civic/Volunteer Organizations, Youth-Serving Organizations, Healthcare and State/Local and Other Organizations involved in substance use prevention – as well as all community members to help create a tapestry highlighting all of us belonging to our community. 

Working with We Gather, a Brooklyn-based educational textile studio, the NCUFY Community Day presence will feature a community weaving project. Chappaqua Paint and Hardware is donating the materials that will be used to create the loom. Community members are invited to contribute locally sourced weaving materials that will make up the weft, and to join in the creation of a large woven tapestry that will illustrate how we are all connected. 

Local business partners Scattered Books and Bobos will have collection boxes available to receive donations of weaving materials from September 10-17. Check out the NCUFY Community Weave collection flyer for a list of materials requested.  People can also bring suitable material that represents their family or organization to Community Day and weave it into the tapestry themselves. Once completed, our NCUFY Community Tapestry will be available for display at community locations. 

We hope you and your family will stop by to see us at Community Day to participate in the community weave and to learn more about our coalition. We’ll also have a fun giveaway for kids to help everyone understand the importance of connecting to a good support system.