April 4, 2008
21 C Community Fun Fair Will Be Held Sat., Apr. 19, Beginning at Noon at 21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek (recently renamed Fall Creek Academy)

Student Writes Play to Win Grant that Funds the Event

• 21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek (now known as Fall Creek Academy), the Martin Luther King Community Center, and Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church, in partnership, host the first annual 21C Community Fun Fair
• Saturday, April 19, 2008, beginning at noon
• Students wrote the grant application and were awarded a grant by the United Way to fund the event
• Grant application was in the form of an original student-written play
• Carnival activities
• Musical entertainment includes the John Harden Project
• More than a dozen health resources will be on site for screening and/or information
• All health resources and screenings are free.
• Attendees receive ten free tickets for game booths.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – In a first-ever partnership, The Martin Luther King Community Center, Our Savior Evangelical Church, and 21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek (recently renamed Fall Creek Academy) will present the “21 C Community Fun Fair” on Saturday, April 19, 2008, beginning at noon. The event will take place at the school located at 2540 North Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis (just north of Fall Creek and just west of Ivy Tech Community College).

Funds for the event were acquired by Fall Creek students through a grant from the United Way of Central Indiana. Keri Arthurton, middle school English teacher at the school, learned of a United Way grant and brought the idea to the school’s 20-member Volunteer Club, which she moderates. The Volunteer Club, a student-created club, performs various community service projects such as cleaning parks and serving the homeless.

“Together, we came up with the idea for a fair which would not only entertain those who came, but that would also be a vehicle to share some health information and services information that is very important to some of the residents near our school,” Arthurton says. “We wanted the fair to be at the school so people in the neighborhood could walk here.”

Creating a fair for the purpose of luring people to receive health information is clever enough, but how the group acquired the grant from the United Way is even more clever.

The grant application was in the form of a student-written play.

“We thought that writing a play and performing the play as our presentation would be unique and attention-getting,” Arthurton continues. “One of the Volunteer Club members, Brandon Merriweather, sat down and – in less than an hour – had the first draft of the play which was our presentation.”

The creative use of theater worked. The group received a grant in the amount of $1639 with which to produce the fair.

Carnival activities will include horse rides, a photo booth, darts, face painting, a good old-fashioned cake walk, and more. Each attendee will receive ten free tickets for the game booths.

Carnival-type food includes snow cones, cotton candy, and candy/snacks.

But the real substance of the fair is the collection of so many valuable health resources all in one place and at one time. And all health recourses and screenings are free. Scheduled health and safety resource partners at the fair are:

American Red Cross
Indiana Blood Center
Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Indianapolis Fire Department
Diabetes Foundation Center
Eagledale Plaza Dental Clinic
Marion County Health Department – Asthma Program
Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program
Hamilton Behavioral Center (Mental Health)
Riley Hospital for Children
St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana
Damien Center
Clarion Health
Martin Center
ID Cards – K-ID’s BMV (3 hours)

Admission to the fair is free. Fair hours are noon to 4 p.m.

21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek (now known as Fall Creek Academy) is located at 2540 North Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis (just north of Fall Creek and just west of Ivy Tech Community College).