On the Saturday before Easter, the Community Fellowship Center presented the third of its events for San Juan Bautista and San Benito County residents, an “Easter Fun Day” with Easter Egg hunts, three-legged races, face painting, mariachis, Aztec dancing and a rock band, local vendors and service providers.
The vast, green expanse between the San Juan Preschool and the new brewery project welcomed hundreds of people throughout the day who brought their families to participate in a warm, welcoming, community event.
Heliena Walton, Elvira Robinson, John Payne, Patricia Bains, ShaRon Mills, Sondra Cole, Fred Winn and Tara Stein serve on the board of directors of the new nonprofit. Monique Hollis, Vernon Robinson, Dante Bains and Judy Winn serve on the advisory board. The group formed last year by and received it’s 501c3 non-profit status shortly before the Easter event.
Local business and property owners, Patricia and Dante Bains, explained that this was the third event created by the new nonprofit. The first, at Thanksgiving, was a dinner served to 97 locals. During the Christmas season, they provided families with assistance in acquiring gifts for their children.
Bains noted that they were pleased to be able to offer something to the community, “It was a lot of work, but it was worth it,” he said. The mission of the Community Fellowship Center is “Helping the community one family at a time.” Its goals include providing scholarships for underprivileged children, raising awareness of domestic abuse, making plans to provide shelter for the homeless and creating community events in San Juan Bautista, hoping to address the lack of attention to the needs of the community.
The Easter program was created for families to participate and the presence of community service agencies was offered to help families be aware of services which are available to them.
The fellowship center is holding free workshops at the People’s Plaza building on Third Street on topics such as self esteem, makeovers, in addition to the accessible art classes.
Volunteers are now in the process of planning a carnival in San Juan Bautista on July 10-12.
Another project under consideration is a gospel music festival in San Juan. It is the goal of the organization to improve the quality of life for local residents and to provide leadership in creating community events, meeting community needs, and enhancing the image of San Juan. The Community Fellowship Center plans to team with other local organizations to meet more of the community’s needs for events and services.
To leave feedback for the group about their events, or would like more information, contact Patricia Bains at Robomama@gmail.com.