Marysville coalesces with growing community connections

Published 10:51 pm Tuesday, March 17, 2009

MARYSVILLE — First, the group formed to fight drug abuse among youth in the city.

Then, members discovered that the power of connections made the community stronger in more ways than they imagined.

Now they have an event to celebrate those connections and make them stronger still.

Saturday is the second Marysville411 Community Connections Festival — part information and part celebration.

Last year’s event drew nearly 300 people, said Cathy Schindler, chairwoman of the Marysville Community Coalition.

About 40 representatives of different groups plan to be on hand Saturday, compared with 20 to 25 for last year’s festival, Schindler said.

“We really feel right now with the economy and the times we are in, people need to be connected to each other, their community and services and resources that are available to them,” Schindler said.

The nonprofit group is a loose network of 16 organizations from around the city. It has a board of directors that meets regularly and has held classes and events throughout its 20-year history. It never had a major annual event, though, until last year.

“We were just seeing that more and more people weren’t aware of all the resources and services that existed, and we wanted to make sure the community was better connected,” Schindler said.

A feature of this year’s event is encouraging adults and kids to get to know each other better.

“It’s as simple as smiling at a child to knowing the names of the kids in your neighborhoods to offering opportunities for youth in the community,” she said.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439, sheets@heraldnet.com.