Before the animals, music and vendors stormed Bloomsburg this month, 19 churches and community organizations gave back to the people who make the annual fair happen.
The Columbia County Fair Ministries started out as a small food booth around 20 years ago that started connecting festival-goers to church resources. Now, its yearly giveaway event donates hundreds of shoes, jackets, blankets and other basic necessities to about 100 carnival workers with Amusements of America.
Ministry Treasurer Scott Atherton said most of the workers are homeless and live in their cars. They travel with the carnival as it goes to different fairs throughout the year.
He’s proud that the ministry works with Amusements of America to anticipate workers’ needs and was able to donate 30 new pairs of work boots to workers before the ministry’s big giveaway event started on Sept 19.
“You know, you’d see carnival workers coming in wearing crocs or flip-flops and that wasn’t going to work. A., they really needed a sturdy shoe. And B., it was getting kind of cold for walking around in flip-flops,” said Atherton, a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Kelly House, safety and human resources manager for Amusements of America, said she’s never seen another fair that collects so much for her employees. The fair paid for a doctor to provide free medical care to her workers. She says it’s one of the few times they can get treatment.
Doctor Greg Benkovic is retired, but he comes every year to help out the carnival workers. He and representatives from the Department of Health gave immunizations and wrote prescriptions, which a local pharmacy filled and delivered to workers at no cost the next day.
Benkovic worked with patients long after the giveaway ended. A volunteer with the ministry used an English to Spanish medical dictionary to ask Spanish-speaking employees intake questions.
Members from Wesley United Methodist Church made hundreds of hygiene packs for the workers, which included toiletries like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo and towels. It cost $1,157 to make the packs, according to the church.
Randy Ruckle, the ministry’s coordinator, said the other churches pitched in to cover the cost. He emphasized that it’s important to the ministry that no individual church or volunteer is overburdened with event costs or work. The ministry tries to spread the work across its network of volunteers.
Atherton said attention around the ministry blew up in the last few years. Its churches around the Columbia-Montour-Luzerne area now receive donations year-round, both gently used and new. He reports that about 60 percent of pants donations were new.
“You know, Randy [Ruckle’s] always saying, ‘we’re not doing this to advertise ourselves and show what we’re doing’. But, people are starting to say, ‘Hey, gee, what can we do with this stuff? Oh, well maybe those people who give [donations] to the carnival workers could use it,’” said Atherton.
New organizations got involved this year to help the carnival workers. Bloomsburg’s new Chipotle, which opened up at 10 Wedgetown Road, donated 100 meals. It used the opportunity to train its new employees before opening on Sept 20. The Bloomsburg Area High School’s Interact Club also got involved for the first time with the ministry. Four students, Kilia Francis, 16, Jesse Chen, 16, Tracy Chen, 18 and Amaro Galliani, 16, helped give out jeans and other clothing to carnival workers.
Amaro’s proud of himself for translating in Spanish for Spanish-speaking carnival workers. He said it was important to him to make sure people received what they needed in the right size.
The ministry meets a few times a year before the fair to organize the giveaway. Atherton said he is thrilled how the ministry’s different organizations work together each year.
“It really says a lot about the people of the area, that we can just come together. And I’m sure if we sat down and got talking, there would be differences in politics. There would be differences all over … But any of those differences are just absolutely thrown aside when we’re all working together for this,” said Atherton.
The Bloomsburg Fair runs between Sept. 20 to Sept 28. Visitors can catch truck shows and demolition derby every day of the festival. For tickets and more information, visit the fair’s grandstand page. Today is Military Appreciation Day. Veterans and active military get free admission. The fair is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m each day of the festival.
Community members can donate to the Columbia County Fair Ministry at 220 Orchard Drive, Catawissa, PA 17820 or contact the ministry at jsjathertons@icloud.com. Gently used clothing donations that were not distributed during the giveaway event were donated to AGAPE, a faith-based social services organization in Bloomsburg. New clothing that was not donated during the event is stored at the ministry's churches.
