Out of the darkness cooperation shines bright

Helen Keller once wrote, “Alone we do so little; together we can do so much.”

That idea was never more evident than on the day after Thanksgiving when the residents of the Town of Bloomsburg, led by Downtown Bloomsburg Inc., along with Bloomsburg University faculty, staff and students came together to save the annual parade of lights that had been abruptly canceled just a few weeks earlier.

When the plug, so-to-speak, was pulled on this annual community event that featured lighted floats along with the arrival of Santa, it looked as if the holiday season would not be as festive this year.
But, showing what the power of cooperation can accomplish, everyone pitched in and pulled off the biggest parade in the history of the event for the several thousand people which lined the route on a perfect night for a parade.

Renamed “Bloomsburg Lights up the Night,” more than 85 floats were registered for the event and more than 25 local businesses made financial contributions ensuring a parade in 2018 and 2019.

Thank you to all those from the university who gave of their time with helping organize the parade and a special thank you to the athletic department which put together a float featuring Roongo and some of our student-athletes, as well as AFSCME which had an entry.

This spirit of cooperation will hopefully be the start of many more collaborative efforts between the people of the town and our university, because if we can come together to organize a parade in less than a month, imagine what great things we could accomplish with the benefit of time and effort. As we near the end of the fall semester, I hope everyone can stop and take a few minutes to enjoy some time with family and friends.

GO HUSKIES!

Bashar