By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
Seeking to build intercommunity connections to strengthen the bond of the Castle Country, the C.A.R.E Coalition is hosting a family movie night on Monday, Jan. 12, featuring a special showing of the Disney classic ‘Big Hero 6’.
McKenna Terry from the coalition joined the KOAL newsroom to discuss the event and the benefit they seek to bring to the area.
Opening our conversation, Terry explained the purpose behind the C.A.R.E Coalition,” The C.A.R.E Coalition is a like a substance misuse prevention coalition that covers all of carbon county and basically our goal is to reduce risk factors that youth face like negative peer pressure or easy access to substances And increase the protective factors in our community like strong family bonds positive school involvement and decision-making skills.”
Moving to the movie night, Terry discussed the rationale behind hosting a movie night: “We chose to do a movie night because we really believe in strong family and friend bonds and how important that is for our youth. And so we did that just to provide an opportunity that doesn’t cost any money. It’s just a stress-free environment for families and friends to come together and experience a night together and continue to bond.”
Even the choice of movie pertains to the messages promoted by the C.A.R.E Coalition, with Terry stating,” We wanted to choose a movie that highlighted the importance of compassion, empathy, patience and honesty. Overall, we felt that one of the main characters, Baymax, does a great job at teaching emotional health, being a supportive friend, and also realizing the value of taking care of yourself.”
Terry also spoke on what she enjoys most about the coalition’s work: “I really love getting to know all of our community members. Carbon County is full of great, resilient people who have a lot to offer. And I think that a lot of people don’t realize how much our youth also rely on adult relationships, and so I think that’s part of my mission too, is helping the adults here understand that our youth need them and that the adults need the youth too, and we can provide that energy for each other.”
Closing our conversation, Terry shared,” I think the last thing would just be I hope that anyone listening realizes no matter if you’re a parent, store clerk, sibling, aunt, uncle or neighbor, that you do have the ability to make an impact in the youth’s lives here.”
The C.A.R.E Coalition’s family movie night takes place on Monday, Jan. 12, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Helper’s Rio Theatre. The event is free and open to the public, with snacks provided for those in attendance.
