A new standard of community values is being introduced in State College and Centre County.
“Our Community Covenant” is an agreement for students, community members and organizations in State College that can help reaffirm local values and a local honor code, according to State College mayor Elizabeth Goreham.
“The Community Covenant is something the whole town can endorse and something that we can all be in together,” Goreham said.
The Community Covenant is something that shows who people in the community of State College are and articulates rules on how the community can act, she said.
Executive director of the Centre County United Way Tammy Gentzel said the United Way is proud to support the Community Covenant.
Gentzel said that the Community Covenant allows the State College community to lay down a set of standards that all community members and organizations can abide by and turn to in case of an incident that can hurt the community.
Over the past few months, Gentzel said many organizations and people of Centre County have been saddened by the events that have taken place and the views that have been formed by outside views on the community. She said that was the main reason why the
Covenant was created.
“Through this Covenant, we can figure out a way to reaffirm our values, and how we want to be treated,” she said. “It is our responsibility to reframe how people look at the events and show how compassionate we are, and how we can respond to a future crisis if something ever happens again.”
Centre Foundation is another supporter of the Community Covenant, Program Assistant Erin Rowleysaid. She said there is no better time to get involved in the Covenant and what it stands for.
“All of us have been deeply affected by the events of the last year, and we want to make living in Centre County a safe and positive experience,” Rowley, a former Collegian staff member, said.
Gentzel also said that United Way was one of the first organizations to support and sign the Community Covenant.
The Covenant kicked off in April and will be reaffirmed Oct. 13, at the “Our Community” Day, which will feature a ceremonial signing of the covenant and a promotion of ideas, Rowley said.
All groups and organizations that signed between April and October will be introduced then, Gentzel said.
Rowley said that hopefully this Covenant will be beneficial to Centre County.
“It will make everyone aware of the positives of our community, and also the things that can be changed and improved to bring us together,” Rowley said.
To sign the Community Covenant or to volunteer, visit ourcommunityday.org Link [http://ourcommunityday.org/].
