Tag Archives: Hall Manor

Hall Manor Hues: Sprocket Mural Works brought big, bold colors this summer to Hall Manor, a housing community in Allison Hill

In late June, the Harrisburg-based arts nonprofit oversaw the creation of several large-scale murals, a sidewalk mural and a mural on a basketball court, as well as a mural on the exterior of the Boys & Girls Club.

Before the project, over 1,000 residents were surveyed and concepts were presented. Then both local and nationally known artists were commissioned to do the painting, which stretched out over several weeks.

Here, we share a sample of the Hall Manor art project. For more information on Sprocket Mural Works, and to donate, visit www.sprocketmuralworks.org.

Photos by Landon Wise.

Mural by Rough Edge Collective

Sharnee Burnett

Mural by Osiris Rain

Maya Angelou mural by Sharnee Burnett

Mural by Miles Toland

Mural by Sarah Eberly

Mural by Dionn Reneé

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Eight artists to paint murals throughout Harrisburg’s Hall Manor community

Artist Shawn Dunwoody

Hall Manor in Harrisburg is set to get some added color in the coming weeks.

Harrisburg-based Sprocket Mural Works announced that eight artists are preparing to paint murals throughout the housing development community from June 22 to 28.

Three city artists, as well as five nationally known artists, have been commissioned by Sprocket to paint several wall murals, a sidewalk mural and a mural on a basketball court.

“We chose each artist for a reason. They were selected from more than 440 applicants we received in January,” said Lex Jones, Sprocket’s communications chair. “Each one brings something different to the project. They are all incredibly talented. It’s such an all-star team.”

As part of the project, Sprocket will paint the exterior of the Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg as well.

In preparation, Sprocket volunteers conducted significant community outreach, surveying hundreds of Hall Manor residents. Results showed that residents were interested in art that featured inspirational people, nature and a variety of cultures represented. In April, artists each presented two concepts, and volunteers went door-to-door and hosted a pizza party at the Boys & Girls Club to make the selections. A total of 1,238 votes were cast.

Sprocket’s project works in partnership with the Harrisburg Housing Authority and its South Harrisburg Choice Neighborhood plan.

Artists for the project include Sharnee Burnett, Dionn Williams and Sarah Eberly, all Harrisburg-based. Additionally, Colombian-American artist Sofia Rami will work with Harrisburg artist Reina R76.  Washington-based artist Miles Toland, North Carolina-based artist Osiris Rain, Bay-area couple MJ Lindo-Lawyer and Joshua Lawyer, and Rochester-based artist Shawn Dunwoody, will round out the crew.

Ramirez will lead volunteers and members of the Boys & Girls Club in painting a sidewalk mural leading to the building.

Community volunteers help prime walls.

“I hope these murals allow the people of the Hall Manor community to find pride and ownership in the public art that will shape their environment. I hope the kids from the Boys and Girls Club will see the power of creativity and leave the experience feeling more confident in themselves,” she said. “This mural will be a connecting pathway from the residential buildings to the community spaces, filling the corridor with color and joy.”

Burnett will paint a wall mural of writer Maya Angelou, a figure chosen by the community.

“Giving the community something beautiful and having the opportunity to connect with them throughout the process means a lot to me,” Burnett says. “I’m truly excited to experience the journey of creating this mural from start to finish. Having the chance to paint a historical figure to uplift the community is an honor.”

For more information about Sprocket Mural Works, visit their website.

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The Weekender festival returns to Harrisburg with education, music, family fun

Senghor Manns, CEO of Harrisburg Housing Authority, along with other officials, announced The Weekender festival outside of the Hall Manor Community Center.

It’s business first and party after for an upcoming Harrisburg festival.

The Weekender festival will bring educational and networking opportunities as well as music and fun to the city on Aug. 10 to 11, officials announced at press conference on Wednesday.

“We are exposing to our residents the opportunity to enjoy music, but also to experience an informed environment on what it means to create wealth,” said Senghor Manns, CEO of the Harrisburg Housing Authority, which is hosting the event with the city and Levels Ready Entertainment.

The event first kicked off in 2018, but has been on pause for the last several years due to the pandemic, Manns said.

Festivities will kick off with The Networth Summit on Thursday, Aug. 10, at Harrisburg University. Attendees will have the opportunities to hear from speakers, network, learn about career opportunities and learn how to build wealth for their families.

“It’s a great opportunity to network, learn and be around other like-minded individuals,” said Oche Bridgeford, director of communications for the housing authority.

On Friday, Aug. 11, the party comes to the Hall Manor community with a free family event from 4 to 9 p.m. There will be food, games, local vendors, giveaways and even a zip line, according to event organizers. National and local musical acts will also take to the stage, including artists Tish Hyman, Dee-1, Flau’Jae, Jonny Bliss and Leah Jenea.

“It truly brings our Black, Hispanic and all of our communities of color together,” said Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams. “The people of South Harrisburg deserve events like this.”

The Weekender will be held rain or shine and, while events are free, attendees are encouraged to register online.

For more information about The Weekender, visit their website.

 

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Harrisburg Housing Authority to begin redevelopment process for Hoverter Homes, receives federal grant

Hoverter Homes

In a few years, some public housing in Harrisburg may look a lot different.

The Harrisburg Housing Authority, along with the city, recently received a federal grant to begin to redesign and redevelop Hoverter Homes in South Harrisburg.

The $500,000 grant, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), would support plans to renovate the 233 units in the housing complex. According to the city, the project would eliminate the current World War II-era barracks-style homes which have stood since 1941 and create a modern, mixed-income development in its place.

“There’s a lot of improvement we can do for this community, mostly for the kids who are growing up here,” said Johan Soto-Santa, development and revitalization manager for the housing authority, in a statement.

According to city officials, the project would redevelop the current public housing, while also incorporating new development of housing for various income brackets.

Officials stated that Hoverter Homes was chosen first for renovation, over Hall Manor, another of the city’s public housing complexes, because it is older and smaller in size. However, there are plans to include Hall Manor in future projects, according to the city.

Over the next two years, HHA and the city will work with Chicago-based urban planning firm COLLABO to engage with the South Harrisburg community and receive input, while putting together a formal plan.

HHA will hold several public meetings, this year and next, for community members to share their thoughts on changes they’d like to see at Hoverter Homes and Hall Manor. Dates and times for those meetings are to be determined.

“This is huge because it gives the residents of South Harrisburg a say in the homes they deserve,” said Dennise Hill, director of building and housing for the city. “There haven’t been upgrades to public housing in Harrisburg since they were constructed (more than 70 years ago), and I’m excited that HHA is taking the lead to remedy those issues.”

Hoverter Homes is located in the area of Sycamore, S. 13th and Hanover streets in Harrisburg. For more information on the Harrisburg Housing Authority, visit their website.

 

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A Better Check-Up: Fundraiser to assist Hall Manor health clinic.

Like many organizations, the Community Check-Up Center has been through a lot since COVID hit. As a healthcare-based nonprofit, it may have endured even more than most.

Now, with a big fundraiser on tap, it’s looking to rebound for its beneficiaries—the underserved health community in Harrisburg.

For nearly 30 years, the Community Check-Up Center has offered quality medical care in the Hall Manor community for children and adults who may not be accepted elsewhere due to a lack of insurance or available funds. The nonprofit’s stated mission is to welcome, respect and treat all who come for care, regardless of their ability to pay.

Currently, the center serves a growing roster of around 2,000 pediatric and women care patients, said Holly Leggett, who serves as co-president of the nonprofit’s board of directors, along with Diane Voda.

“I’m an advocate for available quality care for everyone,” said Leggett, who first became involved with the center around 10 years ago. “We see patients whether they can pay or not. The health of one citizen in the area can affect all the rest of the community.”

The clinic was started in 1994 by four frustrated Head Start moms, long tired of hitting brick walls while seeking medical care for their children within their means. Initially, the facility offered only pediatric care but later expanded to include gynecological and family planning services, based on community need.

Today, the center’s busy staff includes two doctors, two licensed nurse practitioners, three administrators and four medical assistants. More staff is needed, however, as patient numbers continue to increase, Leggett said. Volunteers are restricted from assisting with patient care due to federal health rules, so instead tend to outside grounds or housekeeping, read to visiting children and other tasks.

Local author, teacher and photographer Deanne Burch began serving on the center’s board of directors and development committee around two years ago.

“I knew people on the board and was really interested in it,” she recalled.

Burch helps to organize fundraiser events benefiting the Check-Up Center, which includes an upcoming event on Nov. 13. An invitation-only fundraiser dinner kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Vrai restaurant and bar in Lemoyne.

Vrai owner Shelly Page, who is Burch’s neighbor, serves on the Check-Up Center’s leadership council and is donating the restaurant’s food, beverages and service for the event, which she hopes will raise $100,000 and gain new sponsors for the facility. Joining the effort is Shelly’s husband, Mike Page, who retired in July as a general surgeon with UPMC.

Leggett said that the center “operates on a prayer that we continue every day,” garnering 60% of its funding through community support such as foundations, local businesses and individuals. Its remaining portion is funded through state Medicaid reimbursements and the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania, a private, nonprofit “dedicated to improving health, preventing disease and promoting wellness,” according to its Facebook page.

Shelly Page initiated the upcoming Vrai fundraiser with a focus on Burch’s “inspiring” book, “Journey Through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above The Arctic Circle,” which was published earlier this year.

“I had read Deanne’s book and thought it would be a great thing for people to come and talk about it,” she said. “The story just has so many elements.”

In her book, Burch writes about a life-changing ordeal she endured as a young woman more than 50 years ago when accompanying her husband Tiger to a remote Alaska village near the Arctic Circle. The couple remained there for months while Tiger conducted a study of the area, making do without basic plumbing and electricity.

Within a span of days there, the Burches narrowly escaped death while camping, followed by Tiger suffering severe burns when their house caught fire. Despite a three-month hospital stay, Tiger’s seared lungs never recovered, Burch writes.

“I thought I had a good story because I’ve been through a lot,” Burch reflected. “It’s a story about overcoming tragedy.”

Burch will be on hand selling copies of her book at the upcoming Vrai fundraiser, with all proceeds benefiting Community Check-Up Center.

“When you get involved like this, you’re helping the people in Hall Manor,” Burch noted. “An ex-director told me our greatest need (at the center) is staffing, but in general, I believe our greatest need is getting all people vaccinated.”

The Community Check-Up Center also serves as a conduit that refers individuals to outside agencies for other needs. Leggett cited clients’ “greatest needs” as “an assurance that they have a roof over their head, food on the table, medical care and a chance for life.”


The Community Check-Up Center is open weekdays at 38 Hall Manor Pl., Harrisburg. For information, visit
www.communitycheckupcenter.org or call 717-233-1700.

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Music, community, education take the stage during 4-day Weekender festival

One of many performers during last year’s Weekender festival. Photo credit: Harrisburg Housing Authority

For a second straight year, the Harrisburg Housing Authority (HHA) is bringing its resources and music to the community with its Weekender festival, a four-day celebration designed to educate, entertain and uplift.

The multi-faceted event will be packed with live performances, food and educational resources for residents.

“This was a great opportunity for us to hold a cross-venue celebration where we take our residents out into the general community and invite everyone else onto our property as well,” said Casey “Oche” Bridgeford, HHA’s director of communications and compliance.

HHA is kicking off the event with a “NetWorth” summit at the Hilton Harrisburg. The summit provides attendees with the “ins and outs of entrepreneurship and wealth-building,” according to its website. Speakers from 100 Percent Financed, Black upStart, BB&T and Penn State will host sessions on starting your own business, credit management and more.

“This is a great opportunity for them to come out and learn the nuts and bolts of getting started,” Bridgeford said. “We want to put all those resources in one place.”

Friday, the second day of the Weekender, is “Community Day,” hosted in Hall Manor. Along with music by DJ Beauty and The Beatz and Johnny Bliss, HHA will have kids’ activities, health screenings and a school supply giveaway.

The last two days are the Weekender’s “Music in the Park” in Reservoir Park. Performers include international jazz artist Laurin Talese, two-time Grammy-nominated singer Case, as well as local artists such as Lady Shakespere, Maschine Life, The Singer’s Lounge and more.

HHA started its Weekender events last year with the goal of bringing the community together and highlighting some of the programs and services that HHA offers. According to Bridgeford, HHA houses more than 5,000 residents, which amounts to about 10 percent of Harrisburg’s population. Some of the programs offered include a Summer Team Program that pays youth to work in the community doing beautification, a food pantry and a free clinic.

“It’s really an enriching experience. From the beginning to the end, [the event] is packed full of resources for attendees to enrich their lives,” Bridgeford said. “That’s what we want to do at the end of the day.”

The Weekender event runs Thursday, Aug. 15 to Sunday, Aug, 18. For more information visit www.weekenderhbg.com.

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Quarter Century of Care: Community Check-Up Center has offered South Harrisburg medical care for 25 years.

Twenty-five years ago, four mothers with kids in Head Start realized how difficult it was get quality, accessible healthcare for their own children.

How difficult it must be, then, for parents in under-served communities, with access to far fewer resources.

Thanks to their initial efforts, the Children’s Check-Up Center opened its doors in Hall Manor in 1994. In addition to its convenient location, the facility aimed to provide quality care to many uninsured families in need.

Now named the Community Check-Up Center of South Harrisburg (CCUC), the facility remains in that same single unit of Hall Manor, offering free, complete women’s and children’s health care and family planning under one roof.

With a staff of about a dozen full- and part-time medical and support personnel, CCUC provides 4,000 pediatric, women’s healthcare and family planning visits per year.

The community-based nonprofit will celebrate its 25th anniversary in September with a celebration and fundraiser, seeking greater visibility for their important mission and asking the larger Harrisburg community for its support.

Holly Leggett, vice president of CCUC’s board of directors, is helping to lead that charge.

“We never have time to promote what we do,” she said. “We just have time to do what we do. When you go up to Hall Manor, there aren’t too many bright spots. But at least there’s this little place that’s there to serve the community.”

 

Same Respect

Attorney Peter Zurflieh, now with the Community Justice Project, handled the center’s incorporation and legal start-up. He then remained involved and served as board chair for 10 years.

“We had a great relationship with the neighborhood from day one and knew [CCUC] was meeting a need that wasn’t getting met elsewhere,” he said.

Zurflieh said the Head Start moms were seeking a facility where children would be “treated with the same respect and dignity as a patient in a private doctor’s office.”

Linda Hengst serves as CCUC practice manager. She has watched the local need for medical services for the uninsured increase over the 11 years she’s been with the center. According to Hengst, at least 75 percent of the women they treat fall into the free service category.

Their primary funding source, about 59 percent, comes from fees for service, from patient payments, insurance compensation or Title X federal grant funding, according to Hengst.

“Our philosophy at the center remains the same, that everyone deserves the same care that someone with insurance would receive,” Hengst said.

She said that their small size allows for personalized care, and the fact that most of the medical providers have been on staff for 20 years or more enables continuity of care. She noted that the medical staff is bilingual, helping to strengthen patient-provider communication and trust.

 

Growing Needs

One long-time supporter serves as medical director of obstetrics and gynecology and family planning.

Dr. Gwen Gentile first recognized the need for adding women’s care to the center’s services in 1997 and has been a staff or volunteer provider ever since. The 83-year-old doctor has made it her life’s mission to educate women on family planning and ensure those looking to utilize preventative methods have them available.

Ann Froehlich is another long-serving volunteer. For the last 15 years, she has spent an afternoon each week reading to children in the compact waiting room. Froehlich, who got involved through the Dauphin County Medical Society Alliance, said that they continue to support the CCUC through grants, donations from Walk for a Healthy Community and book donations. Froehlich likes that her time now includes letting children pick a book to take home.

“They especially like the phonics and math workbooks,” she said. “I think this helps to allay their apprehension of going to the doctor.”

Hengst said that she sees the center impact lives in two cyclical ways.

“We have parents bring their kids here who were once pediatric patients themselves growing up,” she said. “We also have a lot of former pediatric patients who have reached puberty and now come for women’s education and family planning.”

The center offers additional services through community partnerships.

A domestic violence counselor is on hand weekly through a partnership with the YWCA, and the CCUC participates in a pilot program through United Way called Contact Care, to help eligible uninsured obtain insurance. Through the Healthy Woman program with the Family Health Council of Pennsylvania, breast and cervical cancer testing and follow-up care are offered free of charge.

The CCUC recently celebrated its 25-year partnership with the Harrisburg Housing Authority, which provides rent-free space.

“They are living with us,” said Emily Leader, chair of the HHA board of commissioners.

According to Leader, Hall Manor and the adjacent Hoverter Homes represent the largest population of city public housing community in terms of numbers and density. CCUC continues to work with the Housing Authority as they seek to relocate to a larger space in South Harrisburg to meet growing patient needs.

The Community Check-Up Center 25th Anniversary Celebration, “Stand Up for the Check-Up Center,” takes place Sept. 20 at the Country Club of Harrisburg. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.communitycheckupcenter.org.

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Harrisburg to seek grant funding for road, recreation projects

Proposed improvements to part of the Market Street corridor in Harrisburg

Harrisburg expects to apply for grants for several infrastructure projects, as it makes plans for improvements to roads, sidewalks and recreational spaces.

At tonight’s work session, the administration will make a pitch to City Council for submitting three separate grant applications.

The largest, a $2.24 million grant request to the Commonwealth Financing Authority, would help fund a series of improvements downtown along Walnut, Market and Chestnut streets.

“It’s for road diets, bike lanes, paving and general improvements,” said city Engineer Wayne Martin, who noted that this is the fourth time that the city has sought funding for what is now called the “Harrisburg East-West Multimodal Connection Project.”

Other improvements would include traffic signal upgrades, new crosswalks, bump-outs and green areas.

According to Martin, the city hopes to build on the improvements now taking place along the 3rd Street corridor, which includes new curbs, lighting, sewers, ADA-accessible ramps and pavement, among other work.

The idea, he said, is to improve several critical north/south corridors, including the portion of Market Street between the train station and Cameron Street. Both the city and the state hope to revitalize those largely abandoned blocks on Market Street by better controlling flooding, adding green space and relocating the city’s bus transfer station to the area.

“We’re going to make a concentrated effort to make this [grant] happen,” he said.

The administration also is seeking council approval to apply for two smaller grants focused on recreation.

The first would offer match funding for the planned Chutes & Ladders playground in Reservoir Park, a $600,000 project that is part of the Reservoir Park Master Plan.

In April, the city submitted an application for a $250,000 grant to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to build the playground. That grant, though, requires a one-to-one funding match, which the city hopes to obtain through a $250,000 grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

Another project, if it came to fruition, would mean a major change to the city’s summer recreation for its young people.

The administration hopes to apply for a $50,000 grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to conduct a feasibility study for replacing the city’s two public swimming pools with spray park/splash pad installations.

In recent years, the two pools—at the Jackson Lick and Hall Manor public housing projects—have been closed often due to leaks and other problems. According to Martin, the pools are nearing the end of their lifespans, and the cost of replacing them is prohibitive. Therefore, the city is searching for more affordable options.

“Every year, we spend tens of thousands of dollars to Band-Aid them,” he said. “The feasibility study would look at the new aquatic facilities and what they would cost.”

Currently, both pools are slated to open for the season in mid-June.

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Citing population shifts, Dauphin County urges Harrisburg to adopt new ward, voting maps

The Ward 4 polling station in Harrisburg

A Dauphin County official made a pitch on Tuesday night to change and streamline Harrisburg’s ward map, a plan that would slash the number of wards in the city by two-thirds.

Jerry Feaser, the county’s director of the Bureau of Registration and Elections, briefed City Council on a proposal to cut the number of city wards from 15 to five.

He cited several factors for the proposed change, including population shifts that have created uneven voter distributions in the city and an effort to ensure that polling places are compliant with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act.

“I am here to respectfully ask that the city and the Dauphin County Bureau of Registration and Elections work together on a plan to make improvements to the voting districts that comprise the City of Harrisburg,” he said.

Under the county’s plan, cutting the number of wards also would reduce the number of voting precincts in the city, which now stands at 28. Instead, each of the five wards would have five precincts, for a total of 25.

Over four decades, Feaser said, 42 election districts were whittled down to the current 28, as populations kept changing and shifting.

“We have arrived at a situation where some of the district lines just don’t make sense,” he said.

For examples, Feaser cited the fact that busy State Street bisects Ward 8 and that Hall Manor sits in two different wards.

He further said that the five new wards then could be used by the Court of Common Pleas to create new magisterial district judge boundaries.

The current Harrisburg precinct map (left) and Dauphin County’s proposed map (right)

Feaser’s presentation was one step in what could be a drawn-out process.

City Council would need to approve the appointment of a five-member commission, which would firm up a new map that may or may not comport with the county’s current proposal. Both council and the county commissioners then would need to approve the map. Lastly, it would go before voters for their approval.

Feaser emphasized that his plan was just “a starting point.”

“The creation of ward lines is totally within the authority of the city,” he said.

Feaser said that a plan probably would not finalized and ready for a vote by residents until the November 2021 general election. It made sense, he said, to wait for the results of next year’s U.S. census, which could significantly alter the population count and the distribution of residents within the city. Therefore, the first use of the new ward map wouldn’t take place until 2022, at the earliest.

“There really is time to absorb this and think about it,” said city Solicitor Neil Grover.

Even if the ward map isn’t changed, Feaser told council that his office will need to reconsider where some residents cast their votes, as a number current polling stations cannot be made ADA compliant and/or because several buildings may not be available any longer for voting.

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For the Kids: Artcan holds back-to-school book bag, supply drive

When it comes to seeking change or shaping society, the answer is almost always, “Start with the kids.”

Artcan, a local nonprofit organization for artists, embodied this message and created its first Book Bag and Supply Drive.

With the help of Harrisburg’s Parks and Recreation Department, Artcan plans to distribute book bags and supplies at the Hall Manor pool on Wednesday. The book bags, which benefit students K-12 within the Harrisburg School District, will be filled with pencils, paper, folders, crayons and other supplies needed for student to survive those first months of school.

“We wanted to create a charity that can directly impact children and really tap into the young people of the community and to just be connected to them,” said Artcan co-founder Shane Gallup. “And start to build something with them with an offering.”

Gallup and his long-time friend, Lawrence Williams, came up with the idea of Artcan last year. The purpose for the organization is to discuss social injustice through art, whether it’s paintings, dance, music, photography or any other forms of art.

Williams, a photographer whose work has been shown in local galleries, and Gallup, who painted a mural for the 2017 Harrisburg Mural Festival, started officially putting out work under Artcan last March.

They participated in gallery showings at the District Bar & Lounge and the Art Association of Harrisburg. Still, they felt they needed a deeper connection with the community.

“We want charity to be an integral part of [Artcan’s] involvement,” Gallup said. “We wanted this organization to serve the community.”

According to Williams, Artcan chose the supply drive because it hits close to home. As the youngest of five, Williams often saw his parents struggle to prepare them for going back to school.

“We see that visual all the time—kids going to school without books,” Williams said. “They [struggle to] accomplish anything or get ahead.”

Though born in California, Gallup was raised in Harrisburg and witnessed firsthand the politicizing that goes on inside the district, which harms student performance, he said.

“I think with what’s happening in the school district—or what’s not happening—it’s super important that the people organize themselves and reach out and show these kids what they’re worth because it’s not always going to come from the school or the establishment,” Gallup said.

All items are donated from the drive through Artcan by the community and Artcan members. Through a raffle, 20 students will receive book bags customized by one of the Artcan artists.

The supply drive will be Artcan’s first charity event, but, if the drive is a success, they hope to host it again around December.

“Come out and support the book bag drive,” Williams said. “As we reach a bigger audience, we also give back bigger and bigger.”


The Book Bag and Supply Drive is Aug. 8 at the Hall Manor Pool 100 Hall Manor Pl., Harrisburg, at 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Donations can be dropped off at the Southside Boys & Girls Club or given to Williams or Gallup. You can contact them at
[email protected], on Facebook or Instagram @artcanhbg.

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