National Night Out is an annual nationwide event designed to strengthen relationships in your neighborhood, raise crime prevention awareness, and continue relationships with police and fire departments.
The successful outdoor event took place August 6 at Union Landing Shopping Center in Union City.
Ruth Estrada from Union City Police Department said, “I’m here working the welcome booth. We’re giving out free meal tickets, drink tickets, raffle tickets and backpacks. I just enjoy doing this because I like to be around people.”
More than 80 sponsor booths shared operations, efforts and opportunities at the 41st annual community celebration. Law enforcement, schools, local businesses, social services, and many other agencies participated.
Union City families enjoyed four hours of fun, information, and community building. The Fire Department and Carpenters Union shared career opportunities. Police greeted residents. Friends of Falun Gong showed seniors fitness techniques and Everything Lumpia fed the crowds.
Lee Guio manned Union City’s CERT booth (Community Emergency Response Team) “We train people at no cost how to be prepared in case of an emergency like earthquake or similar emergencies. We have classes once a month in our CERT building near the fire station on Central Ave. Everything is free and the intent is to make sure that everyone is ready for an emergency when it happens.”
National Night Out increases awareness about police programs in your area. Drug prevention, neighborhood watch, and other anti-crime efforts are spotlighted. Starbucks served free ice coffee and specialty sweet drinks for kids. Raffles, music and plenty of games for children made this a merry event.
These neighborhood block parties are a great opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate with local businesses, community groups, law enforcement and first responders. Boy Scouts, Christian Academy, Fremont Bank, Masonic Homes, and Vision y Compromiso were some of the scores of sponsors for this event.
Jeff Macaloloy from Dragons Den Mixed Martial Arts said, “We’re in Union City. We’re supporting National Night Out. This is our third year at the event doing demos. We’ve been in business in Union City for 27 years since 1997 so anything we can do to support the community – we teach martial arts, self-defense for all ages, combat sports like wrestling and boxing, MMA and things like that so we’re just here to have a good time and support our community.
National Night Out is the perfect chance to get to know your neighbors better! It’s also an excellent opportunity to help kids get the school year off to a good start. The event happens annually on August 6.
