Elizabethtown SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 14,530 HOMES
Sewing Hope for Girls Worldwide ONLINE A BY CAT SHANNON
decade ago, a friend gave Renita Yahara three boxes of outdated fabric. Looking for a use for it, the Elizabethtown woman searched for charitable sewing organizations. She discovered Dress a Girl Around the World, an organization that uses volunteer sewing groups to provide dresses to girls in need. Rather than just donate the fabric, Yahara took action. Since 2017, she and other women have distributed more than 15,000 dresses to girls experiencing poverty or at risk for human trafficking. “Having five granddaughters that I enjoyed sewing for, it was the perfect outlet for my need to create,” she shared. Dress a Girl Around the World was founded by Rachel Cinader in 2009. It is a campaign of Hope 4 Women International, which formed as a nondenominational Christian nonprofit in 2006 to bring dignity to women around the world. From its base in Iowa, the organization has spawned volunteer sewing groups across the United States and internationally, into Canada, the Philippines, Hong Kong,
FALL EVENT CALENDAR
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Volunteers sew dresses in Elizabethtown for Dress a Girl Around
See Sewing pg 3 the World.
ETN
Renewal Takes Root at High Family Nature Preserve
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BY CAT SHANNON
Rolling meadows, bubbling streams and moss-covered boulders now tell a story of renewal at the newly dedicated High Family Nature Preserve in Mount Joy Township. Once known as Donegal Highlands, this 112-acre expanse has been transformed by the Lancaster Conservancy and named in honor of the generosity of the High Foundation, The Calvin and Janet High Family Foundation, Suzanne High and Don and Lisa Clark.
Representatives from various groups involved in the High
See Renewal pg 5 Family Nature Preserve at a recent ribbon cutting
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VOL LXVI • NO 37
Love of Film Will Unite Buffs at Red Rose Festival BY JEFF FALK
Technically, films combine elements of images, motion, dialogue, ideas and music. It’s a combination of sensory stimuli that can evoke strong emotions and transport viewers to different places and times. Ryan Shank, the founder of the Red Rose Film Festival, has been theatrically transported on many different occasions. “(Films are) an escape,” said Shank. “I’ve always loved stories. I grew up on Ninja Turtles, and I also grew up on ‘Jaws.’ I love to laugh. It’s almost like therapy in a way. I’d rather listen to a story and relate to it than talk about myself.” This year’s edition of Shank’s annual Red Rose Film Festival will be staged on four days, from Thursday, Nov. 6, to Sunday, Nov. 9. The festival will include screenings of 60 films - featurelength movies, documentaries and shorts - from 20 countries, as well as a pair of formal gatherings. On Nov. 6, the event will kick off with a welcome party from 5 to 9 p.m. at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse, 112 N. Water St., Lancaster. Then, on Saturday, Nov. 8, the local film festival will present special awards at a gala from 6 to 10 p.m. at Penn Cinema IMAX, 541 Air por t Road, Lititz. “The welcome party is just that,” said Shank, a 2004 graduate of Lancaster Catholic High School. “It’s a happy hour for See Film pg 8
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