Avah Dixon as the Grinch, visiting children at their home during the holiday season. What started out as a way to make extra money in order to purchase Christmas gifts for her family, has turned out to be an exercise in charitable giving.
CURWENSVILLE, PA. – With a heart that has grown three sizes, 13-year-old Avah Dixon has again donned her green suit, spreading Christmas cheer as the Grinch, and is donating a portion of her profits to Mature Resources Area Agency on Aging this year to support services offered to Clearfield County senior citizens.
Avah is now in her second year masquerading as, presumably, the reformed version of the famous green hermit from the end of the classic Dr. Seuss story – the version spreading Christmas cheer, rather than taking it. The eighth grader at Curwensville Area Junior-Senior High School makes appearances at public events, private parties, and takes shopping trips with families in need of a little extra help buying Christmas gifts. What started out as a way to make extra money in order to purchase Christmas gifts for her family, has turned out to be an exercise in charitable giving.
“My mom and dad helped me come up with a way to earn money for Christmas gifts a few years ago. It wasn't until last year that I decided to do it and I was amazed at how many people were interested in the idea,” Avah recalled. “When I got so much interest and support from the community last year, my dad and I decided I should give back in some way. Last year we helped with the cause of Rest Inc. and this year we want to help the Area Agency on Aging.”
Avah explained how grinching works with a little help from friends and family. She said, “My mom schedules everything for me and does the advertising. A lot of the posts that are on my Facebook page are put together by our friends Phillip and Heather, they are local YouTubers that hired me for a video last year and then we became friends. My mom posts ads about a week before Thanksgiving and then people message her to make a visit appointment. Once my schedule is booked and my Grinch days start, my mom drives me around to all of the different homes. She tries to stay parked away from the house in order to make the kids wonder where the Grinch came from. I just have to pay her in coffee!”
While gift giving is gratifying for Avah, she said it’s the personal interactions that bring her the most holiday happiness. “It makes me feel really good being able to bring so many people laughs and joy around the holiday season. The reactions I get from kids and even adults make me laugh. That's what it's all about,” she said.
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MAHAFFEY, PA. – Bingocize, a popular health promotion program that integrates exercise with the game of bingo, will be offered to the public, free of charge, as part of the Mature Resources Health and Wellness initiative beginning in January in Mahaffey. The program is planned for 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays beginning January 8, through March 14, at the Mahaffey Cetner for Active Living, 958 Market Street, Mahaffey.
Bingocize strategically combines exercise and bingo into a fun game in which anyone can participate, regardless of background, physical, or intellectual abilities. It is implemented in hundreds of senior living facilities across the US. Participants can benefit from exercises in the program that are aimed at improving lower and upper body muscle strength, social engagement, health knowledge, improved cognition, and more.
To register, contact Connie at 814-765-2696, extension 318, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For information on other Health and Wellness programs offered by MRAAA, visit https://www.mraaa.life/_files/ugd/716c47_8f0550d56a214cee94971216aa0bd70d.pdf
CLEARFIELD, PA. – Mature Resources Area Agency on Aging will kick off the 2024 Health and Wellness season with a new class aimed at educating older adults on a variety of topics, including safe medication use, the aging process, communicating effectively with healthcare providers, and strategies for making healthy lifestyle choices.
The Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) program will be offered to the public at no charge. The program empowers older adults to advocate for their own health, make healthy lifestyle choices, and navigate use of medications and substances like alcohol.
WISE is a national program that has been presented in many states across the country since 1996, and is proven to help older adults improve their psychological well-being, knowledge, and attitudes about aging, including the awareness of the early signs and symptoms of depression. Participants will learn about the aging process and how to make healthy lifestyle choices, risk factors and behaviors older adults should avoid in order to stay healthy, examine how alcohol, prescription medications, and over-the-counter medications affect seniors differently and how they can avoid misuse, and learn how to use simple tools to feel more empowered about their health and healthcare.
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Giving Tree participants kicked off the 2023 season at Family Dollar in Clearfield. Pictured, left to right, are Christina Shaffer, owner of New Image Tattoo Studio; Julie Curry, assistant chief, Clearfield Regional Police; and Bernice James, manager of Family Dollar.
CLEARFIELD, Pa. - The Clearfield Regional Police Department and Mature Resources Area Agency on Aging, Inc. (MRAAA) first partnered in 2016 to create “Giving Trees” for area elderly and are again teaming up to spread some holiday cheer this season. Elderly citizens in the Clearfield area, many of them living alone with no close family members or no family at all, and grandchildren living with grandparents that are receiving services from the agency, could benefit greatly from a small act of kindness.
Each year, individuals and organizations come together to provide truckloads of gifts and financial assistance for heating and medical needs. Funding is collected and sent directly to local fuel and utility suppliers to ensure area seniors remain warm in their own homes during winter.
The Police Department and the Area Agency on Aging are partnering with local businesses and organizations to host the trees. The employees of CNB Bank, PennDOT, Mid Penn Bank, and Anytime Fitness will also have their own trees and collect internally.
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CLEARFIELD, PA. – The next educational program presented by the Clearfield Community Lifelong Learning Institute, “More Myths and Facts Regarding Crime and Criminal Justice” is planned for 1:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, in Room A131 of the Academic Building at the Lock Haven Clearfield Campus. This program is free and open to the public, made possible by a collaboration between Mature Resources Area Agency on Aging and the Lock Haven Clearfield Campus of the Commonwealth University.
Presented by Michael J. McSkimming, associate professor of Criminal Justice, Anthropology, and Sociology at Commonwealth University, the program will explore common misconceptions about crime and criminal justice and offer insight on the complexities of the justice system.
The MRAAA and Lock Haven University Clearfield collaborate each year to offer the Clearfield Community Lifelong Learning Institute. Courses are geared toward the interests of older citizens, typically lasting around 90 minutes. Courses are taught primarily by Lock Haven faculty and individuals from the community with specific expertise. All programs are free unless otherwise noted.
While this program is free, participants must register by calling Cathie at 814-765-2696.
A full listing of this fall’s Lifelong Learning Institute programs can be found at or at Brochure - Fall 2023.pub (mraaa.life) or at https://www.mraaa.life/ under the “classes” tab.
