Downey residents and dignitaries flocked to the Barbara J. Riley Community and Senior Center on Saturday to participate in The Downey Rose Float Association’s crane-making event.
The theme for the upcoming 2020 Tournament of Roses Parade is “The Power of Hope.” After learning of the theme, Carrie Redfox, a longtime member of the association, submitted her design, titled, “On the Wings of Hope.” the design was inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki and her 1000 cranes. Redfox stated that in 2012 she had previously led a project at Doty Middle School, named East Middle School at the time. “Students were able to involve themselves in a charitable experience by participating in the ‘Wings of Hope’ program. They were each given an opportunity to purchase a paper crane for $1.00. In the form of a gram, each participant sent a message of hope or dedication to a friend or loved one on the wings of the crane,” Redfox said.
Redfox also mentioned the goal of the “Wings of Hope” program, which was to collect a total of $1,000, which would then be donated to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. The cranes were strung on strings, hung on a crane tree, and eventually delivered along with the collected money to CHLA to inspire hope in its patients. She added, “To have had the opportunity to bring this idea to the Downey Rose Float Association was amazing. This will take a beautiful idea and offer it to the world!”
Recently, the Downey Rose Float Association has been working hard to invite more members to the association by hosting more events and promoting themselves with social media. The association has hosted several crane-making events this year. Jeremy Clifton, President of the Downey Rose Float Association, mentioned, “The crane-making events help bring the community together and spread the word of hope, which the world needs at this time.”
Clifton has been participating in the organization for about 8 years. Regarding his decision to run for and serve as president of the association, he said, “The reason I ran to be president was that I wanted to make it a fun thing for everyone to be a part of.”
Clifton and his team are creating a positive environment for members of the community to participate. Clifton encourages the community to participate in creative ways to get out and spend time with one another in a time in which he says where no one can put their phones down. In response to the event, Tournament of Roses Member Marissia Lara said, “Years ago, I would bring my daughter to the Downey Rose Float to help decorate. Downey was the only float that would allow me to bring my 10-year-old daughter to decorate.”
Pam Lee, one of the event’s organizers, said, “Isn’t it crazy how making cranes makes you forget about your phone? The only time I saw anyone pick up their phone was to take a picture of what they just made with their hands and then they went right back to making another crane.”
Nancy Lopez, the association’s Social Media Director, mentioned, “These crane making events have really spread nationwide. We have had supporters from multiple states asking to send us batches of cranes as far as Florida. Some people have even begun challenging their friends to make 30 cranes or donate to the Downey Rose Float. We never expected this to happen, but we love it!”
Downey resident Kandy Grzebyk is the administrator of the Facebook group, “Positively Downey,” a group dedicated to spreading positive news in Downey. Grzebyk is a supporter of the Downey Rose Float Association, could not make the event Saturday morning. However, according to Lopez, “Kandy made some fun scavenger hunt collectibles for our event. It brings us a lot of joy to have the community come together like this to spread joy and happiness.”
In 1913, Downey submitted its first entry to the Tournament of Roses Parade. The city submitted once again in 1920 and took 4th place. In 1952 The Downey Rose Float Association was formed and has been an integral part of the Downey community ever since. The Downey Rose Float is one of six self-built floats that competes with all the other commercial floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade every New Year’s Day. Being a self-built float, The Tournament of Roses does not allow sponsors to be displayed on the float during the parade, so the association relies on a community of volunteers and donors to fund and build the float. All parts of the Downey Rose Float Association are assembled by a community of volunteers.
Every year, the Downey Rose Float Association invites anyone interested in helping decorate the float to decoration week, starting December 26 to New Year’s Eve before the float leaves to Pasadena for the Tournament of Roses New Year’s morning.
More crane-making events and fundraisers are scheduled for the Downey Rose Float Association and can be found on both Facebook and Instagram for those who wish to show their support.