Thanks for supporting Better Beginnings

By: centraljersey.com
Our last letter to the editor in summer 2010 was to praise the many volunteers, especially the students who so willingly gave up precious summer vacation time to join Better Beginnings. Today we write to acknowledge the generosity of many during the holiday and winter season. The outpouring of support and compassion touched our hearts deeply, especially during this economic downturn when we are all feeling the pinch. The generosity to our families was bountiful and we remain immensely grateful to our very generous friends and community.
Our families were deeply touched by the kindness of others. One parent wrote: "Thank you so much for your kind generosity. You made my family’s holiday very special. No one has ever done anything close to what you have done. It’s nice to know that there are still good people in this world that care about others. Thanks again for making our holiday a memorable one!"
Our little ones also were overwhelmed by the personally selected gifts provided. They also were surprised to have Santa visit twice! Being quite observant, some of the children asked why Santa had come twice to Better Beginnings. We told the children that since they were so well-behaved this year (and they are), Santa decided to visit a second time, bringing with him jolly Mrs. Santa, Elmo and Santa’s many elves.
Our friends have brought special meaning to this year’s gala theme, "It takes a village to grow a child," particularly for some of our newer families. I’ll share that we were concerned with how this year would play out with so many individuals facing their own financial difficulties but those difficulties did not hinder their generosity. Some of our friends who provided holiday dinner baskets shared that they were unemployed but felt that there were less-fortunate families and now was not the time to stop helping others.
On behalf of the board of directors and staff we express our most sincere gratitude to the following organizations and individuals: Debra Acker, Allen & Stults Co. Inc., Americana Diner, Maribel Arrascue, David and Celia Abalos, Liston and Joyce Abbott, Tanya Bailey, Jacqueline Bodin, Andrew Caglieris, Mary Conklin, Bruce and June Concord, Linda Davis, Vicente Elorza, Jerry Ford, Lester and Marsha Goldblatt, Michael and Maria Horta, Luz Horta, Luis Jarrin, Wilfred and Ondina Jeffers, Joan Jennings, Stephanie Kennedy, John and Nancy Laudenberger, Rosa Marca, Dennis McClary, the Revs. George and Barbara McDonald, Dolores Murphy Manfred Peil, Alexis Pineda, Elizabeth Proctor, Barbara Regan, Briana Sanchez, Cathy Tsao, Leo Van Den Blink, Michael and Anastasia Vanderbeck, Rudolph Wilson, Loida Wilson, Stacy Zapato, Brian Reiss and Ameriprise Financial, Bracco Diagnostics, Brace Place Orthodontics, Cascieri Art LLC, Circulo Hispano-Americano of Princeton, Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church Co-op, First Baptist Church of Hightstown, Live Wire Society Thrift Shop, First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury senior exercise class, First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown, First United Methodist Church, Hightstown Fire Company, Hightstown High School American Red Cross Club, Hudson City Savings Bank, Jewish Family Children’s Services, Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation, McGraw Hill Employees / HEAT, NAI Global, Pearson Foundation, Princeton Area Community Foundation, BlackRock Foundation, Piper Sulton Foundation, St. Anthony Church of Padua, RISE and Rhodia Inc.
Luz Horta Executive Director Better Beginnings Child Development Center Hightstown
Thanks for welcoming teenage son with autism
To the editor:
My name is Kamelia Kameli, founder and executive director of Friends of Cyrus, serving individuals with developmental disabilities. I also am a parent of a 19-year-old son with autism.
Recently, I approached the office at the Gold’s Gym in East Windsor in desperate need of a membership for my son. Cyrus goes to Eden Institute in Princeton. While the staff there does incorporate some physical activities in his daily program, I noticed that Cyrus needed a bigger boost in the "health department" so to speak.
Although Cy used to be made of stone, rocking a six-pack and well-defined guns for most of his adolescence, the medication he’s been on the past couple of years has caused him to gain a significant amount of weight. My husband and I figured that the only way to get him back on track was to research fitness centers in the area that would be accommodating and understanding of our situation.
But it was a difficult task to find a place for Cy. Suffering from inevitable behavioral issues that come with his disability, he has been seen as a disturbance in public. He also is non-verbal and often times communicates with indistinguishable noises that others may find intrusive or unnerving. As a result, there are very few places Cyrus can visit without feeling like an outsider. This includes restaurants, movie theaters, parks, etc.
When I spoke with Nicole Clements (membership consultant at Gold’s Gym) about my situation, I was pleasantly surprised to find hospitality and comfort in signing up. In fact, she sold Cyrus a gym pass, and then gave my husband and me free passes so that we both could supervise him at all times of his attendance. Ms. Clements took time to listen, contacted her manager and followed up with me. Ms. Clements and her team not only showed professionalism, but she emanated a sense of understanding and compassion toward our family. They welcomed us immediately. And now, all the managers on different shifts know about Cyrus.
The day after we signed up, the three of us rushed to Gold’s, and Cyrus was ecstatic to be considered "one of the guys" at the gym! To us, as parents of a child with a disability, any moment of integration is a blessing.
Of all the equipment available, Cy enjoys an elliptical most. You may find him there on the weekends now, smiling and lifting a leg up behind him every now and then for a quick break. He also enjoys the loud music that plays throughout, and the workout room where he can run, jump and flap his hands for a good workout.
If it hasn’t been overt enough throughout this letter, I would like to publicly thank the staff at the East Windsor Gold’s Gym for welcoming my son to the fitness community. We are excited to see the positive effects of this membership, and hope that Cyrus will continue to find comfort and revitalization during his visits.
Thank you for treating my son like any other young adult. I assure you, it’s rare to find a group of people so dedicated and committed to customer satisfaction.
Kamelia Kameli Hightstown
Voucher bill would hurt public education
To the editor:
I refuse to participate in a "war of words," especially when the words spouted are really just misinformation and untruths. I choose instead to reiterate facts:
Fact: Voucher bill A-2810 would forfeit almost $1 billion out of the state treasury to create New Jersey’s first publicly funded private school voucher program. These funds will NOT be spent on our public school system in a time of staggering financial cutbacks.
Fact: The Voucher bill would take public funds received from taxpayers and pay for students to attend private AND parochial schools.
Fact: The local school district is required to pay for and provide transportation for the voucher students to attend these private schools.
Fact: At least 25 percent of the money goes to parents of currently enrolled private school students. Additional currently enrolled private school students may receive the money if public school student demand is low.
Fact: The income eligibility is 2.5 times federal poverty level, about $55,000 a year for a family of four.
Fact: A parent is required to sign away their federally guaranteed rights to special education services for their child to participate in the program. That means special education students will be essentially shut out of the program because private schools are not required to provide special education services.
Fact: Private schools do not have to hire certified teachers, administer state achievement tests to all students, or even report overall academic results.
Read the facts! And after you have read the facts, please contact your assemblyman, Declan O’Scanlon, and urge him not to attack public schools and public education. Tell him to vote "no" on the voucher bill A-2810! Contact Assemblyman O’Scanlon at [email protected] and at 732-933-1591. Then, call Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to let her know that you are opposed to vouchers and to ask her not to post Assembly bill 2810 for a vote. She’s at 973-395-1166, and her e-mail is [email protected].
Our elected officials should be working WITH teachers, parents, students and others to find solutions to our state’s economic problems without sacrificing the future of education in New Jersey.
Ellen Ogintz Monroe
The writer is president of the East Windsor Education Association.
Rise helps make community great
To the editor:
Congratulations to Rise of Hightstown, and a huge thank you to Church & Dwight of Princeton, upon the donation of $50,000 for the purpose of feeding the increasing number of hungry in our area, and to others in the community for their generosity and compassion.
Such a generous amount will provide for quite a lot; while $50,000 buys a lot of food, it has to stretch over a growing number of people. I am sure Rise still needs our regular contributions.
Rise is one of the organizations that make our community a great place. Better Beginnings did not always have a local agency to which to refer its families and others in need, and we have been very grateful for their services.
We at Better Beginnings, providers of affordable child care, are very aware of the cost of feeding children since we serve breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack to our children, which we could not do without the help of our caring community. Little children need to eat frequently. They can then give full attention to learning and growing.
At one time Minute Maid supplied all the juice we could use. Upon hearing that we were losing this source, the First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown began to collect and furnish us with 100 percent juice. The Juniorettes regularly collect juice and whole-wheat crackers for the same purpose. Other religious organizations and community members joined in. This has been a great blessing, since finances have always been and continue to be a struggle.
True story: Two little sisters developed a habit of arriving at around 9:30 a.m. and coming to my desk. They were too late for breakfast and were hungry. I would walk down to the kitchen area with them, get out the milk, the cereal and some juice. I noticed that sometimes they were trembling as they sat waiting. My inquiries led me to the discovery that the girls – and their parents – were living in their car, had had nothing to eat since their afternoon snack at Better Beginnings, and were late each day because they had waited for a public bathroom to open so they could "wash up."
We were so glad that we had the resources at Rise to turn to, to help them find shelter, food and counseling. I love this community.
Bettie Witherspoon Former Executive Director Better Beginnings Child Development Center Hightstown