Pictured is a young”subject” taking a personal”time out” during Photo Day at Brighter Tomorrows Children’s Academy at Central High School in Newark. Photos of the babies and toddlers, and in some cases their families, were taken by Kathryn Colao and her enthusiastic volunteer assistant, Caroline Westdyk. Caroline had her work cut out for her as she”wrangled” the toddlers into sitting still just long enough to snap a pic. It was an exhausting morning! Individual and class photos will be presented to the teen parents as a gift from the Christ Child Society of Summit.
Thank you to all of our members who so generously gave of their time, treasure, and talents this December in helping with the Advent Giving Tree at St. Teresa’s and the Christmas party and gifts for the teens and babies at Central High School in Newark. As you may know, the Advent Giving Tree provides the babies at Central with gifts for Christmas. The director of the Center at Central High School wrote:
“I would like to thank the members of Christ Child Society of Summit for the generous donation of Gifts, Goodies and the luncheon you all provided for the Teen parents, the children and the staff at Central High. Without the support of CCSS I cannot provide these social events to the families we serve.
Please pass on this message to all and Merry Christmas to you all.
On behalf of the Teen parents and Staff at The Infant and Toddler Early Learning Center at Central High School, Thank you very much for all your support throughout the year.”
May God bless you and keep you safe during your travels this Christmas and give you peace in the new year.
Our 2013 Rummage Sale was held on Saturday, October 19th in Memorial Hall from 8 am to 2 pm. Thank you to the scores of people who donated their treasures, to those who gave these treasures a new life by purchasing them, and to the many volunteers who made it all run smoothly. “Customers” were lined up outside our doors for our 8 am opening, and the crowds kept coming until we closed the doors at 2:00 pm! Read more...
It was a successful day all around! Many people got to recycle their “treasures,” and many others got to snatch up those treasures at bargain basement prices! Our young volunteers also ran a successful bake sale, adding to our proceeds. This event has come to be much anticipated by the community. Proceeds will go to fund our programs for children, including our layette program, our school supplies program, and our Christ Child Society scholarship.
Just in time for school, 323 children eligible for free and reduced lunches received new backpacks and school supplies. For the fifth year, the Christ Child Society of Summit and Bridges Outreach collaborated to collect hundreds of binders, spiral and composition notebooks, pens, pencils and much more. In addition, $2,500 worth of additional supplies were purchased from funds raised by both groups. It is estimated that each child received supplies valuing $65. Parents were able to take the financial resources that would have been used for school supplies to pay for food, rent, and other necessities.Read more...
More than twenty volunteers assisted the children during distribution this August. Thanks to a grant from the Summit Area Public Foundation, every child received a new backpack. Bridges, along with Mondo, Hilltop Bank, Coldwell Banker, Lois Schneider Realty, and St. Teresa’s served as donation points for school supplies. Adding to the summer donations, students were asked to contribute supplies before leaving for summer vacation. “This has become a community event. It’s nice to see Summit come together to help its children,” commented Sally Golding and Jane Murphy, co-chairs of the event.
Just in time for school, 323 children eligible for free and reduced lunches received new backpacks and school supplies. For the fifth year, the Christ Child Society of Summit and Bridges Outreach collaborated to collect hundreds of binders, spiral and composition notebooks, pens, pencils and much more. In addition, $2,500 worth of additional supplies were purchased from funds raised by both groups. It is estimated that each child received supplies valuing $65. Parents were able to take the financial resources that would have been used for school supplies to pay for food, rent, and other neccessities.Read more...
- See more at: ./index.php?cID=1059#sthash.JXa2Dfdj.dpuf
Just in time for school, 323 children eligible for free and reduced lunches received new backpacks and school supplies. For the fifth year, the Christ Child Society of Summit and Bridges Outreach collaborated to collect hundreds of binders, spiral and composition notebooks, pens, pencils and much more. In addition, $2,500 worth of additional supplies were purchased from funds raised by both groups. It is estimated that each child received supplies valuing $65. Parents were able to take the financial resources that would have been used for school supplies to pay for food, rent, and other neccessities.Read more...
- See more at: ./index.php?cID=1059#sthash.JXa2Dfdj.dpuf
Just in time for school, 323 children eligible for free and reduced lunches received new backpacks and school supplies. For the fifth year, the Christ Child Society of Summit and Bridges Outreach collaborated to collect hundreds of binders, spiral and composition notebooks, pens, pencils and much more. In addition, $2,500 worth of additional supplies were purchased from funds raised by both groups. It is estimated that each child received supplies valuing $65. Parents were able to take the financial resources that would have been used for school supplies to pay for food, rent, and other neccessities.Read more...
- See more at: ./index.php?cID=1059#sthash.JXa2Dfdj.dpuf
The Christ Child Society of Summit awarded its first annual scholarship on June 12, 2013, to Jackie Balandiuk, a Summit High School senior who will attend Boston University this fall to study psychology. The Scholarship is awarded to a High School senior who lives or attends school in Summit, is in good standing academically, who has volunteered or worked with children, and is continuing their education after high school. Read more...
Special thanks to our 2013 Scholarship committee - Maura Perier, Christina Amundson, Allison Lees, Bev Luehs, and Jackie Browne for reading and evaluating the many applications we received, in a short time frame. Thank you!
Pictured above L to R: Christ Child Co-President Kathryn Colao, SHS Director of Guidance Dr. John Schnedeker, Christ Child Board member Maura Perier, Recipient Jackie Balandiuk, Vanessa Balandiuk, Christ Child Co-President Lori White, and Christ Child Board member Christina Amundson.
The day before Valentine’s Day, an “angel” called me out of the blue and said “Someone gave me 5 large boxes of bibs...does Christ Child know anyone who can use them?” Did we ever!! Since the start of the school year, the staff at the Infant and Toddler Early Learning Center at Central High School in Newark has been asking if we could get them bibs, LOTS of them, since the babies go through them so quickly, and they tend to get pretty yucky, pretty fast. Here was a gift of bibs, LOTS of them, from out of nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere. The “angel” saw our name in the bulletin and knew of our organization because her mother was a member of the original Summit chapter of the Christ Child Society. Her mother joined Christ Child when she moved to Summit from Brooklyn when she was in her EIGHTIES. She lived to be 103 years old. It just goes to show, it’s never too late to make a difference!
Christ Child volunteers Jill Stanley, Cheryl Mullery, Christie McGinn, and Sue Hubbard had a very happy Valentine’s day, sharing it with the babies at Central High. This cutie is all decked out in red hearts and bows! We also brought some small gifts for the teen parents. Candy, cards, flowers, and some treats hopefully helped these teens know that the members of the Christ Child Society of Summit appreciate how hard their job is, and how important it is to be recognized for it now and then. What better day than Valentine’s Day?
The Christ Child Society of Summit got to play Santa today, as we made a holiday drop at the Central High School Early Learning Center that would make the big man himself proud! Thank you to all of our members who contributed in large and small ways. A list of what we delivered:
Advent Giving Tree gifts - these were gorgeous! We unpacked them and they were all beautifully put together, tags and bows in place, and looked lovely. Theresa Sweeney and Margaret Whelan did a fantastic job on these and all the other thousands (?) of presents they coordinated.
Hand tied fleece blankets from Oak Knoll and Girl Scouts - we gave them 29 (20 from Oak Knoll). They had 28 babies as of last week but may have another coming tomorrow....! Maria (the director) is like the Pied Piper of teen mothers.....
Gifts for teen parents (30!) - Terry Andrews did such a great job gathering gifts, buying gift cards and wrapping everything beautifully. What a huge help, and a nice gift for these parents.
Cookies - we brought at least 6 dozen that were dropped off by members. These are for their holiday party on Wednesday. We also brought a bag of children’s CD’s (donated by Sally Golding) which were used immediately, as well as some holiday decorations.
Staff Appreciation lunch - Thanks to Lori White for ordering food and getting this together. Sandwiches, salad, chips and drinks, as well as a plate of desserts for the staff to enjoy today. The staff really appreciates this. We are like their honorary PTA moms!
Our hope is that these small gestures will help make this Christmas special for the young families and the staff at Central High School. Enjoy the wonders of the season.
Our November volunteer visit was blessedly uneventful - no power failures, errant tree limbs, or snow! Eileen Rath, Michelle Cohen and myself spent a very pleasant hour and a half in the infant room. The babies mostly like to be engaged by being read to, sung to, and held, but the more mobile ones just need someone to chase after them! The babies were adorable, as usual, and the staff was in full planning mode for their Thanksgiving feast. We were able to drop off an additional supply of diapers, wipes and bottles that we received from the Verona Women’s Club, as well as over 35 coats that we collected for the teen parents, based on the need identified by the director of the Center. Johanna Magovern coordinated the coat drive, purchasing some coats that were needed to supplement the ones that were generously donated by Summit Ski and Sport (thanks to our new member, Betty Ann Lecky, who has a contact at Summit Ski). Thank you to Betty Ann and Johanna for helping with this important drive.
I hope this blog finds you warm and enjoying the benefits of unlimited electricity! Summit has been dealt quite a blow, with no power for 5 days and counting, but we are fortunate that our power WILL eventually be restored. Many people deal with cold and homelessness on a daily basis.
Fortunately, the Halloween snow storm seems to have bypassed Newark, and our friends at Central High School had a regular school day, and their Fall Festival, as planned, on October 31st. Although our volunteers were not able to bake, or in some cases get out of their street (!) due to downed trees, we were able to collect what we had, purchase the rest, and zip it all over to Newark rather hurriedly on Monday. Imagine my surprise when I arrived in Newark looking like Nanook of the North, wearing multiple layers including long underwear, turtleneck, winter coat, ski hat, and snow boots, only to find nary a flake on the ground and an outside temperature that was easily 20 degrees warmer than inside my house! I am just glad that we did not have to disappoint the children at Central High who were counting on us to bring them party supplies. Here’s hoping that next Halloween is less horrific!
How wonderful that we were able to support the Halloween party despite the power outtages here in Summit. Do you have any pictures to share from this event?
Our first official volunteer visit to the Infant and Toddler Learning Center at Central High School in Newark went off without a hitch! Jill Stanley, Michelle Lozina-Cohen and myself spent the morning primarily helping with the infants, playing with them and holding the younger ones. Some of the older children in the infant room are walking and they played in the common area outside of the infant room on a small jungle gym, all to the rollicking tunes of Old MacDonald and the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Good times! Since the weather was so beautiful, the toddlers went outside to play in the outdoor playground. Lots of sliding and climbing - mostly over each other!
Upcoming visits are scheduled for Halloween (to bring party supplies) and on November 17th. We also plan to drop off some coats for the teen parents before the cold weather sets in. Please contact me at kathryncolao@gmail.com to volunteer.
On September 23rd, I made a quick trip to the Infant and Toddler Learning Center at Central High School in Newark to deliver some supplies that the Center had requested. We (CCS) provided school supplies for the students such as binders, folders, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. to fill 20 backpacks previously received from Bridges. We also delivered some diapers, wipes and diaper cream for the babies, which the center keeps on hand as extras.
The center currently has 23 adorable babies, and expects to grow to near capacity (32 babies) in the next few months. Every new baby who joins the center means that another teen parent has a better chance at success - namely, to finish high school, increase their odds of going on to college, getting a job, and providing stability for their young family. Our goal is to help them achieve this measure of success as best as we can.
