3 decades of ‘Friendship’

Past presidents, from left, Nancy Kalaher, Karen Thompson, Dorothy Carpenter and Linda Horton, and current president Liz Geraghty.

Dorothy Carpenter remembers when she was a “newcomer” in Bernardsville, NJ, 30 years ago. “We ran an auction to raise money for the Matheny School,” she recalls, “and it went extremely well. So we asked Matheny, ‘Would you like to have a friends group?’” That was the genesis of The Friends of Matheny, an auxiliary organization that has raised more than $3 million for the students and patients at Matheny since its founding in 1983.

Carpenter now lives in Westport, CT, but she returned to New Jersey on June 11 to help The Friends of Matheny celebrate its 30th anniversary at its annual meeting, held at the Roxiticus Golf Club in Mendham, NJ. Speaking to the group, Carpenter said: “I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Matheny. I’m just so proud of what you all have done.”

Matheny President Steve Proctor thanked The Friends for everything the organization has given to Matheny, and The Friends presented Proctor with a check for $100,000, which will be used in the coming year to acquire equipment, technology and other gifts that directly benefit the students and patients. Liz Geraghty, Friends president, also revealed that a major project in the coming year will be the construction of a garden in front of the main entrance where families can gather and relax when the weather is warm.

The Friends also elected its slate of officers for the coming year:  Liz Geraghty, president; Kathy Sisto, vice president, allocations; Helen Fallone, recording secretary; and Karen Thompson, treasurer.

Linda Horton, left, manager of The Friends’ Second Chance Shop, and Liz Geraghty present Steve Proctor with a symbolic check for $100,000.

Roseanne Schwab on t-shirt duty at Miles for Matheny.

Rosanne Schwab currently lives in Bridgewater, NJ, but she considers Peapack-Gladstone her hometown. She grew up on Main Street and attended the Peapack-Gladstone Grammar School. “Our Girl Scouts leader arranged a volunteer effort at Matheny,” she recalls, “and, after that experience, I would occasionally walk from my home up the hill to Matheny to volunteer independently.”

She’s still at it. As a marketing/public relations officer for Peapack-Gladstone Bank in Bedminster, NJ, Schwab was part of the team of P-G Bank volunteers who coordinated rest stops for the cyclists during Miles for Matheny. “Traditionally, over the years, Peapack-Gladstone Bank has participated as the Cycling sponsor,” she says. “This year, bank volunteers manned rest stops at the Whitehouse branch and at a cycling route location in Mendham where riders were given the chance to stop and enjoy a snack and beverage, compliments of the bank.”

Schwab accompanies P-G Bank volunteers when they visit Matheny for special activities, and last Christmas she sang as a member of the St. Elizabeth-St. Brigid Church choir at a special mass for Matheny students and patients. One of the students, Katherine Gaudio, asked her if she would come back and visit, and that visit has become a regular weekend activity, during which Schwab does arts and crafts, reads, draws and listens to music with Katherine and other Matheny students. “I have now become a familiar face to other students and Matheny staff members,” she says.

Walter and Mary Gronwald, Schwab’s parents, were longtime Peapack-Gladstone residents, having met after World War II at St. Brigid Church, where Walter Gronwald volunteered for 50 years. As a result, Schwab is familiar with many of the twin boroughs’  elderly residents. “They were friends of my parents, and I attended school with their children,” she says. She remembers when “Blairsden was St. Joseph’s Villa, where the Sisters of St. John the Baptist encouraged families to wander the grounds and the children would play at the reflecting pool. A typical wintertime gym class at Peapack-Gladstone was to cross the street to skate on the pond at Liberty Park.”

Matheny Special Olympics athletes Shaleena Tomassini, left, Misty Hockenbury, center, and Amanda Kochell were greeted by Rutgers defensive linemen Darius Hamilton, left, and Julian Pinnix Odrick.

Matheny athletes won 14 gold medals at the New Jersey Special Olympics, held May 30–June 1 at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Shaleena Tomassini, who will also be competing in the Special Olympics USA Games, which begin tomorrow (June 14), won four of the gold medals: 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter and shot put.

Other Matheny gold medals were won by Lee Lubin, 30-meter slalom and 50-meter slalom; Yasin Reddick, 30-meter slalom and 50-meter slalom; Jamier Warren Treadwell, 25-meter dash and tennis ball throw; Misty Hockenbury, 30-meter slalom and 50-meter slalom; and Bari-Kim Goldrosen, deadlift and bench press.

Participation in Special Olympics is part of Matheny’s recreation therapy program, which provides our students and patients with a variety of recreational opportunities and resources to improve their physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being.

Raven was visited by Bedwell School principal Amy Phelan.

The idea behind Ability Day, held at the Bedwell Elementary School in Bernardsville, NJ, on May 30, was to “Take the ‘Dis’ Out of Disability.” Fourth graders, said tech and design teacher Allen Thurlow, developed inventions to help people overcome disabilities and displayed them in the gymnasium for students from the other grades to see.

Bedwell also invited The Matheny School to have a small table display at which we distributed information. The main attraction at the Matheny table, though, was 20-year-old student Raven Bennett, who has written a book called Heart Attack that tells the story of a relationship through poetry. The poems reflect different stages of a typical relationship and the journey a person takes through a relationship.

Raven had a copy of the book at the table and told visitors how they could purchase it at Amazon.com. One visitor, Bill Fosina of Gladstone, NJ, whose granddaughters attend Bedwell, said he was going to order the book and then visit Matheny so Raven could sign it. There are currently two customer reviews of Heart Attack on Amazon. One customer, Gloria J., said, “It gave insight into a young person’s life expressed through her own poetic words. One could relate and feel the inner passions of each phrase of her life as it unfolded.” Another customer reviewer, D. Dunn, added: “I can’t wait for another book from this author. The poems are very thought-provoking and mature for someone of her age.”

Thank you, Bedwell School, for making Matheny part of your Ability Day!

Bill Fosina reads one of Raven’s poems while the author looks on.

Noreen Gomez, left, and Eileen Murray in front of “The Good Arts are Special” by Ellen Kane.

Eleven Arts Access artists have their visual art on display at the Collaborative Art Exhibition at Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School in Newark. In addition to showcasing the work of Arts Access artists, the exhibit features the art of three other organizations for people with disabilities that have adapted the Arts Access Program and its methodology: the Arc of Mercer County in Ewing, NJ; Hattie Larlham Creative Arts Program in Twinsburg, Ohio; and WAE Center of Jewish Services for the Developmentally Disabled in West Orange, NJ.

The exhibition opened in May and runs through the end of August. It was coordinated by Noreen Gomez, the facilities program specialist at New Jersey Medical School, and was launched at a reception on Sunday, May 18.

Arts Access gives individuals with disabilities the freedom to create in the visual, literary and performing arts. The Collaborative Art Exhibition is one of three four-month shows at the New Jersey Medical School, ranging from paintings and photography to sculpture, jewelry and textiles.

Neighbors at 23 Mendham Road cheer on the wheelchair participants. From left, Laura and Leah Simpson, Morgan and Debbie Infusino and Spencer Sorge.

“Finally, it’s not pouring rain or 51 degrees. You earned this.” With those words, Wayne Cabot, news anchor for WCBS Newsradio 880, sent the 5K runners on their way during the 17th annual Miles for Matheny, the Matheny Medical and Educational Center’s annual fundraiser and community event, held Sunday, June 1, at Liberty Park in Peapack-Gladstone. Matheny is a special hospital and educational facility for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities.

The weather, as Cabot indicated, was perfect. But so were the atmosphere and  overall sense of community spirit, highlighted by the festivities at 23 Mendham Road, located along the route of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in Peapack-Gladstone. Thanks to Heather Santoro, who lives there with her family, that stop, just before the home stretch of the 1.5-mile journey, served as an incredible rallying point for the wheelchair participants, their friends, families and caregivers when they saw signs that read, “We Love Matheny” and “Roll On, Matheny,” and heard the enthusiastic cheering and noisemaking.

The day, which also featured five cycling routes and a kids’ fun run, attracted an outpouring of supporters from  communities throughout New Jersey. And all the running, walking and cycling, as Cabot and WCBS-TV meteorologist Elise Finch reminded everyone, was being done for one purpose: to support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, where more than 800 of New Jersey’s children, teens and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities have access to the best possible medical, dental and therapy care.

Community resident Chet Cheesman gets some assistance from his sister Amber in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.

Jim Borelli, left, Affinity member experience officer, and Lauretta A. Farrell, assistant vice president, executive director of the AFCU Foundation, present a symbolic check to Gary E. Eddey, MD, Matheny vice president and chief medical officer, second from right, and Steve Proctor, Matheny president.

A new donation will help assure the finest possible dental care for patients at the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry dental clinic.

Panoramic X-ray equipment is essential for detecting undeveloped, crowded or impacted teeth. Because these conditions and jaw deformities are more prevalent among individuals with significant disabilities, panoramic imaging is especially important in Matheny’s dental clinic. The clinic’s current Kodak Panorex machine was manufactured in 1997 and donated to Matheny more than 10 years ago.

The Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation has donated $5,000 to Matheny to supplement a generous grant from the Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation so that a new Vatech Pax-I digital panoramic X-ray machine can be purchased for the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry. “We are delighted to be able to support such a worthy project,” says Lauretta A. Farrell, assistant vice president, executive director of the AFCU Foundation.

Dental services at the Center of Medicine and Dentistry include X rays, cleanings, cavity treatments, extractions, restorative dentistry, oral surgery, root canals, behavior management, cancer screening and biopsies. The services are provided in partnership with the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. The AFCU Foundation was created in 2005 to enhance Affinity’s efforts to give back to its communities.

Katherine Gaudio and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman.

As a member of Girl Scout Troop 60077, Matheny student Katherine Gaudio got to meet former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. Gaudio’s Girl Scout troop invited Governor Whitman to meet with them as part of “Breathe Journey,” a program that focuses on clean air and requires the troop members to interview experts in the field. When Governor Whitman accepted the troop’s invitation, other local Girl Scout troops were invited to join them.

The event was held on May 13 at the Clarence Dillon Library in Bedminster, NJ, and Governor Whitman spoke to the girls about her career and her work with the environment as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003.

Novartis volunteer Sakshi Rupayanda assists adult resident Christina Scheper.

Yoga classes are an important part of Matheny’s adult education program, which is designed to provide for self-expression and instill a sense of self-respect among our adult residents. Yoga has been very popular with adult patients because it helps them relax and takes their minds off their disabilities.

On May 8, as part of the Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation’s Community Partnership Day, several volunteers from the company assisted Matheny staff members in the adult yoga class. “Investing in the communities where we live and work,” said Kevin Rigby, Novartis vice president and head of public affairs in the U.S., “is a defining part of the culture and fabric of our company. This annual day of volunteerism gives our employee teams an opportunity to join hands in service with our outstanding nonprofit partners to help make a positive, long-lasting difference in people’s lives.

Matheny teacher Joanna Alfone helps Ari Golub and classmate Katherine Gaudio get started on one of the Miles for Matheny posters.

With less than a week to go, the students and patients at Matheny are looking forward to the 17th annual Miles for Matheny fundraiser and community event, which will be held this Sunday, June 1. The highlight is the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, in which more than 100 wheelchair participants, with walking partners, will travel 1.5 miles around downtown Peapack-Gladstone, NJ, cheered on by family, friends, Matheny staff members and local residents.

This year, Heather Santoro, a resident of Mendham Road in Gladstone, has organized a contest to see who can create the best banner to wave as the wheelchairs pass by her house and those of her neighbors. But Matheny students have decided to create some additional posters for other spectators, and Ari Golub, whose family is a major sponsor of Miles, has galvanized his classmates to make this a special project, coordinated by his teacher, Joanna Alfone.

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, where more than 800 of New Jersey’s children, teens and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities have access to the best possible medical, dental and therapy care. Activities, in addition to the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, include a USATF-certified 5K Race, five different Cycling courses, a Kids Fun Run and the “Breakfast of Champions” provided by The Friends of Matheny. Major sponsors, besides the Golub family, are the Poses Family Foundation; Partlow Insurance; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Porzio, Bromberg & Newman PC Attorneys at Law; BP Fueling Communities; Delta Dental of New Jersey, Inc.; WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

To obtain more information on Miles or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

From left, students Katherine Gaudio, Ari Golub, teacher Joanna Alfone and student Jenna Poleyeff display one of the Miles for Matheny posters they made in class.

Volunteer Sophie Robbins, a resident of Bridgewater, with Matheny community resident Josh Handler.

Matheny students, patients and group home residents brought home a total of 44 medals from the Somerset County Special Olympics, held Saturday, May 3, at Bridgewater-Raritan High School in Bridgewater, NJ.

Participation in Special Olympics is an important part of Matheny’s recreation therapy program, which provides a range of recreation choices to improve physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being. Students, patients and community residents are encouraged to take part in several adaptive sports teams throughout the year, including track and field, adaptive karate and power wheelchair soccer.

Volunteer Taylor Black of Franklin Twp. with Matheny community resident Alex Martinez.

Matheny School teachers Tina Carey, left, and Karen Deland, right, presented The Friends of Matheny president Liz Geraghty with a poster expressing the school’s appreciation for everything the group has done.

The Friends of Matheny is an organization of volunteers dedicated to providing support for Matheny’s students and patients. Since its beginnings in 1983, The Friends has raised more than $3 million to help sustain Matheny’s programs and services. At a recent informal reception in the Matheny staff dining room, to mark The Friends’ 30th anniversary, Matheny employees thanked several members of The Friends for everything the group has done.

The Friends’ gifts through the years have ranged from the purchase of adaptive and therapeutic equipment and technology for The Matheny’s School’s classrooms to the renovation of our main lobby and the furnishing of a special family dining room.

Some of The Friends who attended the ‘thank you’ reception: Standing, from left, Karen Thompson, Edana Desatnick, Linda Horton, Kathy Sisto, Dorothy Carter, Colleen Blaxill, Nancy Hojnacki, Helen Fallone and Jean Wadsworth; seated, Liz Geraghty, left, and Gail Cunningham, Matheny coordinator of volunteer activities.