“The three-day exhibit of works created by Arts Access artists was a moment we will never forget. We are eternally grateful to Brad and Dana Chernock for making wishes come true. To everyone at Sotheby’s, we thank them for welcoming our artists with open arms. Finally, we congratulate Ellen Kane, Cindy Shanks, Mike Martin, James Lane, and Chet Cheesman for their talents and achievements.”
Spring time brings renewal. Flowers bloom, the days are longer and warmer, and the world seems brighter and full of hope as it awakens from the long winter.
It might seem strange to talk about this as we prepare for the year-end holiday season but hear us out, because spring time provides the perfect backdrop for a time-honored rite of passage that many teens and young adults eagerly anticipate… Prom!
August 23, 2018, PEAPACK, NJ – Matheny is pleased to announce that the New Jersey State Council on the Arts has awarded a generous grant of over $37,000 to its innovative Arts Access Program. Arts Access, an integral part of Matheny, provides people with disabilities unlimited freedom to create and participate in the fine arts. The prestigious FY19 award supports Matheny’s mission of enhancing the quality of life for people with medically complex disabilities.
Part of a three-year funding cycle, the grant demonstrates New Jersey’s commitment to the arts for people with disabilities and underserved populations. The Arts Council also announced Matheny as an FY19 Major Presenting and Service Organization and presented a Citation of Excellence.
Eileen Murray, Director of Arts Access, said, “We are extremely grateful to the NJ State Council on the Arts for their long-term and strong support of the Matheny Arts Access Program. Their generosity enables us to offer our artists the opportunity to fully express themselves through the arts. Arts Access, and all of New Jersey, is fortunate to have such a dynamic and dedicated arts council.” Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Arts Access is a premiere fine arts program for people with disabilities throughout New Jersey. Support from the NJ State Council on the Arts also helps to bring the artists’ work to the public eye, through events such as Full Circle, Arts Access’ yearly arts celebration. Full Circle 2018 will take place on Saturday, November 3, 2018, and will showcase the Matheny artists’ work in the visual, literary and performing arts. Murray states, “Thanks to the generosity of organizations such as the NJ State Council on the Arts, the artists have a chance to shine and receive recognition for their artistic accomplishments.”
Matheny is also grateful to Governor Phil Murphy, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, and our legislative representatives, Senator Michael Doherty, Assemblyman John DiMaio, and Assemblyman Erik Peterson for making these resources available in order to offer these invaluable services to people with disabilities.
About Matheny Arts Access Program
Matheny’s mission is to provide exceptional care and an optimal quality of life for children and adults with special needs and medically complex developmental disabilities. Matheny’s Arts Access program empowers individuals with disabilities to create art without boundaries. Through the use of innovative systems and techniques, participants can take part in the visual, performing and literary arts. Regardless of their disability, the artists are provided with the tools and materials need to produce complete pieces of work. To learn more about Matheny go to matheny.org; for more information about Arts Access, please visit artsaccessprogram.org.
About the NJ State Council on the Arts
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council receives direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated, renewable Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee, as well as competitive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. To learn more about the Council, please visit artscouncil.nj.gov.
September 25, 2018 at Oak Hill Golf Club
Come and enjoy a day of sun and fun while raising money for the Matheny School. The Matheny School is a unique private school where children with various developmental disabilities, physical challenges and rare diseases, find a safe and supportive environment where they can reach their highest academic, social, vocational, and personal potential.
We have a few open foursomes and want to hold your spot! Please register today or send us an email to let us know you are coming and we will hold a spot for you. Registration and Lunch begin at 11:00 am followed by a 12:00 shotgun start.
For more information please check out the golf page to register or sponsor our event.
Year after year, Miles for Matheny brings together patients, students, residents, neighbors, friends, and families for a fun-filled day in the spirit of community, love, and acceptance. This year’s event was dedicated to our founder, Mr. Charles H. Matheny, who was a model of possibility. Please enjoy photos from this year’s Miles.
Dear Matheny Friends and Family:
It is with great sadness that we have to inform you of the passing of Matheny School’s first student and the face of the Matheny community, Mr. Charles H. Matheny. Charles was the inspiration and the catalyst for the origins of the school, which has become so many things to many different people, including a hospital, a clinic, a fine arts program, adult program, and group homes. Mr. Matheny was and is a beacon of possibility and a model of excellence to which all our students, residents, patients, and clients can aspire to be. During his lifetime, Mr. Matheny finished high school, learned to drive, mowed all the lawns of Matheny’s main campus, and ran the soda machines.
Mr. Matheny was far more than the sum of his accomplishments. He developed close relationships with all the staff and was interested in improving the lives of everyone within the Matheny Community. He loved to attend Matheny fundraisers and Friends of Matheny events, conversing with people from all walks of life, and he took a very real interest in the students who resided in the school that bore his family name. He attended back-to-school nights, graduations, plays, choir concerts, and museum coffee houses. In fact, anything Matheny — he was all in. Mr. Matheny was kind, humorous, and compassionate. Per his family: “Chuck lived an incredibly rich and meaningful life — a testament to the love and care that is cultivated and shared at Matheny. We are so grateful to the many friends, coworkers, and caregivers who have crossed his path and enriched his life.”
We will all miss Mr. Matheny, yet we shall carry on embodying the undeniable spirit of Charles H. Matheny.
Kendell R. Sprott, MD, JD
President and CEO
Matheny Medical and Educational Center
December 14, 2017
If you shop online, please use the link in this post and the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases.
The world outside our walls is just as important to patient well-being as our facility itself.
If you could go anywhere on a community outing of your choice, where would you go?
For our patients, the answers are as individual as they are.
For Chris, whose passions include baseball and meeting new people, he would accept more shifts at his job as a vendor at TDBank Ballpark, home of the Somerset Patriots.
For Jessica, who enjoys shopping, she would engage in a bit of retail therapy at the Bridgewater Mall.
For Melvin, a foodie, he would savor a meal at one of the hot new restaurants on the local culinary scene.
At Matheny, our commitment to our patients goes beyond providing high quality medical care and education. We also seek to enrich lives through making recreational opportunities and community outings as accessible as possible. While group outings are the norm, rarely do patients get to choose and embark upon personal outings most important to them due to lack of individualized transportation options.
The addition of a wheel chair accessible van would change that. No longer would patients be limited to large vehicles operated by commercially licensed drivers. Patients and their Recreation Therapists could together plan more frequent, meaningful community trips specific to patients’ needs that would delight and empower them, increase their visibility and role within the community, perhaps even unlock their potential.
In a hospital that also serves as their home, many opportunities are available for group activities and trips into the community with fellow patients. But how often do patients get the opportunity to take an individualized trip?
“The reality is, that doesn’t happen very often,” says Sean Bielefeldt, Director of Recreation Therapy & Adult Day Health Services. “But the addition of a wheel chair accessible minivan would mean such opportunities, both recreational and practical, would flourish for our patients.”
Take Chris, for instance. It had long been Chris’s dream to work in or around baseball, and one of his greatest pleasures is his job at TD Bank Ballpark, home to the Somerset Patriots. For __ years he has worked as a vendor serving refreshments. Amidst sounds like the crack of the bat and roar of the crowd and the smell of freshly popped popcorn, Chris enjoys interacting with fans who share his abiding love of the game. Most of all, he relishes the freedom and inclusiveness of being an active member of his community, and the pride of earning a wage for an honest day’s work.
While his family can sometimes provide a ride to work, this is not a permanent solution. For him and others like him, the addition of a wheel chair accessible minivan would make a huge difference in the quality of their lives through increasing access to the community, which would create unprecedented opportunities for personal and therapeutic advancement.
For many patients at Matheny, residing there is not a life-long prospect. “The goal for our patients is to live in the community,” explains Sean. “How better to prepare those individuals than to work with them within the community itself to develop skills and independence such as navigating curb cut outs, crossing the streets, utilizing public transportation, or making a bank deposit?” In this way, a wheel chair accessible van is not just another vehicle, but an invaluable tool for therapists to create opportunities for patient development, growth, and eventual independence.
The world outside our walls is just as important to patient well-being as our facility itself.
Whether it’s the opportunity to see their favorite band in concert, take in a movie they’ve been anticipating, get to work at their dream job, or find their place within our community, a wheel chair accessible mini-van will open up a world of possibilities for our patients.
Please join us this #Giving Tuesday to make those possibilities a reality for those we serve. Click below to help us give the perfect gift:
Dear Matheny School Parents:
Please be advised that the Matheny School will be closed tomorrow, Friday, 11/10/17 due to technical difficulties. A makeup day will be scheduled at a later date. We apologize for the short notice and for the inconvenience.
Please note that the Matheny Hospital and Adult Day programs will be open and will have normal operating hours.
Thank you.
Sean Murphy
Evaluations | Therapies | Consulting
908-234-0011 x1237 for more information
