About the Nonprofit
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I am fortunate to be on the board of a charitable foundation called All Schools Special Needs. We at All Schools Special Needs are so excited to be running our 1st annual golf outing and I hope you can help.
8 years ago we started fundraising to help local children within the Ridgefield Park, New Jersey school system with Autism gain valuable tools to help subsidize their underfunded classrooms. Today our organization has expanded far beyond the autistic children to include all children with special needs in any of the Ridgefield Park Schools. Since that time, we have raised over $150,000.
Ridgefield Park is only 1 mile square yet they have over 20 classes filled with special needs children! The schools, teachers, parents and most importantly, the children need our continued help.
I am happy to say the money we have raised has funded:
- 7 Smart Boards
- 25 iPads with apps
- A special playground area with Sensory equipment
- A garden built for the children to plant, nourish and watch the fruits of their labor grow, literally (It’s important for the kids to see how their efforts in planting directly leads to the growth of something incredible.)
- Various license fees for local government
- Training and education for care takers
- Even a scholarship for graduating high school students who are able to proceed onto higher education! (If that isn’t a testament to success, I don’t know what is.)
We have also contributed to the funding of weekly trips that bring smiles to the children’s faces to places like:
- The Zoo
- Jump On In, a business that has jumping equipment that allows kids to exercise while playing
And that is just the highlight reel, there really is so much more.
When we started fund raising it was just to help. We knew there was a need and that we could affect positive change. We had no idea we would be founding or heading up a charitable 501c3 organization in the coming years. But now we have. We have a clear vision of what we plan to establish in the future:
- A home for these children as they become adults.
- A working place for these kids to go daily when the age of 21 comes and all benefits end and they can no longer be in school in the great programs they are in.
Not all children will be able to work in the field but it is very important that their efforts continue and communication never end. For those who will not be able to move on, this facility will allow them to have a purpose in the morning and keep on a routine they have come to enjoy. It is very important for most parents today needing two incomes and in this scenario one of them would need to be home with child. This charity will have teachers for education, volunteers for teaching some trades, and the goal is to find employment that best fits their abilities. Our board members are realist and we know this is no small feat but this is our mission.
