A F.U.N. Event

To the Editor:

Families United in Newtown (F.U.N.) kicked off our first meeting at the Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) on Halloween. It was a tremendous success and a lot of “fun” for the special needs children, their siblings, parents, Newtown High School Honor Society members and other student volunteers.

This F.U.N. recreation program was founded in memory of my autistic son, Tyler Jones, with the intent of offering a place for parents to come as a couple and get a break, while their special needs children are cared for by the volunteers. Many of the participants wore creative Halloween costumes as everyone played for two hours on the safe environment of the large soccer field at NYA. I am grateful that NYA has given us the opportunity to provide an awesome community service that was enjoyed by more than 65 people last Sunday. Thank you NYA!

Many thanks go to the Newtown Deli for providing a wonderful spread of food for the event. It was terrific! Special thanks to the following Honor Society students that worked so hard to develop and implement the program, as well as provide the care for the children: Brian Reed, president; Jill Jagoe, vice president; Drew Robinson, treasurer; Greg Campbell, Ayesha Dholakia, Josh Engler, Austin Jones, and Gabby Milano. Also, I want to thank the volunteer students: Brianna Carey, Travis LeBlanc, Sean Nuelle and Evan and Owen Swain. You were all great! Thanks to everyone that helped make the event special. Tyler was there in spirit and he was smiling!

 We look forward to having our next F.U.N. meeting during the holiday season. If you are interested in the program for yourself, a family member, or a friend, e-mail funforthedisabled@gmail.net.

Linda Jones

Mother of Tyler Jones

and Founder of F.U.N.

16 Walnut Tree Hill Road, Sandy Hook               November 3, 2010