Newtown Reached Out To The Rest Of The World In 2010

By Nancy K. Crevier

While it may seem trite to say that it is “Nicer in Newtown,” there are many examples that it is certainly true. Numerous residents devoted great amounts of time and energy to help others less fortunate than themselves, and to raise awareness for lesser known, but crucial, causes.

The January earthquake in Haiti shook up Newtowners, as well, with positive results.

Jason Garbarino, a 2004 graduate of Newtown High School and a cardiac nurse at Fletcher Allen Healthcare in Burlington, Vt., returned to the United States February 3, after spending a week in Jimani, Dominican Republic, a border town about 30 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, site of the disastrous January 12 earthquake. Jason traveled with the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, a team of doctors, nurses, and paramedics, including a trauma doctor and a pediatrics ICU doctor, to provide health care to the island residents. “The whole problem, the whole sad part,” he said, “is what happens to these people next? It’s a chronic issue.”

On April 30, through the efforts of Trinity church school minister Sue Vogelman and church school teachers Ben Toby, Priscilla Jones, and Mary and Rick Chamiec-Case, Trinity youth sponsored a special talent show at the Blue Z Coffeehouse to raise funds for the rebuilding of Ecole de Bon Samaritan (Good Samaritan School) in Carrefour, Haiti. The school, started in 1996 by an Episcopalian priest, Jean-Elie Millien, formerly of Stamford, was damaged beyond use in the January 12 earthquake.

Amy Thomas returned November 13, from Furcy, Haiti, traveling with a group under the umbrella of the United Methodist Church, New York Conference. For Ms Thomas, a member of the Newtown United Methodist Church (NUMC) and an office manager for Kenny’s Oil Company in Newtown, the nine-day trip was the second mission she had accompanied to Haiti. Each team was responsible for raising money used to support projects — building a latrine, in November — purchase supplies, and to pay two Haitian workers, per volunteer on the team, for work done the days the team is on site. “Plus, we feed them,” said Ms Thomas, whose job on the team was to manage finances. Knowing that she can make even a small difference has inspired her to continue assisting missions to Haiti. Despite the dire circumstances that the natives of Haiti endure, what impressed her on both visits, she said, was the immense pride conveyed by the people of Haiti.

Those who went to assist in Haiti were also in great need. Nancy Schreiner, administrative assistant to the fire marshal, set up the box in the Newtown Municipal Center to collect donations for troops stationed in Haiti this winter. The effort was near and dear to Ms Schreiner, as her oldest son, Geoff, in the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, was stationed in Haiti. Newtowners responded, donating everything from hand sanitizer to acne medication wipes (which cut through grime/grease better than baby wipes), to flavored drink packets and chewing gum to help make life a little more comfortable for the troops.

Newtowners received an education in canine cancer when Luke Robinson and his two Great Pyrenees dogs strolled into town in February. Their goal is to raise awareness about the epidemic of companion pet cancer and the potential for elimination of cancer in pets and humans that may be found in comparative oncology research. Mr Robinson and his dogs, Hudson and Murphy, began their trek in Austin, Texas, March 2008, and ended June 18, in Boston. Mr Robinson dedicated the walk to the memory of his late dog, Malcolm, and to the eradication of cancer in pets and people. Sadly and ironically, just after the trio finished their journey, Murphy was diagnosed with nasal cancer, but with treatment, continues to fight the fight.

She started out building houses for her Barbie dolls out of books, but Kate Daugherty, a 2004 Newtown High School graduate and a senior at the University of Hartford, spent some time in 2010 building structures to build lives. An architecture major, Kate traveled to Guacamayo, Panama, where she and 17 fellow architecture students spent a little over a week doing site studies and creating building plans that will culminate in a unit that villagers there can rent to surfers visiting the rural coastal community.

In just one month this spring, 15-year-old twins Tyler and Jason Sherwood, and their mother Heather Sherwood, collected seven large boxes of toys, books, DVDs, and other items, most of them from a box they placed at Brookfield Lanes, where Tyler and Jason bowled on the fall and winter bowling league. The activities were donated to Yale Children’s Center at the Yale Children’s Hospital in New Haven, along with additional items that they collected from boxes set up in Newtown. Tyler was born with multiple health issues, Ms Sherwood said, and has had many outpatient procedures at Yale Children’s Hospital over the years. “When I see children there who can’t go home, I think that if I can do something for them, their lives will be better,” said Tyler.

A 200-Mile Relay

Eleven Newtown mothers and one woman from Southbury teamed up to run a 200-mile relay, from Yale University in New Haven to Harvard University in Boston, May 21, that ended Saturday afternoon, May 22. Dana Roth, Mandi Poseno, Emily Snayd, Nicole Karnas, Jeanine Parsons, Laura Nowacki, Brandi Shelton, Chi Ryder, Denise Passano, Patrice Wrage, Zoey Haddick, and Jenn Giles are the “Merrell Mamas” who ran night and day, rain or shine, on pavement and over trails, dedicating their effort to support the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, through the donations they received. Since then, the Mamas have continued training. Chi Ryder is joining other Connecticut women to run in the Ragner Relay in the Florida Keys in January, and the original Merrell Mamas are preparing to run in the New York Ragner in May.

Newtown residents were surprised on Monday, June 7, to see a 6-foot canvas ball decorated to look like the Earth being rolled down Main Street by two men and a dog. Erik Bendl, his 19-year-old son, Ethan, and Nice the dog, of Louisville, Ky., had the “world on a string,” as Mr Bendl said of the Earth ball tethered to his wrist, for a good cause. After losing his mother, Kentucky state representative Gerta Bendl, to diabetes-related illnesses in 1987 at the relatively young age of 54, and then observing how his uncle has led a long and productive life with well-managed diabetes, Mr Bendl has spent the last several summers “moving the Earth” to increase awareness about diabetes. Newtown was one of many Connecticut towns that saw the Earth moved this summer.

A Great Rickshaw Run

How hard would it be to convince your two best friends to spend between $4,000 and $5,000 each to squeeze into an open-air, golf cart-sized, seven-horsepower, three-wheeled vehicle prone to breaking down, and drive across India from Gagtok, Sikkim, to Jaislamer, Rajasthan? “Shockingly, not at all,” said 2001 Newtown High School graduate Brianna Limebrook. Brianna, her Boston University roommate Kate DeWald, and their friend Jim Matheson participated in what may be one of the strangest charity events in the world last September 11 to 26, when they joined other teams from around the world, racing across deserts, mountains, and jungle terrain in a two-week trek to support charities, as part of the Autumn 2010 Rickshaw Run. The “Raiders of the Lost Tuk” as the threesome named their team (an auto-rickshaw is also known as a “tuk-tuk”), selected Friends of the Maiti Nepal, an organization that works to stop the trade of girls across the Nepalese border into prostitution, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It was a grueling but successful ride for the trio, who officially crossed the finish line (after their one and only break down 100 meters from the finish line) in the heart of the Jaisalmer fort at 2 pm, September 24, as Team #26 of 66 to cross the finish line — and not to mention, raising thousands of dollars for their causes.

Through the efforts of Reed Intermediate School fifth grade teacher Gina Swanson and her family, parents Bob and Maria DeCesare of Trumbull and sister Lisa Tilson of Stratford, Zumba fans “cha-cha-cha-ed” for a cause, September 10, when the American Society For Scleroderma Research (ASFSR) hosted a Master Zumba Class fundraiser at the school on Trades Lane. The DeCesares are board members of the group, and have close friends who must contend with this autoimmune disease that affects 300,000 people in the United States. Increased production of collagen causes the skin to thicken, and replaces normal skin structure with scar tissue. Scleroderma can affect blood vessels, lungs, kidneys, the intestinal tract, and other organs, and is a life-threatening disease, with no cure.

Sisters On The Run

When Rebecca Pollock, who grew up in Newtown, was diagnosed August 23, 2006, with chronic myeloid leukemia, she set her mind to not giving in to the diagnosis of the uncommon type of cancer of the blood cells. The diagnosis put Rebecca, her parents Cindy and Paul Pollock, her brother Jeremy, and most of all, her three sisters, on the run — for charity, that is. On a list of goals Rebecca had made up for herself nearly a decade earlier, while in the Peace Corps, was her desire to run in the New York City Marathon, and on November 7, with sisters Amy, Sarah, and Amanda at her side, she did just that. The sisters have run in many charitable events since Rebecca’s diagnosis, and have raised more than $50,000 to support research on chronic myeloid leukemia

Several other Newtowners trotted down city streets, as well, in the marathon. Lori Griffin, featured in The Newtown Bee “Snapshots” in 2010, ran in the November 7 NYC Marathon in support of the Cornelia DeLang Foundation. Her daughter, Emily, 7, has this rare developmental delay disease. The run raised $25,000 for the foundation.

Newtown resident Amy Griffin is running to make a difference for someone she has never met. A runner for about a year now, Amy has signed up to take on the Disney’s Princess Half Marathon in Disney World this coming February. “I had posted on Facebook that I was looking for my friends to send me the name of a little girl who deserved a trip to Disney, and why,” Amy tells me. Rena Rose Malcolm and her family, of Florida, were introduced to her by a mutual friend. Four-year-old Rena has been diagnosed with cancer of the kidneys. “She has endured radiation, chemo, and numerous blood transfusions since June 2010. I knew immediately this was the little princess I would run in honor of. And ironically enough, when I began reading her mom’s journal entries on CaringBridge, her family refers to her as a Warrior Princess,” Amy says.

Dan Telesco and Anita Pettengill went into the business of giving in 2010. The Sandy Hook residents have started an organization to recycle unwanted items to those in need. Make A Home Foundation is dedicated to providing free furniture, appliances, clothing, and other items to veterans, families, and individuals who are homeless, either due to temporary circumstances or those problems that are on-going. Pickups or a time for drop-offs can be arranged by calling 203-270-5501.

Thousands more residents, as well, took part in local charitable events throughout 2010, reaching out to neighbors and to strangers in need. It is a trend of goodwill that is certain to carry over into 2011, because in Newtown, there is the privilege of being nicer.