They walked and strolled for the Arc of New Jersey. Residents from all over Hudson County gathered last Saturday morning at James Braddock Park in North Bergen for the fourth annual Step Up for the Arc, Walk 2005.
“This is the first year for me. A friend of mine told me about it and we came down here,” said Neisy Rodriguez of North Bergen, with 3-year-old daughter Alyssa in hand. “We live nearby and we felt it was something good for the community.”
Starting with registration at about 11:30 a.m., participants supported The Arc, a national agency that provides programs for the developmentally disabled to render them functioning members in society. Attendees enjoyed music supplied by sponsors the radio station WKTU 103.5, who were there the whole day playing tunes and keeping everyone pumped for the walk-a-thon.
The Arc of New Jersey is a statewide non-profit organization that offers assistance to people with developmental disabilities and their families with local chapters in all 21 counties. The Arc’s Hudson County Chapter is located at 405-409 36th St. in Union City.
“This is the fourth year for the walkathon and it is a statewide event,” said Celine Fortin, assistant executive director for the Arc in Hudson County. “This week all the chapters held their walks.”
The walk-a-thons were created to raise additional funding for the programs offered by The Arc of New Jersey. Both local and statewide sponsors and the local schools make generous contributions for the event, and then additional donations come from participants in the walk-a-thon, which increase every year.
“Each year as people get to know us in the community, we experience a 35 percent increase in attendance [for the walk-a-thon],” said Fortin.
A great day and cause
The goal for Hudson County this year was to raise $20,000, and residents that gathered at James Braddock Park, who came to walk or not, donated anywhere from $1 to $50 or more. Those who made donations of at least $50 received a Step Up for the Arc – Walk 2005 T-shirt, which listed all their sponsors.
“Last year our goal was $15,000, but we raised $17,000,” said Sandra Velasquez, director for The Arc of New Jersey Hudson County Chapter. “This year we want to raise $20,000, but we think we will surpass that because we’re expecting over 500 people.”
“Everything stays in Hudson County,” said Fortin. “There are very few programs in North Hudson, and [The Arc] has been in [Hudson County] for eight years providing these much needed services. Every donation [we receive] goes to the programs.”
In addition to the T-shirts and the upbeat tunes provided by the WKTU van, participants received a number of other goodies from prominent sponsors like M&M’s Chocolate Candies. While everyone waited for the walk to begin at 12:30 p.m., they got to munch on all the hot dogs and fruit they could eat.
Memorial HS involved
Groups of students from local schools came out for the walk, and no one made their presence known more than North Bergen’s Robert Fulton School and West New York’s Memorial High School.
Organized by teachers Elaine Martinez and Carmen Guerra of the World Languages Department and Stacy Swensen, guidance counselor at Memorial, the students donated almost $2,000 for The Arc of New Jersey.
“I just think it’s a wonderful cause, and a great day for the community,” said Swensen. “I also think it’s great for the kids to have awareness and to know that giving back is something valuable.”
The students of Robert Fulton School also became very active in their donations collections, after seeing posters for the walk around the school. Shannon Provenzano and her younger sister Erin donated about $200 to their school’s total for the Arc.
“We asked our friends and our relatives, and we had only started on Monday,” said Shannon, 14.
“My dad knows a lot of people too, and we just got the money like that in couple of days,” said Erin, 10. “So we really feel good, we like to help.”
Walkers both young and old, and even early starters in baby strollers started the walk at 12:30 p.m. and went twice around the lake in the park. Afterwards everyone stayed and enjoyed the rest of the day.
Community support
Another longtime sponsor for The Arc of New Jersey in Hudson County has also been Masonic Lodges of the 5th District, part of The Grand Lodge of New Jersey Free and Accepted Masons, who donated the food and were on hand to help throughout the day.
“We’ve been in partnership with the Arc for the last four years,” said Roger Quintana, chairman of the walk and past master of the Free Masons. “I’m the chairman of the walk and we got hot dogs, 1,000 bottles of water, and 1,000 pieces of fruit.”
With over 60 representatives from the Free Masons, including affiliates Demolay Boys and Rainbow Girls, they provided some of the tents and decorations for the walk-a-thon, which were donated by Resnic Party Supply in Bayonne, members of the Free Masons. The bottles of water they supplied were also courtesy of The Coca Cola Corporation, and the condiments for the hotdogs were courtesy of White Castle.
The Free and Accepted Masons are a fraternal organization that has been in existence since 1717, and has included prominent members including 14 signers of the Declaration of Independence such as George Washington and Ben Franklin.
This year’s walk-a-thon also offered a comprehensive child identification program free of charge brought by the Free Masons. The program offered four components of identification, which included fingerprints, a soft-wax tooth impression taken by a dentist, a still photo, and a video “interview” which show the child’s mannerisms and speech patterns. The photo and video were put on a CD and placed in an envelope, along with the fingerprint card and tooth print, which were given to the parents.
Sponsors
The walk was also sponsored by Amerigroup, The Provident Bank, Valley National Bank, Inserra Supermarkets, Inc., Oritani Savings Bank, Jersey Gardens, and participating schools throughout Hudson County. Other statewide sponsors included The Grand Lodge of New Jersey Free and Accepted Masons.
Step Up For The Arc – Walk 2005 is presented by The Arc of New Jersey in Hudson County in conjunction with all of the local chapters of The Arc around the state. The Arc of New Jersey and its local chapters compose the largest non-profit advocacy and service organization, supporting people with mental retardation and their families throughout all 21 counties of New Jersey.
For more information about The Arc of New Jersey, call (201) 319-9229 or visit www.arcnj.org.