Thank you, Peapack-Gladstone

Chuck Matheny and friends in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.

Miles for Matheny, according to Steve Proctor, Matheny president, is a day that, “our patients, students and their families look forward to with great anticipation, and it was particularly meaningful this year because we returned to downtown Peapack. We could not have had such a successful event without the help and cooperation of the Borough of Peapack-Gladstone. The police and fire departments, public works department and mayor’s office all went the extra mile, so to speak, to make sure we had a safe and inspiring day. I’d also like to thank all the volunteers, Matheny staff members and other participants from the community for coming out on a less than perfect day to support us.”

Miles activities included the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, a 5K run, five different cycling routes and a kids fun run, all followed by a rain-shortened picnic. WCBS-TV sports anchor Otis Livingston kicked off the Wheelchair Walk and WCBS Newsradio 880’s Wayne Cabot sent the 5K runners on their way.

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to people with disabilities in the community. Donations are still being accepted at www.milesformatheny.org.

Major Miles sponsors include: The Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner, P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.

Matheny student Bryan Desatnick with his father Lloyd, left, and mother Edana, right, sharing a laugh with CBS 2’s Otis Livingston and his son Marquis.

A scene from a past spring concert.

The music therapy program at Matheny provides musical experiences designed to promote participants’ growth in cognitive, behavioral, physical, emotional, creative, social and leisure skills.

Admission to the concerts is free. For more information on the concerts or the music therapy program, call Lynn Coyle, director of music therapy, at (908) 234-0011, ext. 249.

Michelle Struss of Franklin Lakes, NJ, applies some makeup to Matheny student Katherine Gaudio.

Andrea Szott, mother of Matheny student Shane Szott, organized a special Day of Beauty for female students and patients at Matheny. Volunteers from the community set up stations for haircuts, hair coloring, manicures and hand and shoulder massages. Tea was served, and the volunteers had an opportunity to spend time and get to know the girls and young women who live and go to school at Matheny.

This is one example of how volunteers help enrich the lives of students and patients at Matheny. Volunteers can organize projects and events such as the Day of Beauty or serve as recreation assistants, classroom aides, tutors or friendly visitors.

For more information or to obtain a volunteer application, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 282.

From left, Courtney Smith, Reagan Thomson and Jordan Smith of Bedminster and Jamie Moschetto of Peapack in the gym with adult patient Rasheedah Mahali.

“I’ve been there in years past when it was rainy, and there’s almost a camaraderie in being able to brave those elements.” That comment by WCBS-TV news anchor Don Dahler on his Saturday morning newscast the day before Miles for Matheny would prove to be prophetic. It did rain on Sunday, April 22, but, as Bedminster, NJ, resident Trish Mannion pointed out, “The whole community came out and supported this wonderful cause. Thank you for letting our family be part of such a wonderful day!”

And thanks to Peapack-Gladstone for inviting Matheny to use the gymnasium in the municipal building as a gathering place for all the wheelchair participants, who, otherwise, would have had to be outside. In fact, there was a party atmosphere in the gym as volunteers, Matheny staff members and families joined the Matheny students and patients to wait for the start of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk.

Many of the students and patients at Matheny are non-verbal. But they can still perform as part of a choir through the innovative use of technology. About 25 music therapy majors from Montclair State University visited Matheny recently to learn about  the various techniques used in Matheny’s music therapy program. One of the methods involves a midi creator system, using a computerized device to allow participants to make music with only a slight movement, or by hitting a switch. Trying out this technique were, from left: Kaitlin Miller of Brooklyn, NY; Ashley Bonilla of Perth Amboy, NJ; Megan Novak of Essex Fells, NJ; and Ashley Schaar of Toledo, OH.

Music therapy participants at Matheny have the opportunity to be part of four different choirs, which perform at the hospital and school and at a number of venues throughout the community and state of New Jersey. Other music therapy activities include an annual talent show and songwriting concert.

WCBS-TV has been a proud sponsor of Miles for Matheny for several years.  The station’s support, along with that of sister station WCBS Newsradio 880, has been incredible. Sports anchor Otis Livingston appeared in a public service announcement that aired on CBS 2 for a month preceding Miles for Matheny and was at the event on April 22 to kick off the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk. WCBS Newsradio’s Wayne Cabot was also on hand to launch the 5K run.

Matheny parent Andrew Gordon and public relations director Sandy Josephson were interviewed Saturday morning, April 21, by CBS 2 weekend anchor Don Dahler. Here’s a video of that interview.

We are planning to have the cycling events, Kids Fun Run and 5k race start at their originally scheduled times this coming Sunday. However, due to the impending inclement weather, we would like to advise everyone registered for those events to please use their best judgment and discretion regarding their participation.

Barring a miraculous change in the forecasted weather, the Wheelchair Walk will be staged from the gym at the Municipal Building across from Liberty Park, will start at 1:00 pm and follow the traditional walking route through Peapack-Gladstone.  Please note that we are making every effort to ensure that our residents and students will be provided with a safe and secure environment. We will make any other changes that we feel are necessary the morning of the event.

Adult patient Andy Lash with his father and sister at Miles for Matheny 2009.

As we head down the home stretch before Sunday’s Miles for Matheny, the top fundraising team is Jack’s Team ($4,158) formed by the family of Matheny student Jack Harter, followed closely by That’s How Scott Rolls, the team created by the family of another Matheny student, Scott Gordon ($3,463). The remaining top 10 fundraisers are:

• Patrick’s Team (student Patrick Conmy) $2,700
• Desatnick Team  (student Bryan Desatnick) 2,625
• Andy “Flash” Lash (adult patient Andy Lash) 2,585
• TEAM Kids (Ridge High School girls track team) 2,415
• Cory Mazen (Bedwell School teacher) 1,760
• Team Schapiro (Basking Ridge family) 1,275
• Christine Corratello (Roseland resident) 1,260
• Pay it Forward (Friend of student Dina Conturso) 1,115

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community. Major Miles sponsors are:  The Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner, P.C.; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.

Online registration closes at midnight on April 18, but on-site registration begins at 9 a.m. at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack.

The Bernardsville Rotary will be manning the grills, like they did last year.

The Celebration Picnic at this year’s Miles for Matheny will be held in Liberty Park in downtown Peapack instead of at Matheny. Food and refreshments will be provided throughout the day. The Friends of Matheny, Matheny’s auxiliary group, will sponsor the “Breakfast of Champions” and the Bernardsville Rotary Club will again be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. In addition to food supplied by Matheny and its sponsors, some local businesses, such as Cesar’s Corner Deli and Dominick’s Pizza, will be offering food for sale.

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny, being held Sunday, April 22, will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community. Major Miles sponsors are: Poses Family Foundation; Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation; Archer & Greiner, P.C; BP Fueling Communities; WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; and Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.

The Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk is back downtown for the first time since 2009.

If you’re planning to attend Miles for Matheny on Sunday, April 22, and you haven’t registered, on-site registration begins at 9 a.m. in Liberty Park in downtown Peapack.

Parking for all participants – except cyclists – is provided at the Pfizer facility off of Route 206 North (Pfizer Way) in Peapack. Everyone parking at Pfizer (drivers and passengers) will be asked to present a valid ID (driver’s license, passport or other government-issued ID). Shuttle buses between Pfizer and Liberty Park will run continuously throughout the day from 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Parking is FREE.

Travel time is about five minutes. Cyclists only may park at the Peapack train station, the Gladstone train station or the Peapack-Gladstone Bank at 190 Main St. in Gladstone.

There are four major activities at Miles, followed by a Celebration Picnic in Liberty Park:

• Cycling Routes at 10 a.m. (50-miles; ‘Hills of Attrition’), at 10:45 a.m. (35 miles, 25 miles) and at 11:45 a.m. (10 miles).
• Kids Fun Run (ages 3-10) at 11:30 a.m. Friendly competition in which everyone is a winner.
• 5K Road Race at 12:15 p.m. USATF-NJ NBGP 500 point event through Peapack-Gladstone on town and rural roads.
• Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at 1 p.m.

Non-runners and families can enjoy fun and fitness walking alongside more than 130 Matheny students and patients as they navigate 1.5 miles around town.

Cyclists will have a choice of five different routes.

From left, Elizabeth Revels, visiting from Alabama; Katie Jackette, of Warren, NJ; and ZEBU arts coordinator Danielle Merzatta, in front of an untitled painting by James Lane.

“The walls are so stark without art,” explained Bill Oliver, owner of ZEBU Forno, a restaurant/café in Morristown, NJ, “and this art is fantastic.”

Oliver was talking with guests at the opening reception, held Sunday, April 1, at ZEBU for “Lane & Kane,” a special exhibition of art by James Lane and Ellen Kane, both artists in Matheny’s Arts Access Program.

Lane and Kane were present at the opening of the exhibition, which will be up for the entire month of April. Both are abstract artists with distinctive styles that have developed and matured through the years.

Arts Access enables artists with disabilities to create fine art, assisted by professional artist-facilitators. Through the unique Arts Access methodology, they and many other artists are able to pursue their creative passions, no longer feeling defined by their disabilities but rather defining themselves by their achievements.

Ellen Kane in front of her painting, “Half Circle.”

Melanie Glick-Santiago, left, and Lisa Conturso visit with Matheny adult patient Paul Santo at Matheny’s Adult Learning Center in Hillsborough.

Although Lisa Conturso of Belle Mead, NJ, and Melanie Glick-Santiago of Freehold, NJ, had worked for the same company—Hillsborough, NJ-based nutritional ingredient producer Stryka Botanics—for several years, they only became good friends about 1 1⁄2 years ago. That’s how Glick-Santiago learned about Conturso’s daughter, Dina, who is a residential student at Matheny.

“When Melanie found out about my daughter,” Conturso recalls, “she decided to create a webpage for Miles for Matheny in order to get people to contribute money and participate in the event.”

As of April 5, Melanie’s webpage, “Pay it Forward” had raised $685 online. “I consider the kids at Matheny my children,” she says, explaining that he team name, Pay it Forward, means, “Do something kind for somebody.”   All funds raised at Miles for Matheny help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and people with disabilities in the community.

Miles for Matheny is an annual fundraiser and community event being held Sunday, April 22, in downtown Peapack. Activities include a 5K Race, five Cycling Courses and a Kids Fun Run. But the signature event is the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in which more than 100 wheelchair participants, with walking partners, travel 1.5 miles around town. Lisa and Melanie will be there along with other friends and supporters.

Major Miles for Matheny sponsors are: The Poses Family Foundation, Affinity Federal Credit Union Foundation, Archer & Greiner, P.C., BP Fueling Communities, WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880, Partlow Insurance Agency, Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.

For more information or to register, log onto www.milesformatheny.org; to support Pay it Forward, click on Search for Participant and type in the team name.

Dina Conturso uses a switch to activate a sewing machine, assisted by her teacher Gwen McCormack.