Radiothon to Rescue Vital Arc Programs

Posted on April 3, 2009 3:53 pm

Where do parents turn when they learn their newborn has been diagnosed with a developmental disability or delay? Who provides essential therapeutic services, connects them to community resources, and answers their millions of questions?

If they're fortunate enough to be within the service area of The Arc of Warren County, they have Project First Step, The Arc's early intervention program. This 30-year-old service has served as a safety net for parents learning to adjust to a child's disability since it began in 1979. Since that time, hundreds of Warren County families have survived the darkest hours of their child's diagnosis because The Arc was there providing physical, speech, and occupational therapy for their child, and conducting evaluations to assist in treatment plans and transition to special education. It also offered a network of other families in similar circumstances that helped them overcome the isolation they frequently encountered because of that child's disability.

All of that may change. Severe budget and allocation cutbacks have thrown a special urgency behind the 19th annual WRNJ Radiothon for The Arc, scheduled for Fri., April 17, said Arc CEO Robert A. Pruznick. That is when dozens of business and community leaders will converge on the Hackettstown Ford showroom, 100 Main Street, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to call their personal and professional contacts for pledges to The Arc of Warren County.

"Recent budgetary cutbacks threaten the survival of Project First Step," he said. "A recurring theme we hear among parents who have had the benefit of this essential service is "What would we have done without The Arc and Project First Step?"
 
"My greatest fear is that those new parents just coming to grips with a newborn's disability may face a very different set of options when it comes to receiving quality early intervention services for their child," he continued. "That is just not acceptable. All children, and their parents, deserve to have whatever resources they need in order to achieve their full potential as individuals and as families. And we as a society cannot afford to turn our backs on the littlest and most vulnerable members of the community."

The problem extends far beyond early intervention cuts, he added. Several other Arc programs, including advocacy and referral services, recreation programs, and Camp Warren face debilitating losses in the coming year.

"It's a tough time economically for all of us," he said. "That is why community support of Radiothon is of utmost importance this year. The funds we raise during this day-long fundraising effort will stay right here in Warren County to assist our friends and neighbors who live with disabilities every day. It's probably the single most immediate and efficient way we have of connecting our business and community leaders to their neighbors and customers with disabilities."

Radiothon 2009 co-chairmen Norman Worth, vice president and general manager of WRNJ Oldies 1510, and Jim Travis, president of SASCO Insurance Services, plan to raise $65,000 with the assistance of a cadre of VIPs who will call upon their contacts for pledges. Last year, more than $72,000 was raised during a 10-hour period.

ABC Radio Network News correspondent Deirdre Bryant will conduct "live" and on-air interviews with VIPs, Arc families and staff, and Arc consumers throughout the day, giving hourly updates on the event's progress. WRNJ's beloved morning man, Russ Long, will kick off the station's efforts with morning appeals to his listeners on April 16 and 17, raising enough money to send a dozen children to Camp Warren this summer.

"We've very fortunate to have this gem, WRNJ Radio, here in Warren County," Mr. Pruznick said. "Their commitment not only to The Arc but to all of the area's nonprofits who are struggling to serve people in need is indescribable. They set a leadership standard that is difficult to resist imitating. We have them, and our good friends at SASCO Insurance Services, to thank for the many VIPs who are responsible for helping us meet our goal each year."

Those who are interested in serving as VIPs April 17 may contact Kevin Guyette, Director of Development, at 908.689.7525 or: kguyette@arcwarren.org. Those who wish to make a pledge may call the Radiothon Hotline that day at 908.850.0600 or visit arcwarren.org to make a secure E-Pledge.