NEW JERSEY
PAGE 42
The Jewish Voice
JULY 17, 2009
Special People Caring for Special Children… Rx: Time, Attention and Lots of Love “Hashem has a special place in his heart for these children…The Center is about making these kids happy… This is the most beautiful place in the world…”
BY SOPHIA FRANCO It was thirteen years in the making. What started out as three teenage girls sharing their love with a few special children turned into over a hundred special kids enjoying the best care available, any time, day or night, from volunteers and dedicated professionals that just continue to give, infinitely and effortlessly.
A
Center for All Children
The Special Children’s Center is a masterpiece. Built with the love, sweat and tears of a few devoted individuals and a cast of hundreds who supported them, its distinctive purpose is one of chesed, caring and guidance. Here is a respite for special children, their parents and their siblings as well. Here they are taught, through art therapy, music therapy and play therapy. Here they are nurtured, through the devotion of medical experts and volunteers alike. Here they are bathed and fed nutritious and delicious home cooked meals. Here, is a home away from home for special needs children where the daily order is love and quality care.
Jennifer and Elliot Tawil who have opened their hearts and their home for The Special Children’s center.
Mr. Joe Cayre and Jeff Sutton long time supporters of The Special Children’s Center enjoying the event.
The History Jenine Shwekey, Chaya Bender and Miriam Block had a dream. They envisioned a home where all this would be a reality, in addition to Shabbatons, vacations, after school programs and summer camp. Working toward this goal, moving from basement to apartment and then from home to home, on June 17th, 2009 their dream came to fruition. On an acre of land tenderly donated by the Lakewood Township sits a building that is built with the bricks and mortar that only Hashem could provide. Circumstance brought Richie Dweck to Jenine’s doorstep, and then Gabriel Chehaber. Luck brought Harry Adjmi and family connections then brought Elliot Tawil. Community caring rallied Gayle Krost, Allie Cohen, Jeff Sutton, Jukie Chehaber and their families. From step to step, from vision to plan, and from rendering to reality, we are now here, at Jennifer and Elliot Tawil’s home presenting this gift to our community…The Special Children’s Center. From Rendering to Reality It is a magnificent Sunday morning in Deal, New Jersey. The Tawil home is buzzing, sun is streaming in, people are overflowing through every entrance and the air surrounding is simply electric. The hosts are ready and it takes a moment for everyone to just calm down and listen, but from that moment on, you can hear a pin drop, or a tear fall. Elliot steps up and talks about a cause that is dear to his heart and a woman chosen above thousands as one of ten finalists in L’Oreal’s worldwide search for this year’s “Woman of Worth.” Jenine Shwekey, whose inspiration spearheaded all of this, is certainly that, and the woman of the hour here as well. He tells us about counselors and volunteers who give with love, heart and passion, and about many who helped to make this moment possible, such as Richie
Harry and Alice Adjmi receive an award from Richie Dweck in recognition of the devotion they have tirelessly put in to helping The Special Children Center and the community at large. Dweck, Chaya Bender and Norma Cohen. Richie now takes the pulpit, giving thanks to all those whose endless and timeless energy gave birth to this day, including his wife Gloria, Harry and Alice Adjmi, Elliot and Jennifer Tawil, Gayle Krost, Allie Cohen, Gabriel Chehaber and family, Michael Cayre and family, Margalit Lankry, Audrey Dweck, Mariel Kassin, Reisa Cohen, Esther Faham, Connie Shoner, Morris Antebi, David Ben Houren of the Jewish Voice, Kessler Catering and Louis from Avenue J Florist. All of them, devoting thousands of hours of energy and effort… “I don’t know where the rest of their work was,
but their heart and souls were in this Center.” He talked about his accidental meeting with Jenine, her first phone call for help eleven years ago, “We need $10,000 dollars today so we can go to Disney,” how they made that happen, and how the Center grew from seven to over 120 children in Brooklyn, Deal and Lakewood over the years. He described Jenine’s dedication, the fact that she does not take one penny from the Center and the reality that she and Chaya and Miriam mortgaged their homes so that the project could begin immediately, patience obviously not the priority.
A Home Away from Home Filling the room and our hearts now is a voice that is familiar and warm, Jenine’s husband and world-renowned singer, Yaakov Shwekey. Accompanying a beautiful song that he wrote especially for the occasion is a video compiled of the laughter, smiles and bright faces of the children at work and play at The Center. Harry Adjmi gets up to remind us of today’s most important fact, “This is all for the children…now you know why we are doing what we’re doing.” It is now time for the ribbon cutting. Harry introduces today’s major donators saying, “The name of the building is dedicated by the children of Marilyn and Jukie Chehaber who learned from their parents how to give from their hearts.” Jukie in turn thanks Jenine and Chaya, “I don’t know if there are women angels, but if there are, they are Chaya and Jenine.” Rabbi Mansour then brings to the podium Jeff and Rachel Sutton who have gone beyond generosity with the donation of the campus of the Children’s Center, “You have invested in the infrastructure of our community… taking charity to another level… given with love and responsibility, you have turned challenge into opportunity…when Mashiach comes, these children will be healed, and in eternity, they will still be talking about this donation…” A Mother’s Love Rachel Sutton, both supporter and Center parent, now takes the pulpit in what is definitely today’s most poignant moment. With tremendous emotion she recounts the years when there were no programs like this available to her daughter and other children like her. She discusses how it grew from Sundays to summer camp to winter vacations and Shabbaton weekends, all with one goal, for these children to have the maximum fun possible. “My daughter, now sixteen, has grown from camper to counselor…what pride and sense of accomplishment that title gave her! She now has a true friendship of peers…” She discussed the character and midot of Jenine and the volunteers, “Purity, goodness…I guess it makes sense, special people taking care of special children…G-d in his ultimate wisdom has brought people like these into our lives to teach our children that you can make a real difference in this world…the Center has helped to transform a real challenge into hope and triumph. It is an honor for us to give back.” Moving to tears, Rachel’s words rang true in everyone’s hearts. The Gift of Giving Harry Adjmi, in his jovial manner closed the presentation with many thanks to Richie Dweck as the guiding force behind the project, to Jenine, and to his family for putting up with him. With power and strength, he praised us all, “We were, we are, and we will continue to be the greatest community