Kids to kids Blog
Kellogg Club Donation to K2k
Kidstokids is the recipient of the Kellogg Club’s annual donation to a local Not for Profit Organization which is making a significant contribution to the Community.
The Kellogg Club is described as one of the unique treasures of Morristown. It is best known for its Historical Preservation of the Colles Mansion but is much more. It offers year-round social and cultural programs.
Little known is their philanthropic work in supporting the community at large with an annual donation.
This year’s significant donation to Kidstokids goes beyond the financial, as 22 of the volunteers at Kidstokids are also Kellogg Club members.
Thanks, Kellogg Club for your donation! This award will support the 9 programs and over 150 families Kidstokids serves!!
K2K Recipient of the ARC of Morris Award 2019
K2k and especially our Founding Board are the recipients of the 2019 ARC of Morris Distinguished Community Service Award!!
Swim Meet Feb 2019
Kids2Kids Makes A SPLASH!
By Stephanie Crowley
February 9, 2019
The Morristown High School pool filled with a roaring crowd this past Saturday–but with a twist! The Kids2Kids Special Needs Mentoring Program bi-annual swim meet just might be the most exciting event of the season!
After 7 years of her work with Kids2Kids, Juliana Scerbo, a senior from Mountain Lakes High School and K2K Board Member, said the best thing about the meet “is seeing all the new faces of swimmers each year and the joy on parents’ faces as they witness their child’s abilities.”
Every Saturday at the Morristown High School pool, special needs swimmers are paired with a teen mentor who teaches mechanics and helps swimmers conquer fears in the water. The K2K swim meet consummates weeks of practice and swimmers get so excited to show all they’ve learned; sometimes surprising themselves!
Zoe Antonius, a senior at Mendham High School and K2K Board Member, reflected on the day’s events and noted how many success stories there are–from swimmers learning to dive in at the start of their race to swimmers like Brian, age 10, who swam his first full lap in competition.
The meet is held like any official swim meet: starters, judges, heats of freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Only this meet you will see mentors lined along the pool edge cheering for their swimmer, parents taping every race, and therapists monitoring behaviors and actions. “This is result of what is possible when teens use their talent and empathy. The program could not exist without all of our teen mentors who give so much of their time to share with our special needs kids. As a parent of a special needs child, we have to work so hard to find the right environment and appropriate programs for our kids to participate in. Kids2Kids has filled this void”, says Dave May, father of Ryan who swims on Morristown High School swim team and is a current student at the school. “Many of our K2K special needs swimmers also participate in our other programs that run weeknights at other locations in the school district. The K2K program, lead by some amazing teens, has spun into so many more activities that provide a safe place for our special needs kids.”
Dawn Gaita, mother of 12 year old Erik, has witnessed incredible growth and new abilities in her Down’s Syndrome son who also has a few additional diagnoses. “We have come to K2K programs for the past 7 years. There is no judgement here and my son can be active and involved in a sport at his level. There is so much peer interaction and no competition to participate–my son is accepted and not ‘cut’ because of his inability or speed.” Both Dawn and Erik’s mentor, Morristown High senior Sean Manning, were so proud to witness Erik push past his limitations and complete his first full lap of competition. Mentors build trust with swimmers over time and then the breakthrough results in some big accomplishments! Erik’s smile proved to the crowd how special this program truly is.
K2K offers additional classes in Yoga, Golf, Running, Art, Theater, and Tae Kwon Do. For more information on how to become a teen mentor for K2K or to join this network of special needs families, visit our website at: www.kidstokids.us
k2k Golf Program Featured
Big Thanks to the Essex Golf Center and the NJ Golf Foundation for their support and sponsorship!
Kali’s Mitzvah Project
One of our wonderful swim mentors, Kalanit Krasner-Cohen is celebrating her Bat Mitzvah. As one of her Mitzvah Projects she had donated swim caps and goggles for our special needs swim program.
Thank you Kali!!
COACH G ADVOCACY AWARD
Coach Donna Gelegonya, physical education teacher and head swim coach at Morristown High School in New Jersey, has been producing excellence for over 20 years.
K2K is forever indebted to Coach G for being a champion of our programs and we recognize her for her Advocacy, Passion and Dedication for all kids- especially our special kids.
Presenting the award are Meghan Crowley and Justin Viotto, Founding Board Members of K2k and senior swimmers for Coach G.
THANKS G!!
Morristown High School Names Zachary Crowe as NY Jets “Upstander of the Week”
MORRISTOWN, NJ – Another week, another Upstander of the Week has been chosen at Morristown High School. This week; Week 11, Zachary Crowe was chosen by the School Safety Team. According to the high school, he is “doing a fantastic job helping a special needs student that sits next to him in health class.” He has “always done this on his own” and he “makes sure that the student understands the assignment or whatever activity is being worked on in class.” He is “not only helpful to this student but to the teacher as well” because it allows her to “focus on the rest of the class knowing that Zachary is taking the reins with her special needs student.” Finally, she stated that he was “very deserving of the Jets award!”
The “Upstander of the Week” is a new initiative at Morristown High School, started by Susan Mele after she attended the New York Jets “Stomp Out Bullying” symposium over the summer. The program will continue through the 16 weeks of NFL season.
Summer Golf Program
We just finished 4 weeks of golf for our summer program. Some new players and experienced ones had instruction and practice in all aspects of the game.
Big thanks to Glenn Hockman of Mareric Practice Facilitates for hosting us. Big thanks to Jeff Rickenback, a PGA Pro as our instructor.
And a Big thanks to the NJ Golf Foundation for sponsoring us. Thanks Chris Hunt and Danielle Osowski for their support!
Swim Meet 5-20
We ended swim season with our meet and banquet. Here is a video of the event.
Thanks you mentors and families for a fantastic season- see you all in September!!
Have a safe fun summer!
K2K
Presidents Volunteer Service Award Winners
Twenty mentors earned the Presidential Service Award in 2016 for volunteering 50 hours or more of service to the Morristown based organization, Kids to Kids. The award is a national merit award created by the White House to recognize charitable contributions within their community. The Kids to Kids program provides lessons and learning experiences to special needs families in the Morris County area by creating strong ties with middle school and high school students who volunteer their time and expertise. Kids to Kids is the only group in Morris County to provide weekly, no fee or low fee, lessons in swimming, Tae Kwan Do, golf and yoga for special needs families. Kid to Kid mentors received a certificate and medal recognizing their service contributions.
Ruthwick Guddeti, who received a Gold President’s Service Award for donating over 100 hours of service to Kids to Kids teaching swimming lessons said, “When I won this award I was proud, it really meant a lot to me that my dedication was recognized. It was something I never expected to get, but when I achieved it I felt overjoyed. This award and K2K itself have really inspired me to give back more to my community.”
Practically every day of the week,50 Morris County students volunteers to mentor students with special needs to provide developmental sports and arts programs and gain a deep understanding of diversity and inclusion. At its core, the student volunteer mentors learn the meaning of leadership and responsibility. “The kids are so full of life and the families are so appreciative of the work we do. It makes it worthwhile,” explained Ella Sparacino. Kids to Kids operates 7 different weekly programs, ranging from swimming to Tae Kwan Do to golf and yoga. It is a win-win for the Morris County community with the Kids to Kids mentors gaining valuable management and community service experience and the special needs community of Morris County learning life-long skills taught by trained mentors.
Sophia Sparacino, a mentor and Kid to Kid board member explained that she likes working with the children because “I get to practice trying out different strategies to motivate people and the kids are so much fun.” When asked what advice would she give others thinking of mentoring with Kids to Kids Camryn Grizzetti said, “Try it out! The other mentors you work with will become your best friends and the fun, upbeat kids will make your day. The feeling you get seeing your name on the Presidential Award is great too.”
Award Winners 2016
Zoe Antonius, Betsy Brooks, Meghan Crowley, Matt Ellerthorpe, Rachel Farbman, Camryn Grizzetti, Ruthwick Guddeti, Vaishnavi Guddeti, Jack Hughes, Sonny Hughes, Mackenzie May, James O’Donnell Dominic Palumbo, Fiona Palumbo, Victoria Ratliff, Yusty Sanchez, Juliana Scerbo, Lauren Smith, Sophia Sparacino, Ella Sparacino, Alex Wang
