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(Paramus, NJ) June 15, 2010 žu Has your grandfather started a new career painting portraits? Has your mother gone back to school to finish her degree? Maybe your recently retired friend has inspired you by spending his new-found time reading to children at the local hospital pediatric ward. Or, perhaps you yourself have recently taken the steps to follow your lifelong dream.
If you know someone over the age of 55 who has taken noteworthy steps to achieve a personal goal, Children's Aid and Family Services would like to know the details. Such a person would make an ideal nominee for the agency's "Help Realize a Dream" award.
Created by the late Louis (Bud) Schlivek and his sister, Isabelle Feher, in memory of their mother Elsie, the award recognizes an individual 55 years-of-age or older who is engaged in the attainment of a dream, either life-long or more recent. The $1,000 prize is awarded annually to a nominee who has set an inspirational example by affirming the quest for achievement as a continuous, lifetime activity.
Candidates may be nominated by others or self-nominated. They should be 55 years-of-age or older, reside in-or have an affiliation with-one of the communities in northern New Jersey that Children's Aid and Family Services serves: Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Morris, Hudson; and be actively pursuing either a lifetime or more recent goal. This year's winner will be honored at the agency's annual Building Futures Award event on Tuesday, September 28, 2010. For a nomination form, please log on to www.cafsnj.org and click on the "Help Realize a Dream" nomination form link on the home page, or call the Development Office at 201-261-2800.
Nominations for the award, which will be announced in September, are being accepted through the end of July.
Previous recipients of the award include a 55-year-old who commuted two hours each way, four days a week to Rutgers University to earn her bachelor's degree; a 73-year-old former Wall Street trader who now makes a living as a dollhouse maker; a man who overcame a speech disorder by joining a Toastmasters' Club and becoming an active public speaker; and a man who embarked on an entirely new career path by becoming a reporter at the age of 80.
Children's Aid and Family Services is one of the leading nonprofit human services organizations serving northern New Jersey. The agency is fully accredited and has served the community for more than 110 years. Its mission is to preserve, protect and, when needed, provide families. Motivated by compassion for vulnerable children, young adults, frail elderly and their families, it provides high-quality and innovative services that meet their social, educational and emotional needs. For more information on Children's Aid and Family Services, call 201.261.2800 or visit www.cafsnj.org.
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