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May 19, 2011
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(Paramus, NJ) May 31, 2011 – People who give of their time and talent make a critical difference in the lives of vulnerable children. For Children's Aid and Family Services, volunteers help in countless ways, from running diaper supply drives that benefit low-income families to mentoring children in foster care to providing office support. The agency recently honored nine outstanding volunteers at a ceremony held at its administrative office in Paramus, NJ.
The honorees include Chris Cioffie of Morristown, Suzanne DeLucia of Wyckoff, Nancy Fox of Westwood, Mollie Galletly of Midland Park, Wilma Nihil of Fort Lee and Valerie Perwas of Mahwah. Organizations recognized were Our Lady of Visitation of Paramus, St. Paul's Church of Ramsey and Capacity Coverage of Mahwah.
Chris Cioffie has lent his talents as a photographer to the agency by photographing adoptive families. He takes family photo portraits at the annual holiday adoption party and also of children in need of adoptive families for the agency's annualadoptive family recruitment event.
Suzanne DeLucia and Lucy, her certified therapy dog, visit one of the agency's therapeutic group homes for children in foster care on a regular basis. The children play and interact with Lucy as part of their group therapy. Lucy is also a reading assistance dog at several libraries in Bergen County.
Nancy Fox has been volunteering for the agency's administrative office since she retired from a professional career was in accounting.
Mollie Galletly has been volunteering at The Depot craft and gift shop for 30 years
The Depot, located at 22 Prospect Street in Midland Park, is the largest all-volunteer women's exchange in the country. Its proceeds benefit Children's Aid and Family Services. Ms. Galletly has served as co-director, secretary, treasurer and is currently day chair of The Depot.
Wilma Nihil serves as a volunteer classroom assistant at the agency's Turrell Child Care & Early Learning Center. She helps organize and decorate the classroom, participates in arts and crafts projects and reads to the children.
Valerie Perwas is a long-time employee of Children's Aid and Family Services and also serves as a volunteer mentor to a former foster child. A mentor serves a vital role to a child in foster care, who often has difficulty trusting adults. Ms. Perwas has become a trusted friend and confidant to the young woman she mentors, helping her through difficult times and also sharing lighthearted moments, such as cooking meals together.
The parishioners of Our Lady of Visitation have been generous donors to Children's Aid and Family Services for 11 years. The have repeatedly collected much-needed supplies for the agency's Baby Basics program, which provides free nutritional formula and diapers to low-income families with infants and toddlers. The program distributes 15,000 diapers per month.
The parishioners of St. Paul's Church have been active supporters of Children's Aid and Family Services since 1993. Every year, they help make the wishes of children in foster care come true by purchasing them holiday gifts.
Since 2000,employees of Capacity Coverage have conducted holiday gift drives for the children in the agency's care. Last year, the staff of Capacity Coverage also conducted a supply drive for the agency's Baby Basics program and a cereal drive.
"On behalf of Children's Aid and Family Services, I thank all of these individuals for their generous contributions of time and talent to the agency and the children and families we serve," says Bob Jones, Ph.D., president & CEO. "They, and all the other volunteers who help in countless ways, make the work we do possible."
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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