0 Altitude Program Needs Adult Volunteers- 10/13, 10/14 and or 10/15

Newton Medical Center has joined with several community partners to form Altitude…an empowerment program for 8th graders in Sussex County, inspiring students to “Take The Climb” toward their highest and best selves. Pass It Along is proud to be part of the Altitude Team.
Through the multi-modal components of this program Altitude creates safe places and appropriate interventions to help students develop life skills, believe in their own strength and goodness and feel excited about using their time and talent in service to others.
Taking place over the course of the entire 8th grade school year, students participate in workshops, school based clubs, school culture and climate assemblies, community service projects and more. An end of the school year Rally celebrates their success in Taking The Climb.
We would like to invite you to join us as an Adult Participant at one or more of our our three upcoming Challenge Day events at Sparta Middle School, on Tuesday October 13, Wednesday October 14, and Thursday October 15.  The program will run from 8:00am to 2:00pm each day.
Challenge Days are powerful, high-­‐energy programs in which youth and adult participants are guided through a series of experiential learning processes. The overall goals of the program are to increase personal power and self-­‐esteem, to shift dangerous peer pressure to positive peer support and to eliminate the acceptability of teasing, violence and all forms of oppression. The Challenge Day Program is designed to unite the members of the school and to empower them to carry the themes of the program back to the school population.
Challenge Day also successfully addresses issues of violence, teasing, social oppression, racism, harassment, conflict management, suicide, peer pressure, alcohol and drugs.
Since 1987, the Challenge Day Program has touched the lives of over half-­‐a-­‐million teens and adults nationwide. The Challenge Day Program has received numerous awards from the juvenile justice system, government officials and many school districts and cities throughout the nation. The program was featured in the book Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the Emmy Award-­‐ winning documentary Teen Files: Surviving High School.
Adult Participants are crucial for the success of the day. We will meet with all Adults for at 7:15am each day, prior to the start of the program, to let you know what is needed from you and to answer your questions.  No prior training is necessary other than the morning check-­‐in meeting. Our Challenge Day staff closely monitors the program and our Leaders will give instructions throughout the day. You must be able to remain on site and participate fully for the entire program, including 30 minutes after the program at the end of the day for a post-­‐Challenge Day debriefing.
Please email Tom Askin, Altitude Program Manager, to register: AltitudeNJ@gmail.com or call him directly at (973) 715-8124.
We hope you will be able to join us for this wonderful experience!

0 Volunteer Leaders Needed for Two Programs

Adult Volunteers Needed

We are looking for adults to serve as volunteer leaders for the following programs:
Knit Crochet for a Cause – Volunteers knit and crochet items for children and families in need. Knitted items are donated to local homeless shelters and soup kitchens and to the Bundle of Joy program for newborn babies in Newark. This program meets once a week from Sept – April on Tuesday evenings at the Sparta Presbyterian Church from 7 to 8pm.  As an adult volunteer leader you would be assisting our teen volunteers to knit and or crochet, verifying attendance and serving as the program liaison. Training is provided. Anyone interested in this position please email Kelly@passitalong.org or call the Pass It Along office at 973-726-9777.
Merriam Avenue Reading Buddies – Volunteers will be assisting with and practicing reading skills with 3rd grade students who have been identified as reading below grade level. The program will meet Monday – Thursday from 2:45 to 3:45 at the Merriam Avenue School in Newton.  Adult leaders are needed to supervise volunteers, verify attendance and serve as the liaison for the program.  Adults can share this position and do not need to attend everyday. Training is provided. Anyone interested in this position please email Kelly@passitalong.org or call the Pass It Along office at 973-726-9777.

0 Name Change for ConKerr Cancer to Ryan's Case for Smiles

Please note our ConKerr Cancer program has been renamed. Volunteers will still be meeting on Wednesday evenings and sewing the same beautiful pillowcases at the same location.  The only thing that is changing is the name.
After 7 years, ConKerr Cancer has changed their name to Ryan’s Case for Smiles and adopted the new tagline, “helping kids feel better to heal better,” to capture the non-profit organization’s growth and the impact of its volunteers. The new name reflects the evolution of the organization’s mission to serve all children with life changing illnesses and injuries – not just those with cancer, and honors the thousands of people who are creating smiles each day.
Ryan’s Case for Smiles is one of the few volunteer organizations solely dedicated to helping sick children cope with the stress of their illnesses and injuries.
A hospital stay can be a terrifying experience for a child. So terrifying that 20% of children who survive cancer meet the full clinical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Research shows that trauma can be minimized and outcomes can be improved through experiences that reduce stress. That’s where Ryan’s Case for Smiles comes in. Volunteers provide whimsical pillowcases that give children an emotional boost and remind them that they are not defined by their illness. While seemingly simple, a pillowcase provides 7 proven stress relievers that enhance the well being of the children and their families: comfort, play, choice, familiarity, expression, connection and hope. With improved emotional well-being, are more likely to regain their health faster.

0 PASS IT ALONG DELIVERED 500 BACKPACKS

Through the relationships that Pass It Along has built over the last 14 years with the different school districts throughout the state it was apparent that there were a few schools in Newark that could use some extra help.
Thanks to a relationship between Pass It Along and the NJ Devils over 500 children in Newark are now ready for the new school year!
All the backpacks were stuffed at the Prudential Center by the NJ Devils and Prudential Center employees. Kelly Bonventre, Director of Programs and Grant Development for Pass It Along said to the group of volunteers, “The impact goes beyond readying these kids for the first day of school, it’s readying them for the year.”
The first recipients were entire student body of John F. Kennedy School, a district wide middle-secondary special education school for those students’ ages 10-21 years old. Currently there are three programs at this school: Autistic, Multiple Disabilities with Moderate Cognitive Involvement and the Medically Fragile. On the first day of school, Thursday, September 3^rd, Pass It Along was there to surprise the kids with the backpacks filled with the supplies needed for each student.
“Anything that anyone does for this population, for these children, it is always welcoming,” JFK Principal Glenda Johnson-Green said as Devils employees and Pass It Along staff interacted with the students.
The second group of kids was the approximate 300 students in grades 1-5 at South 17^th Street. This school has approximately a 99% reduced or free lunch student population. These students received their backpacks on Thursday, September 9^th, which were also filled with the supplies needed for each student.

0 New Fall 2015 Programs!

We are happy to be starting 2 new programs this Fall, Afternoons at Ginnie’s House and Merriam Avenue Reading Buddies.
Volunteer at Ginnie’s House will be providing homework help, playing games and doing arts and crafts and service projects with the children there. Ginnie’s House is a non profit Children’s Advocacy Center located in Newton that provides a child friendly environment where children are helped through coordinated efforts of child protection, law enforcement and prosecution, healthcare and mental health agencies when child abuse is suspected, disclosed or reported. This program will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 5 pm. Volunteers need to be at least 16 years old, preferably over 18, and participate in a training program to participate in this program.  If you are interested in volunteering for Afternoons at Ginnie’s House please email Kelly@passitalong.org or call her at 973-726-9777. This opportunity is not listed on our website due to the training and sensitive nature of the program at Ginnie’s House.
Our Merriam Avenue Reading Buddies program is designed to help improve the reading scores at the 3rd grade level at the Merriam Avenue School in Newton. Volunteers will assist with and practice reading skills with 3rd grade students. This program will meet Mon – Thurs from 2:45 to 3:30  and will begin in late September.  You can sign up using this opportunity link: Merriam Ave Reading Buddies. Please note that while you do not need to attend everyday we do ask that you attend at least on a weekly basis.

0 Tilly's Kids Summer Program & Backpack Party a HUGE Success

Summer came and went but not until wonderful memories were created by our teen volunteers for the participants in our Tilly’s Kids Summer 2015 program, the link takes you to our photos. Our Wednesday Fun in the Sun program met with perfect weather each week. 36 Tilly’s Kids participants enjoyed the warm companionship of their “teen buddies” every Wednesday in July while they swam in the lake, played on the playground and went on a Nature Scavenger Hunt at Swartswood State Park.

0 Successful 6th Pass It Along Triathlon!!!

The weather was perfect on Saturday, July 25th during our 6th
annual Pass It Along Triathlon! We had over 348 participants and
38 relay teams signed up for the event. We could not have made
the day possible without the strong leadership of Eleanor Young,
the event creator and director, an…
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0 Pass It Along's Annual Triathlon 2015!

What a great triathlon event Saturday!  Congratulations to all the finishers!
Please join me in thanking the Event Host, Lake Mohawk Country Club, as well as Presenting Sponsors, Newton Medical Center and Atlantic Sports Health.  We could not do this Event without their generous monetary and in kind donations toward this Event.  They consistently and directly support our mission to create confident, resilient and compassionate teenagers who connect to and do great things in their local community and beyond!  Added thanks to a wonderful job by Rich Carlson, Head of Marine Patrol, the LMCC lifeguards and all the staff at LMCC lead by Club General Manager, Mark Musilli.  Also, thank you to Bridgette Hobart for providing the buoys and swim angels, and DJ Rob VanBrunt for providing the music at Beach 1.
We live in a great community!  Please also join in thanks & support to all of these community based businesses who donated to this year’s Event:
Villa Capri Pizzeria
Sparta Dental Assoc.
Freedom Business Machines
C3 Workplace
Sparta ONE
Alex Aguado, State Farm Insurance
Sparta Tire
Maxwell & Molly’s Closet
Sparta Pet Shoppe & Spa
The Bagel Station
Last but not least, thanks to over 60 volunteers that had big and small roles in Saturday’s event.  From the several months of planning to Event day….setting up the course, keeping hundreds of spectators and participants directed and safe, and breaking everything down when the Event was over.
When you volunteer you are not paid in money or recognition, you are paid in love.  -Shanterra McBride
Final results from CompuScore Available Now 
Individual Click Here
Relay Click Here
Cow Bells
Please email eleanor@passitalong.org if you did not get an Event cow bell for placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd place Saturday as an individual or team entry.  We will set it aside for you to pick up, or we can mail.
Photos
Thanks to Dennis, Craig and Bert for volunteering to take photos Saturday.

0 M&M Mars Interns Day of Service

The volunteers did a fantastic job doing all sorts of tasks associated with basic farm maintenance, weeding and harvesting, cleaning out and reorganizing garden and farm materials in the barn. Anyone interested in arranging a corporate volunteer opportunity or volunteering at Genesis Farm please contact Kelly@passialong.org
#MarsChocolate @MarsGlobal @PassItAlongUSA @PassItAlong

0 Disaster Response Volunteers Needed

The goal of the COAD is to eliminate or reduce duplication of services, create effective coordination of resources and provide a consistent and coordinated message. At the time of a disaster, volunteers are always needed to assist in a variety of ways. It is our intent to build a pool of resources and volunteers who we can contact when help is needed. If you would like to serve as a disaster response volunteer please sign up at https://na14.salesforce.com/a0Nd000000TVQa5?srPos=0&srKp=a0N. For further information contact Kelly@passitalong.