Building Community… One Family at a Time

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King

Graduation Day at CDP was quite a celebration. There was not a dry eye in the house as Jason and his friends received their moving-up certificates and danced to the music. There were flowers and balloons, giggles and hugs, and the flashes of cameras as proud family members took photos with their preschool graduates. Jason’s Dad was clearly the happiest of all.

Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock

Let’s rewind back to September when we first met Jason. Dad came walking up to Children’s Day smiling and chatting with his 4-year-old son, carrying him “piggy-back” style up to the school, to ask for an application to enroll his son. As Dad placed Jason onto the ground, it became immediately clear why he had been carried. Jason had a very advanced, severe form of club foot affecting both legs- making it painful to walk, stand or play for long periods of time. With very little money and limited resources, Dad & Jason had recently moved to Passaic- far from home and family- to find better medical care. Thankfully, we had an opening and enrolled Jason right away.

What unfolded over the next 10 months was nothing short of miraculous. Taking it one day at a time, we worked closely with Dad and Jason to determine the extent of his condition- and what the best course of action would be. After much work with a variety of healthcare heroes, it was determined that Jason would require major surgery followed by 6 weeks in a wheelchair with both legs in a cast, and extensive physical therapy, to repair the damage this condition caused to his lower legs.

From every corner of the school, the CDP community gathered around Jason and Dad to provide the concrete services, support, and encouragement they needed to make it through this challenging time.

Our Social Service team supported Dad in finding medical care, attended appointments as a translator, and generally helped him navigate the healthcare system. They focused on building his confidence and comfort in speaking to medical professionals and other hospital staff. From quick conversations and words of encouragement to longer meetings to help him understand and process these events, the team was there every step of the way. Our school’s nurse helped Dad process and understand the major surgery Jacob had to have to correct his condition and the recovery process.

Every classroom has multiple books and toys like this doll in a wheelchair that provide an opportunity to teach our students about diversity and inclusivity.

Jason’s teachers provided supportive care leading up to the surgery and in the weeks that followed; helping Jacob prepare for surgery and understand what was happening. Classmates prepared for Jason’s return, reading books and thinking of ways to help him get around the school in a wheelchair.

Our maintenance worker helped make modifications to the classroom- and built a custom table to accommodate the wheelchair- for Jason’s home.

Because of our generous donors, we were able to provide some financial support- providing a scholarship to pay for before/after school care; helping to pay for appointments until coverage was approved, and finding a donor who assisted the family by paying transportation costs for all medical appointments and treatments.

Jason’s story highlights the impact one committed, compassionate community can have. With over 100 students attending CDP each school year, over time, there are hundreds of stories that emerge- highlighting how compassion flows through our community. Out of hundreds, we wanted to share Jason’s story because it illustrates how grateful we are to our supporters, who are heroes to not only our school but to our students and their families.

Teachers, staff, donors, and Jason’s classmates helped him through this huge transition. Witnessing the CDP community come together was beautiful- the love was felt by everyone present on that wonderful graduation morning in June. Everyone in the room- including Jason and his Dad, felt surrounded by love and this great community. The compassion of this community’s members tugged at all of our heartstrings and made for one of CDP’s most memorable graduations in recent years.