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January Child
A Happy Finale for Wishes for William
Appropriately during Valentine’s week, we gave a piece
of our heart to William Johnson and his family. (William
has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a disease
of the anterior horn cells. SMA affects the voluntary muscles for activities
such as crawling, walking, head and neck control and swallowing. It mainly affects
the proximal muscles.)
Back in November, the Johnson family told us of their plans to build an addition
to the first floor of their home in order to create an accessible bedroom and
bathroom for William. They also needed to add an accessible entrance to the
house for William. In addition, there were several other items needed for William
including a new van with a lift. The family was very overwhelmed to say the
least.
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Scalliwags approached the Johnsons
and asked if it would be okay to select William as their
Child of the Month. Scalliwags contributed a percentage
of their profits together with donations collected from
Scalliwags’ patrons. In the interim, Scalliwags’ marketing firm, A-Type Design & Marketing, told William’s
story to AmRamp of Boston. Julian Gordon, the President
of AmRamp and Mike Bruzzini, Account Executive, were touched
by William’s story and generously agreed to donate a ramp
for William so that he could have easy access to his home.
To commemorate the beginning of the project, Scalliwags
had a little celebration for William. After playing in
the arcade and using his tickets to buy a samurai sword,
William good-naturedly posed for photos and then enjoyed
some pizza. The Johnsons expect to commence the renovation
project early spring.
“I am very touched that you were willing to include
William and our family in your charitable giving. It’s
all so overwhelming to know that there are wonderful people
out there willing to help us,” exclaimed William’s
mother Heidi. For
more information about William, visit:
www.wishesforwilliam.org
Child of the Month
Each month Scalliwags donates a
part of its ticket sales to a Charitable Organization.
Athena Noelle Reitano has been selected as the Scalliwags'
child of the month. Athena was born on August 9, 2001.
She was diagnosed with a rare, terminal disease called "metachromatic
leukodystrophy."
She is not expected to live past 6 years old if a cure
isn't found soon. Please join us in helping Athena by generously
contributing to the Scalliwags Child of the Month. Read
more about Athena and what you can do to help.
 Athena's
Story
What
you can do to help
Mommy & Me
Program
Announcing Mommy & Me Playgroups Scalliwags
will be offering toddler playgroups once a week through
the Mommy & Me
Association. Each week we will plan a focused goal and activity to help you and
your little toddler interact through music. Sing, dance and play-along to your
children’s favorite songs. Mommy and Me Playgroups:
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Builds
children’s self-esteem by strengthening the parent-child
bond |
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Promotes
language and listening skills |
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Develops
physical coordination |
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Encourages
imagination through music, words and action |
We hope you will join us. Stay tuned for dates and times.
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