New Jersey’s first lady, Mary Pat Christie, was in Verona last week to present the students of The Children’s Institute with a 500-book donation as part of the sixth annual Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. The free program is designed to motivate students to read during their summer break.
During her visit, Christie toured TCI, a private non-profit school that serves children on the autism spectrum and with related disabilities, ages 3 to 21. While there, she was also honored with the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Association for Schools and Agencies for the Handicapped (ASAH) for her support and leadership on behalf of New Jersey’s citizens with special needs and their families.
“The Children’s Institute provides a wonderful environment that supports and encourages students to develop their own unique set of talents while promoting the independence required to lead a productive and fulfilling life,” said Christie. “Because the ability to read is such an empowering life skill, I’m also pleased to be able to donate 500 books from Scholastic for the students at TCI so that they can experience the joy of reading while gaining important learning capabilities.”
TCI is currently housed in a state-of-the-art building on 7 acres in Verona. In September 2012, TCI will be opening a second campus in Livingston, enabling it to house the expanding high school program and to establish a day adult program to meet the critical needs of graduates and individuals in the community.
