The Starfish Story
While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.
He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference to that one.”
He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference to that one.”
Teen Winter Dance - February 11, 2011
A great time was had by our teens and young adults this year at our first dance, held at The Windmill Alliance. It was an incredible evening of dancing, singing, games and friendship. With the help of local restaurants who provided delicious food and a dedicated team of teachers and volunteers who chaperoned the event, it was a night that our children won't soon forget. Their smiles say it all!
Bayonne Medical Center provides "life-saving" $150,000 grant to
The Simpson-Baber Foundation. The future is bright for The Busy Bee Program.
10 years ago, the Busy Bee Program for Children with Autism was formed. A joint project of the Bayonne Board of Education, the Bayonne Medical Center and the Simpson Baber Foundation, the Busy Bee Program is an early intervention program specifically targeted to meet the needs of the growing autism population. Housed at Bayonne Medical Center, it was the first of its kind early intervention program whereby the educational community, the medical community and the community at large joined together to provide necessary, but previously unavailable services to some of the most vulnerable members of our community—developmentally disabled young children.
Over nine years of operation, the foundation has spent over 1.5 million dollars on Busy Bee and was able to maintain the program without cost to the parents.
By October of 2010, however, The Simpson Baber Foundation was struggling to meet the $12,000 – $15,000 per month expenses associated with the program and had suspended funding on all other projects. The future for Busy Bee was rather bleak.
But this is Bayonne, and when you click your ruby slippers here, the wizard appears. This time, the wizard was Foundation Trustee —Dan Kane and the owners of the Bayonne Medical Center, Vivek Garipoli, James Lawlor, and Jeff Mandler. With their generous challenge grant in the amount of $150,000, Busy Bee’s future is bright again. Are we up for the challenge? Since September, the foundation has received donations and commitments which show the strength and credibility of our organization and the generosity of our community.
The Simpson-Baber Foundation and Busy Bee have been recognized statewide by the Association of Administration & Curriculum Development, the New Jersey Assembly and the Russ Berrie Foundation and nationally by the Rosalyn Carter Institute, Major League Baseball, People magazine, and the New York Mets.
Bayonne has an excellent special needs program. Each day they prove that inclusion is not only a federal law, but that it works. We have come a long way from long hours of busing and stand alone warehousing facilities for the disabled. We don’t need to go back to long bus trips and institutional isolation.
The great news today is that with the financial pressure somewhat abated at Busy Bee, we can move forward with projects like the renovation of the Life Skills Room at Washington Community School and a new playground at Woodrow Wilson. We look forward to sponsoring more social and recreational programs for teens and young adults.
We will work with Hudson County Community College to develop the DREAM Program – an educational initiative designed to provide transitional and post secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities at Mercer County Community College, right here in Hudson so that our students can attend college.
With your continued support of the Simpson-Baber Foundation, the future is bright for life span services for the autism population in Bayonne!
Over nine years of operation, the foundation has spent over 1.5 million dollars on Busy Bee and was able to maintain the program without cost to the parents.
By October of 2010, however, The Simpson Baber Foundation was struggling to meet the $12,000 – $15,000 per month expenses associated with the program and had suspended funding on all other projects. The future for Busy Bee was rather bleak.
But this is Bayonne, and when you click your ruby slippers here, the wizard appears. This time, the wizard was Foundation Trustee —Dan Kane and the owners of the Bayonne Medical Center, Vivek Garipoli, James Lawlor, and Jeff Mandler. With their generous challenge grant in the amount of $150,000, Busy Bee’s future is bright again. Are we up for the challenge? Since September, the foundation has received donations and commitments which show the strength and credibility of our organization and the generosity of our community.
The Simpson-Baber Foundation and Busy Bee have been recognized statewide by the Association of Administration & Curriculum Development, the New Jersey Assembly and the Russ Berrie Foundation and nationally by the Rosalyn Carter Institute, Major League Baseball, People magazine, and the New York Mets.
Bayonne has an excellent special needs program. Each day they prove that inclusion is not only a federal law, but that it works. We have come a long way from long hours of busing and stand alone warehousing facilities for the disabled. We don’t need to go back to long bus trips and institutional isolation.
The great news today is that with the financial pressure somewhat abated at Busy Bee, we can move forward with projects like the renovation of the Life Skills Room at Washington Community School and a new playground at Woodrow Wilson. We look forward to sponsoring more social and recreational programs for teens and young adults.
We will work with Hudson County Community College to develop the DREAM Program – an educational initiative designed to provide transitional and post secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities at Mercer County Community College, right here in Hudson so that our students can attend college.
With your continued support of the Simpson-Baber Foundation, the future is bright for life span services for the autism population in Bayonne!
Autistic Program at Woodrow Wilson School
The photographs below were taken in Life Skills Center at Woodrow Wilson School. Donated in 2007, The Life SKills Center is a joint project of the Simpson Baber Foundation for the Autistic and the Bayonne Board of Education. It is an approximately 375 square feet room, which includes a stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer/dryer, dining table, and work desk area. It is designed to facilitate instruction by providing hands on experiences for the students.
Self-contained playground donated by
The Simpson-Baber Foundation
