The second annual Jonathan Carey Foundation Walk to help vulnerable children will take place on morning of Oct. 4 at the Bethlehem Town Park.
Registration will take place from 9 until 10 a.m. at the Elm Avenue town park in Delmar and the walk will begin at 10 a.m. Pledge sheets can be found on-line at www.jonathancareyfoundation.org, or at the Jonathan Carey Foundation, located at 90 Delaware Ave. in Delmar.
There will be food and refreshments available after the 2.5-mile walk at the rear pavilion from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. There will also be special guest speakers and raffles, including one for a flat screen TV, during the event. Michael Carey, Jonathan’s father, said he will be selling raffle tickets for $5 and five tickets for $20.
The money will come into the foundation and part of the money will also go to a number of other good organizations, Carey said. `We also use some of the money for public advocacy campaigns.`
Carey and his wife, Lisa, became political activist who lobbied the state legislature to pass Jonathan’s Law. The law allows records concerning the care of disabled children be made available to the child’s parents and was unanimously passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Eliot Spitzer on May 5, 2007.
Jonathan died while in the care of the O.D. Heck Development Center after he was moved there when the Carey’s suspected he was being abused in the Anderson School in Dutchess County. The family was denied access to Jonathan’s records.
However, Carey said his work with the foundation is separate from his political activism to pass disability protections and create more accessible records.
He lobbies the legislature as Jonathan’s father, Carey said, but runs the foundation as a not-for-profit to raise awareness and to advocate for the most vulnerable of children ` the developmentally disabled, the orphaned, the abandoned, and the abused.
`We would first like to thank everyone for the love and support you have shown to us and our entire family, both now and just after Jonathan’s passing,` the Carey’s wrote im their Foundation brochure. `We also want to thank you for caring for other vulnerable children in need of extra care, love and protection. With your help we can bring many necessary changes and do what is right to help them.`
Businesses and corporate sponsor are still being sought, as well as individuals interested in helping out with this event or at the Foundation.
Those interested can call 475-9100 or e-mail inquiries at [email protected].
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