The second Jonathan Carey Foundation Walk to help vulnerable children will take place on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Bethlehem Town Park.
Registration will take place from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Elm Avenue park, 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, 90 Delaware Ave. in Delmar.
There will be food and refreshments available at the rear pavilion from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. after the 2.5-mile walk. There also will be special guest speakers and raffles, including a drawing for a flat-screen TV, during the event. Michael Carey, Jonathan’s father, said he will be selling raffle tickets for $5 each 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 activists who lobbied the state legislature to pass Jonathan’s Law following the death of their autistic son. The law requires records concerning the care of disabled children be made available to the parents and was unanimously passed by the legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer on May 5, 2007.
Jonathan died while in the care of the O.D. Heck Development Center in Schenectady after he was moved there when the Careys suspected he was being abused at the Anderson School in Dutchess County. The family was denied access to Jonathan’s records at the Anderson School.
Carey said his work with the foundation is separate from his political activism. 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 Careys wrote in 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.`
As a parent, Carey said, he has been lobbying for several things in the legislature, including a maximum 60-hour work week for care workers; having surveillance cameras installed in vans and common areas of special needs facilities; and having reported calls of abuse directed to local police departments to investigate.
`We’re asking Gov. [David] Paterson to immediately have all calls for abuse to go directly to local law enforcement officers,` Carey said.
As for the cameras, Carey added, `Basically we feel surveillance cameras would be a huge deterrent [to offenders].`
Businesses and corporate sponsor are still being sought, as well as individuals interested in helping with this event or at the foundation. Those interested can call 475-9100 or e-mail inquiries to [email protected]. Donations will also be accepted at the Jonathan Carey Foundation in Delmar.
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