Cottage School and its young charges survive on the kindness of strangers

April 30, 2010
by Marci Garson

Dressed in a crisp white polo shirt and khaki pants, “JT” held his head high as he walked through the crowd at The Cottage Schools Volunteer Recognition Dinner in Pleasantville on April 15. He climbed the stairs to the podium and reached up to bring the microphone down to his 11-year-old height. His left cheek was still swollen where he had had his tooth pulled the day before, a procedure he had to undergo without the comfort of his mother or father at his side.

I am not allowed to tell you his real name because “JT” is one of the 325 troubled kids aged 6-21 who live and go to school at the Jewish Child Care Association’s Cottage Schools, a residential treatment center located on more than 350 acres in Pleasantville, New York.  Many of these kids have been abused physically and mentally, or have emotional and cognitive difficulties and their families cannot care for them right now.  The ultimate goal of the Cottage Schools is to get these children back to their homes or, at the very least, arrange for placement with a foster family.

In the meantime, these kids rely on the kindness of strangers. Financial donors keep the non-profit organization, which is responsible for providing everything from shelter and schooling to clothing, therapy and recreation, running. Volunteers help by developing meaningful relationships with these troubled kids by spending a minimum of four hours each month with them. A volunteer can mentor a child one-on-one, visiting with him or her every week to offer support and improve confidence. There are also groups of volunteers like the Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids who go to a cottage once or twice a month and do a project with the 12 or so children who live there. There is even a “lunch bunch,” groups of moms who bring in lunch once a month to these kids.

That’s why “JT”  entered a contest to write an essay called,  “What a Volunteer Means to Me.”  His essay was a winner, and as he peeked out over the podium and spoke in a strong confident voice, so was he.

“The volunteers gave us so much care,” he read from his essay.  “I thought I was home.  They gave us cookies, brownies, cupcakes and oranges. I hope the volunteers get the things to come to them in return.”  There was not a dry eye in the house when this sincere child concluded, “I’m happy they are in my life and hope they make all the other kids that need help with their lives as good as mine.”       

You get back what you give

At the Recognition Dinner, volunteer after volunteer talked about how spending time with these children, who have been dealt such a lousy hand, has changed their lives. Just ask eighth-grader Noah Weismann. Noah began volunteering as part of his Bar Mitzvah project two years ago and refused to give it up. In fact his mother Mara actually cried one night because she and Noah were stuck in New York City in a rainstorm and were unable to make it back in time to take Gene, the child they mentor, out to dinner. Of course they made it up to him; these volunteers are a committed bunch.

I can also speak first hand about the emotions that run the gamut when you pledge to these kids.  Seven-year old “Mickey” used to wake up on Tuesday mornings telling anyone who would listen that today he would see Tosh and Mrs. Marci.  Every Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. my son, who was then 14, and I would go to Pleasantville and play with the first grader as he ran from spot to spot, because, I was told, running was the only way he felt safe.

The next child I mentored was 12 year- old “Doug,” a fair-haired boy with blue eyes who few children liked because he was so smart and so sarcastic, but a whiz at Legos.  I’m telling you this kid could build his own Lego Land, and I bet you one day he will! 

“Doug” was lucky enough to return home to his mother a few months ago and now I work with “Matt,” a beautiful 9-year-old boy who lives in DC 1, the diagnostic center where the youngest children are sent to be evaluated. Most of them only stay at the diagnostic center for a few months. But “Matts” family was, and still is, in crisis. So “Matt” has set an unfortunately record for the longest stay in DC 1, nearly two years. 

He’s frustrated and angry and wants to go home. But thanks to the dedicated staff, led by DC 1 Director Jim Everitt, “ ‘Matt’ is constantly encouraged and made to feel special. The devoted people who work in DC 1 specifically requested that Phina Geiger, the director of volunteer services, find “Matt” is very own mentor. I got the job. And while “Matt” admits he’s often cross these days, he wants everyone to know how friendly he was to me when I first started working with him. 

Numerous opportunities to help

There are so many ways to give these kids hope. Geiger explained that the volunteer program began one day 14 years ago when a single volunteer walked in looking for some way to help. Since then, hundreds of women, men and teenagers have joined the volunteer program. Volunteers assigned to the different cottages offered to beautify the already pristine property by planting trees, shrubs and flowers in front of each stucco cottage. Inside the small beige cottage which houses some of the youngest boys, navy blue valances decorate the windows and the walls are hand-painted in bright shades of blue. Exotic fish swim lazily in an aquarium, which sits in one corner, another generous donation to help brighten the space.

A short walk can go a long way

The Annual Walk for the Cottage School is Sunday, May 16, from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.; you’ve probably seen the flyers around town.  It’s only a two-mile trek, which begins and ends at 1075 Broadway in Pleasantville and local merchants promise to provide refreshments and even entertainment along the way. You can create a team, join a team or be an individual walker.

All you have to do is register at www.jccany.org/walk or register by phone at 212-558-9908.  Then ask friends and family to sponsor you by making a donation to the Cottage Schools. Every dollar will go directly to The Cottage Schools. Last year the Walk raised $25,000 and JCCA’s director of communications and marketing Lisa Sherman-Cohen is hoping to nearly double that this year with a goal of $40,000. 

“Every child deserves to grow up hopeful.”  This is the JCCA’s slogan, and by the same token, every person deserves to know how good it feels to give these children hope. 

Marci Garson is an Emmy-award winning television reporter. For 15 years she covered national news on Capitol Hill and local news in Miami, Florida, Connecticut and New York. Garson moved to Chappaqua in 1995 to raise her two boys.