Committed To Better Lives For Kids

To the Editor:

The Newtown Parent Connection held our first fundraising event, the Rooster Review, [April 29] at Rock Ridge Country Club. To say we were in absolute awe of the support of our wonderful community would be an understatement. In addition to attending regular public forums, the auction was one more example of Newtown residents and friends joining together to affirm the cause of fighting substance use and abuse among our young people.

We gratefully acknowledge the 225 people who were present to experience the collective spirit and joy of the evening. We humbly thank the “auctioneer extraordinaire” Father Bob Weiss; our board members who worked all night to facilitate the flow of the evening; the creative genius of the 25 artists who contributed their time and talents; the sponsors who so munificently donated when the Rooster Review was just a concept; and the astounding generosity of those who bid on the beautiful birds. This collaborative effort yielded enough of a profit for the Newtown Parent Connection to allow us to move forward offering high-quality programs focused on building strong families and to increase our ability to reach out to families in crisis. In the past ten months, there have been nine tragedies among Newtown young people — eight of them fatalities. We have assisted in finding appropriate treatment options for five families in the last two weeks and have helped place over 25 youth in three years. Your generosity ensures that these efforts will continue!

Therefore, people of Newtown, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for exemplifying who we are at the core of our community — a body of caring, compassionate, and proactive individuals who are truly committed to bettering the lives of our children.

Warmest appreciation,

Dorrie Carolan

Donna DeLuca

PO Box 187, Newtown                                                   May 8, 2006