Bloomfield, CT, March 2012 Betty Feigenbaum, a mortgage broker at Flagstar Bank, and a member of CT Business Networkers in West Hartford, knew she wanted her daughter, Maya’s Bat Mitzvah training and experience to be meaningful, and something valuable her daughter would carry with her into the future. She connected with Diana Appleton, Communications Director at HARC Inc., an organization serving people with intellectual and related disabilities, and a relatively new member of CT Business Networkers.
It was decided that Maya and her friend Erica, who is also studying for her Bat Mitzvah, would visit HARC’s Bloomfield community residence for children several times to do projects and spend time with the children living there. During the course of the CT Business Networkers meeting, the group’s president, West Hartford Photographer, Cynthia Lang heard of the plan and suggested that perhaps photos of the children together would be great for everyone, and Ms. Feigenbaum, the girls and the children at the home would have wonderful mementos of their visits to the home.
According to Feigenbaum, “I became aware of this group home for children, opened by HARC in 1991, when the child of friends was one of the first residents of the home. HARC and that home were a Godsend for my friend’s family then! Now, all these years later, here is my daughter learning about children with disabilities from that same group home.” Appleton adds, “HARC loves this kind of participation with the community, and we don’t usually have to look very far to find connections. Intellectual disability touches many people. We welcome opportunities to connect our participants with individuals in the community.”
The girls had dinner at the group home with the residents, enjoyed a beauty day with nail polish and on the third visit brought Maya’s dog, Bogey for a visit. And how did the visits go? According to Feigenbaum, “This was a great experience for the girls, and Maya had a great time knowing she was doing something good.”
Photo:
Left to Right: Maya Feigenbaum, Erica Rothenberg, HARC residents, NeNe & Henry with staff Chaunda Cherry and Jennifer Tucker, enjoy the attentions of Maya’s dog, Bogey.