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New Swing Set Aims To Bring Joy To Hawthorne Boy, Classmates With Severe Autism
To some, it’s simply a new swing set. But to a 14-year-old Hawthorne boy with severe autism, it means so much more.
Spencer Schiavo "doesn't care about toys or material things that most kids enjoy," his stepmother, Julie Skolnik-Schiavo, said. "But he loves movement and does love to go on swings."
Unfortunately, the year-round school he attends has been without swings for months, due to age and damage, she said.
So she and her husband, Al Schiavo, took to Facebook seeking donations for the Allegro School for Autism in Cedar Knolls.
“We asked for $1,000,” Skolnik-Schiavo said. “In only a …
Lyndhurst Fitness Guru Brings Christmas To North Jersey Homeless, Volunteers Sought
Leah Fairchild of Lyndhurst had just given Christmas bags to a dozen homeless people on the streets of Manhattan when she began to cry. She wanted to do more.
Since that Christmas four years ago, she has.
“Each year I vow to do it bigger and better,” said Fairchild, who, with help from a team of volunteers, will distribute 275 bags Monday morning to those living on the streets and in shelters in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex counties.
Fairchild, a single mom of three who owns and operates Train on Purpose (TOP) Hybrid Fitness Studio in Lyndhurst, launched her “Christmas Miracle Projec…