Oakwood Center for Exceptional Families Receives $60K Grant from Jewish Fund

A $60,000 grant from the Jewish Fund will help support therapeutic programs for children with disabilities at the Center for Exceptional Families, the Dearborn-based health care center announced this week.

The funds, which will be dispersed in two equal payments in 2012 and 2013, will support the Inclusive Therapeutic Recreation Program at the center.

Located in Dearborn, the Center for Exceptional Families serves children with multiple disabilities and their families throughout southeastern Michigan, providing a full range of services from high-quality healthcare to counseling, physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.

Much of the care provided at the CEF is supplemented by grant funding.

The Jewish Fund, established in 1977, supports a multitude of regional and national causes–many having to do with providing health care to those in need.

“The Jewish Fund is very pleased to support the expansion of inclusive programs and services of Oakwood’s Center for Exceptional Families so that more families may benefit through participation,” Margo Pernick, executive director of the Jewish Fund, said in a statement. “We believe children with special needs and those without benefit by truly understanding the value of all people, including those who differ from themselves, through shared and meaningful experiences.”

According to Oakwood, Therapeutic Recreation Therapy is a form of physical therapy designed to improve or maintain physical, mental and emotional well-being and help reduce depression, stress and anxiety in children with disabilities. Using activities such as arts and crafts, games, dance and other forms of movement, recreational therapies help patients build or maintain basic motor functioning and reasoning abilities. It also helps them build confidence and socialize more effectively.

The CEF program will allow the children to interact with others with disabilities, as well as with their typically-developing peers in order to help change the perception of disabilities and set a new standard of care.

“We are truly appreciative of the support for these vital programs,” Maureen Lullove D’Agostino, Senior Vice President of Organizational Excellence, Accreditation & Compliance, Oakwood Healthcare, the acting executive director of the Center for Exceptional Families, said in a statement. “It is only through partnerships with wonderful organizations like the Jewish Fund that we can continue to offer these services to the community.”   

For more information about the Center for Exceptional Families, visit www.oakwood.org/cef. To learn more about the Jewish Fund, visit www.thejewishfund.org.