Funds Raised for Developmentally and Intellectually Disabled

Reasons to Smile Foundation, Inc. whose mission is to support job training for developmentally and intellectually disabled young adults hosted more than a hundred guests at its 2nd annual Spring Gala on Saturday, April 20th, 2024.

Sorriso Kitchen’s team, led by Executive Chef Ryan Chatfield and Dana Banderak, provided an array of beautifully crafted dishes for the gala held at The Maplewood Club.

Donated auction items including a golf outing at Fiddler’s Elbow, a Tiffany & Co. T Smile Pendant necklace, a signed Mets jersey, and more contributed to the event’s enjoyment and raised funds to support the mission of the foundation.

The highlight of the evening for the guests was meeting some of the students from Reasons to Smile Foundation’s job training program. Guests were impressed by the joy and confidence displayed by the students and graduates of the program. With about 21% of physically and developmentally disabled people being employed as compared with 64% of the non-disabled population,* Reasons to Smile Foundation sees its work to decrease this disparity as vital.

Funds raised at the gala will help the foundation continue their 8-week Monday Job Training Program and extend its mission into other businesses. Since 2019 Sorriso Kitchen, located in Chatham Borough, NJ, has been offering real-life job training classes in service and hospitality for students of Education, Careers & Lifelong Community (ECLC) School of Chatham NJ and The Center School of Somerset, in addition to Madison High School. The Monday Job Training Program was inspired by the Sorriso Kitchen owners’ son LJ, who has Down Syndrome.

Graduates of the program receive certificates of completion and get the opportunity to meet, greet, and serve at the Breakfast for Dinner events hosted monthly at Sorriso Kitchen.

Additionally, the foundation launched a pilot program of hydroponic growing systems for disabled young adults to teach business skills and entrepreneurship at ECLC in Chatham, NJ. The students are growing and harvesting produce and herbs in order to sell them. The students are enjoying the creativity of marketing a business by naming their business, creating a logo, packaging and selling what they grow.

“We’ve already seen the program’s success as one of our graduates just got employed at her local school cafeteria. Several other prior graduates have secured jobs in the field over the years as well. Talk about reasons to smile!,” said Karen Coccari Bellas, President, Reasons to Smile Foundation.

Reasons to Smile Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. Specifically, it is our goal to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our mission is to offer and/or support job training, educational, and community programs that provide the skills, experience, support and services that will empower them to reach their potential within the workforce and community.

To learn more, please go to:
www.reasonstosmilefoundation.org and follow them and their events on Facebook and Instagram.

* U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics