Collier School Students to Host Senior Citizen Luncheon on May 17

Collier Youth Services, a non-profit organization that provides educational, residential, and recreational programs to young people in need, will celebrate Special Education Week through a unique program that unites its Collier School students with senior citizens from the surrounding community.

For more than 25 years, Collier School students have welcomed senior citizens to the Collier campus for an intergenerational luncheon during Special Education Week. Students from Collier School (which includes Collier High School and Collier Middle School) display their culinary skills, host the special event, and serve senior citizens from a variety of retirement communities.

Collier School is a private, state-accredited, co-education, alternative school for students in grades 5-12 whose significant emotional, mental health, behavioral, and academic needs cannot be met in public school. At Collier High School and Collier Middle School, students receive a quality education, specialized instruction, and strong individual and group therapeutic support. More than 230 students, from 81 public school districts and 10 counties in New Jersey, attend Collier School.

Each year, during the second week of May, the New Jersey School Boards Association and ASAH (a non-profit organization of private schools and agencies that provide highly specialized services to individuals with disabilities) jointly celebrate Special Education Week in New Jersey. This year’s theme is “Working Together to Build a Special Future for All.” As Sister Debbie Drago, Executive Director of Collier Youth Services, points out, this theme resonates with Collier’s longstanding commitment to uplifting people of all ages and abilities.

“Our annual Senior Citizen Luncheon is one of the most special days of the year at Collier because our students are so proud to prepare the lunch, serve as hosts, and share a memorable experience with people who often are forgotten in our society – senior citizens,” Sister Debbie notes. “Too often, our students can be overlooked as well, because they may learn differently or struggle with developmental challenges. Being able to interact with senior citizens helps our students to grow socially and puts the Collier mission into action by promoting a sense of belonging, dignity, and hope.”

Sister Debbie says many of the same retirement communities look forward to enjoying the Senior Citizen Luncheon each year. Participants include senior citizens from Chelsea Senior Living in Red Bank, De La Salle Hall in Middletown, and Howell Senior Center. Collier staff and family members join the luncheon as well as a special guest this year – a Collier School graduate from the Class of 1958, Carol Collins Brown.

Collier empowers young people of all abilities and backgrounds to develop skills for achieving independence and pursuing a healthy, fulfilled life. Collier’s non-profit mission is built on an unwavering belief in the worth and potential of all individuals and their capacity for change. Based in Wickatunk, Monmouth County, Collier operates Collier School, Kateri Programs, and the Collier Residential Program. For details, please visit www.collieryouthservices.org or call 732-946-4771.