Ridge and Bernards High students join prom night at the Matheny Medical and Education Center
Ridge High School students, Emily Wolk, left, and Ilana Marks, pose for a photo with 18-year-old Matheny student, Yasin Reddick. Wolk and Marks live in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards. (Photo courtesy of Matheny Medical and Education Center)
Students from Ridge and Bernards High Schools — all members of the Junior Friends of Matheny — were among the volunteers at the Matheny Prom, which took place May 13 at the Skylands in Randolph for students and patients of the Matheny Medical and Educational Center, a special hospital and educational facility in Peapack for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities. In addition to the high school volunteers, parents, siblings, teachers and therapists all joined in the dancing to the music of Holiday Express, an all-volunteer band from Monmouth County. About 100 students and patients attended the prom, which was funded through Matheny’s Community Connections program by the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation in East Hanover.
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From left, Bernards High students, Jordan Smith of Bedminster and Katja McCoy of Bernardsville, dance with Colts Neck High School students Katrina Kleinhann and Kristin Hugger and Matheny adult patient Gerald Tavares. (Photo courtesy of Matheny Medical and Education Center)