The New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) has graciously accepted a grant from the Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation to help fund the 10th annual Family Retreat Weekend in 2014. The grant will be used to underwrite the cost of kids and families attending the event, which each year attracts scores of families affected by Tourette Syndrome in New Jersey and the surrounding region.
The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation, like NJCTS, is a nonprofit organization whose aim is to help children who have Tourette Syndrome learn how to exist in the real world with others who don’t understand the neurological disorder. It supports the socialization, achievement and education of individuals with Tourette and the nonprofit organizations that focus on the needs of those with TS.
“The Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation is honored to support these organizations and the programs they plan throughout the year that make a difference in the lives of children with Tourette Syndrome,” the Foundation said in a prepared statement announcing NJCTS and six other organizations nationwide as grant awardees.
This is the second straight year the Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation has awarded NJCTS a grant to help fund the Family Retreat Weekend, which provided workshops focusing on self-esteem, social skills, advocacy, TS-symptom coping mechanisms, anti-bullying techniques and strategies for dealing with the everyday stresses of life with TS. These workshops are built around a fun, family-oriented weekend that champions a nonthreatening, nurturing environment.
“We are honored to receive this grant from the Brad Cohen Tourette Foundation and appreciate Foundation President Brad Cohen’s commitment to serving children and teenagers with TS,” NJCTS Executive Director Faith W. Rice said. “We believe the tools and strategies delivered at our Family Retreat Weekend address issues TS children and families face each day and are grateful that the Foundation has partnered with us in our quest to provide support for the 1 in 100 kids affected by this often devastating neurological disorder.”
The 10th annual Family Retreat Weekend will take place June 6-8, 2014 at YMCA Camp Bernie. More information about the weekend will be available at www.njcts.org in January.