Going miles for student smiles: Holiday event will fund special trip for Cardinal Cushing students

By Matthew J. Gill
Tue Mar 11, 2008, 11:52 AM EDT

 Hanover - Many of the students who attend Cardinal Cushing Center in Hanover have never flown on an airplane.

Many of them have never stayed in a hotel.

And the overwhelming majority has never had the opportunity to visit the colorful epicenter of youthful freedom, fascination and fun — Disney World.

That is, of course, until they reach the age of 21 — their final year at the school — and as a reward for their scholastic efforts over the years, they get to travel to Disney World for a week.

“The students love it,” said Patty Allo of Cardinal Cushing Centers. “It’s Disney World. It’s a reward for the accomplishments the [students] have made to reach graduation. These kids have to jump some pretty major hurdles because of their disabilities.”

“We try to give them a grown up experience,” she added. “They get the real experience of being on a senior class trip.”

Both a day school and residential school, Cardinal Cushing serves students ages 6-22 who have cognitive, physical and emotional disabilities.

Most of the students who attend live on the South Shore, but some hail from as far as Worcester and even out of state.

This weekend, community members will have the chance to chip in for this cause during the school’s annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner and auction. Funds raised during the event will directly cover the costs for the students’ trip to Florida this coming May, and will also allow class rings to be purchased for this year’s graduates.

The event will be held Saturday, March 15 at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston.

The “Trip of a Lifetime” has become tradition at Cardinal Cushing, as graduating students have been traveling to Florida each and every year since 1996.

The St. Patrick’s Day dinner event – the fundraiser for the students’ trip — has also become a tradition, and this weekend’s soiree will be the 11^th. Originally, the event was sponsored by Abington Savings Bank, but now, for the second year in a row, the event is being backed by South Shore Savings Bank.

John Boucher, president and CEO of the bank, which has 15 branches throughout the South Shore, said the party is a great cause.

“It’s a great night,” said Boucher, who’s also on Cardinal Cushing’s board of directors. “It’s a really great night.”

In preparation for the event, staff at South Shore Savings Bank solicited customers, vendors and others to contribute items for the event’s raffle, and the bank itself contributed a substantial donation.

“We thought it would be a perfect community effort to get behind,” he said. “Not only is it a good community effort, but it was something that directly touched the lives of 20 young people who are very special.”

“It was something we could see, we could touch, we could feel good about,” he added.

Typically about 350-400 people attend, and last year’s festivities raised about $100,000 for the students’ trip.

Big moments on Spring Break

Allo, who’s traveled to Disney World twice with the students, said they have a blast down there.

“There was the crowd who went on the Tower of Terror,” she said, “and the crowd who didn’t.”

For the students, Allo said experiences like going out to a restaurant, with their friends and while on vacation, was a really exciting adventure, especially when they dined at the Disney restaurant.

The students also liked to call home and call their friends at school, and tell everybody what they did that day.

“That seemed to be a big moment,” said Allo. “Maybe a little bragging going on.”

During the trip, the students also have the experience of managing their travel finances. They can decide when and if they want to buy souvenirs, spend some time at the arcade or eat at a fancy restaurant.

The students are accompanied on the trip by chaperones — one for each student — and additional staff including nurses and a physical therapist.

“It’s more than just a feel-good trip,” she said. “It does good things for this school.”

Allo said while people may consider this kind of trip an extravagance, while there may yet be books to buy and other projects to accomplish, she feels it’s well worth the effort.

“Our students deserve it,” she said. “It helps [them] meet their goals. It keeps them in school because they look forward to it.”

Everyone can remember difficult experiences they may have had in high school, but these students have additional challenges to face.

 “These kids meet the [challenges] head on and work on them, and this is recognition for those achievements. Basic things most kids take for granted,” she added, “our kids work hard on.”

A number of the students will attend Saturday night’s gala.

One group of students will perform a percussion set, others will serve as greeters and ushers and another student — who according to Allo has been practicing for weeks — will give a welcome address to the audience.

Also on the night’s agenda will be a screening of a video of last year’s Disney World trip, which has been professionally edited.

The purpose of the party does not have a strong connection to St. Patrick’s Day, but nevertheless, many of the guests traditionally wear green, and on the menu, diners will naturally find corned beef and cabbage.

Scott Wahle of WBZ will serve as the night’s master of ceremonies.

For more information about this weekend’s festivities, call Patty Allo at (781) 829-1272 or send an email to pallo@coletta.org.

Editor Matt Gill can be reached at mgill@cnc.com