Variety Child Learning Center welcomed current students and alumni to its second annual Boo! Walk on Sunday, Oct. 5, at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, raising money for children with a diverse set of learning needs.
“It was just amazing,” said CEO Janet Koch, who has been with the center for three years. Variety is a Syosset-based nonprofit that provides specialized services to children and their families.
Koch said the one-mile walk fosters community between the center’s staff, parents, students, alumni, and supporters. The Boo! Walk featured music, snacks, games, and activities, as well as a Halloween costume contest.
Koch said the event offered a “safe environment” for children with diverse needs and challenges, allowing them to connect with their peers, therapists, and teachers in a new environment.
Koch said the participation nearly doubled from the center’s first Boo! Walk, garnering almost 250 this year. She said more alumni attended this year’s event than last year and had the opportunity to reconnect with current students and staff members.
“Many of last year’s students came back, and I think they came back because it was that safe place…because we make such a difference in the lives of these kids and these families,” Koch said.
Koch said the community supported the event as well, with donated snacks and drinks from local bakeries and delis.
“The community gets behind us,” she said.
But not every one who attended the event was a member of the center, Koch said. She said parkgoers and local families joined the walk and had the opportunity to participate in games and learn more about Variety’s mission.
“More and more people learn about not just what we do, but the needs of our community on Long Island,” she said.
All proceeds from the event will go towards the center, Koch said. She said mandated services, like occupational and physical therapies, are funded by state aid and Medicaid, but that non-mandated services, like art therapy, are not. Because of this, Kock said the Boo! Walk proceeds will help support and enhance creative arts programming and facility improvements, like a new playground.
But in addition to highlighting the school as a whole, three students were selected as this years’ honorees: Ronan B., a 4-year-old student from Mineola; Luca P., a 4-year-old student from Oceanside; and Cecelia C., an 8-year-old Variety alum from Breezy Point. Students were selected based on their academic and personal performance growth, the school said.
Koch said the center is already looking ahead to next year, and she said she is excited to see what the third annual Boo! Walk has in store.
“My expectation is that the number will be even greater next year,” she said.
