Monies are from C.I.N.D.Y., a non-profit started by Rosemary Jefferson and built by PSEG employees; will help uninsured and underinsured children receive care
Rosemary Jefferson had no idea how successful she'd be when she set out twenty years ago to make life better for sick kids. With the help of her employer, PSE&G, she started a non-profit organization called C.I.N.D.Y. (Children in Need of Donations from You) and asked her family and co-workers to help her collect and distribute toys to children in New Jersey hospitals. Today, Rosemary officially closed the doors on her non-profit and donated the remaining $48,000 to the hospital that bears her long-time employer's name: PSE&G Children's Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick.
Children's Specialized Hospital is the nation's largest pediatric rehabilitation hospital, treating 18,000 children each year at its nine sites in New Jersey. It treats children affected by brain injury, spinal cord injury, premature birth, autism, developmental delays, and life-changing illnesses.
The funding will be placed into an endowment that will ensure that uninsured and underinsured patients at Children's Specialized Hospital receive the medical care they need to reach their fullest potential.
"This transcends corporate giving," said Philip Salerno, III, president and chief development officer of the Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation. "This is about employees sharing a sense of pride about where their company has placed its money and its trust."
Rosemary spent her entire career at PSE&G, as did her sisters Shirley and Loretta. All three are retired now. Their brother Phil Jefferson still works for the company, as a photographer at PSEG Nuclear, and there are four nephews who are currently employed by the company too. Between them they have more than 200 years of service for Newark-based energy company PSEG. They've all played a part in growing and sustaining C.I.N.D.Y.
The Jeffersons were born in Summit and raised in East Orange. When they left their childhood home it was PSE&G that provided the siblings with a home base and an extended family. Raising money and collecting toys for CINDY became a labor of love for many PSEG employees over the years. Though Rosemary retired 13 years ago, employees continued to collect, knowing that she and her family would get the toys to the kids who needed them most. The family talks fondly of the contributions PSEG employees gave over the years, taking it upon themselves to run holiday collections at work locations all over New Jersey over the last two decades
Children's Specialized Hospital is the preeminent provider of rehabilitation services for children with special needs. The hospital serves children affected by brain injury, spinal cord injury, premature birth, autism, developmental delays, and life-changing illnesses. Children's Specialized Hospital has seven sites in New Jersey and treats 18,000 children each year, making it the largest pediatric rehabilitation system of its kind in the nation. Services include outpatient services, acute rehabilitation, and long-term care through its sites in Bayonne, Clifton, Mountainside, Toms River, Fanwood, Hamilton, New Brunswick and Roselle Park as well as outreach programs in many communities.
Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation supports the programs and services of the hospital. The Foundation is ranked among the top six pediatric hospital foundations in the country. To help, or find more information, visit www.childrens-specialized.org.
