Newsletter #1 | Sun, Moon & Stars, Inc. | A 501c(3) Organization | Copyright 2019

HERE'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO

We had incredible turnout for our Autism Awareness Month events and activities!

 

An Evening Out With Sun, Moon & Stars was an extraordinary event made possible by our event co-sponsors: The Grand Oak Villa and CT Music Therapy. Dawn’s Pizzazz LLC, Dr. Jack McHugh, Flanders Nature Center, Stanley Black & Decker, Katherine Montoya of By The Blue Sea, and Cakes & Sweets By Emanuela were also sponsors. This event would not have gone off as smoothly as it did without our planning committee: Krista Palomba (Master of Ceremonies), Heather Byron, and Abbi Nori Nelson, as well as our volunteers: Lynn Cuttitta, Stacey Lallier, Sherry LeClerc, Kate Keller, Chrissy Miller, Dante Romaine, Tammy Ryan, Sue Semeraro, Savannah Storino, and Cheryl White. Their help and support  made for a fun and seamless event. The generosity from our vendors, those that donated items, and our families and friends that came out to enjoy this event was amazing. We had over 150 guests and raised more than $6000 (after expenses) for our autism community.  

The 10th Anniversary Autism Speaks Walk, in Waterbury, CT, was held on June 1st at Library Park. Team Sun, Moon & Stars represented for the fourth year in a row. We are grateful for our families and friends that came out to walk with us and helped our team raise $4,000 this year for Autism Speaks. In four years, we've raised almost $25,000! It was a beautiful day and such a fun event for our families. The kids were able to enjoy slime, Legos, faces painting and balloon animals.  We truly worked to make it family friendly.  As the Mission Chair, I am proud to say that, in the ten years Autism Speaks has been running this event,   $3.8 million has been awarded to local non-profits that directly support our community here in Connecticut, as well as research grants to local institutions such as Yale and UCONN. These dollars directly impact and help our families, so thank you!

 
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The Smile Spot held their Annual Movie Day fundraiser on March 16th. Each year, they choose a local non-profit to donate the funds. This year, Sun, Moon & Stars was chosen as the benefactor! We watched a sensory friendly viewing of Wonder Park with a sold out crowd at the AMC movie theater in Danbury and were awarded $1000! Many thanks to Dr. Stephen Kest and his wife Tali. The Smile Spot Children’s Dentistry is a state-of-the-art children’s office that has worked wonders for families with children on the autism spectrum.   

The Watertown Lions Club donated $500 for our new swim program: The Starfish Swim Club.    

They have been a strong supporter of the work we are doing in our autism community. Many thanks to Melita Harris, outgoing President, for helping to facilitate this wonderful relationship. 

For the second year in a row, George & Gloria Tsioflikis, owners of G's Burgers in Watertown, were kind enough to host a fundraiser for Sun, Moon & Stars on World Autism Day – April 2nd. Family and friends had dinner and dessert with $450 coming back to us as a donation. We are extremely grateful for their generosity. 

A "quarter auction," which benefited Sun, Moon & Stars, was held at On the Border Restaurant in Rocky Hill in April. $530 was raised! Thank you to Mary Moff, Caitie Finocchiaro, and Leticia Garcia for coordinating this fun event. And to an amazing group of friends: Krista Palomba, Stacey Lydem Lallier, Heather Byron, Lynn Peterson Cuttita, Melissa Butler, and Jennifer Peters who came out to support us. 

 

A second auction featuring several fabulous products, was planned by Kathy Griswold. She was kind enough to offer the proceeds -- $250 -- to our cause! Much gratitude and appreciation to Kathy Griswold (31 Gifts), Sarah Swiatek (Perfectly Posh), Amy Inzero (Pure Haven), and Jenn Stafford (Piphany) for hosting this event. Thank you to Heather Byron and Jennifer Peters for joining me.   

This was our second year marching in the Watertown Memorial Day Parade. The kids were thrilled to wave their pom-poms as we celebrated the holiday and marched up Main Street. It is a wonderful way to raise autism awareness in Watertown while honoring our fallen.    

Sydney Rybczyk, a student at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School, interns with Connecticut Music Therapy. She has met some of our children during our Social Music Group. For Autism Awareness Month, Sydney decided to run a Build-A-Bar Fundraiser at Fascia’s Chocolate to benefit Sun, Moon & Stars. It was an incredibly successful event with 48 people coming through to make chocolate bars. $300 was raised to support our families. 

In May, we toured the Watertown Police Station, with Officer Abby Rivera, and registered our kids with the Wanderer Program. The kids had a blast touring the facility, especially the jail cell! Sun, Moon & Stars is always finding ways to make a difference for our families. Much gratitude to the Watertown PD!

 

From the Watertown PD Facebook page:

This afternoon, Officer Abby Rivera and Dispatcher Cathy D’Vileskis provided a tour of the Watertown Police Department to the family members of Sun, Moon & Stars. After the tour, the families signed their children up for the Water-Oak Wanderer Program, which is designed to help save police precious minutes in the event a loved one wanders from the home. It was a great afternoon of making new relationships with our citizens! 👮🏽‍♀️”

Our families enjoyed a fun time making slime at Bricks & Minifigs in Southington. Owner Traci Schneider has been wonderful to work with, and we look forward to a long partnership with more fun activities for our kids.   

 

Our families enjoyed meeting the Easter Bunny on our very own Autism Friendly coach. The Railroad Museum of New England has been a wonderful partner with Sun, Moon & Stars as we continue to offer judgement-free trains rides for our families.  

 

Hardcore Sweet Bakery held a cupcake decorating event for ten of our families. The kids had fun decorating two cupcakes each while also adding a fun fondant.   

 

‪I simply cannot say enough about the "Kids Rise Up" program which focuses on mindfulness, creativity and yoga. Our kids absolutely love it; it's been a great experience for them. We have a fantastic collaboration with Lotus Counseling of CT, and we'll be working with them to offer it again. 

MEET ONE OF OUR FAMILIES: The Langers

Asa was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at age 4 after an initial diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder at age 3. At that time, we had a limited understanding of the autism "spectrum." It didn't occur to us that he could be autistic. Asa was a handful, he preferred adults to children, and struggled mightily with any change in routine... but he was verbal! He made eye contact! This was all we knew of autism. We are now much more educated and informed. We understand the complexity of ASD and how it presents so differently in each individual. After the wave of guilt, fear, and sadness washed over us, we got to work getting all the supports and therapies in place. We relied on the guidance of Asa's school team and we read every book and blog on the subject of neuro-diversity. We tried different approaches to treatment (some worked, some didn't), but the greatest gift came to us in the form of a community of families who share an unspoken understanding of this unique journey. We are so fortunate to be a part of this warm, safe, supportive and kind group. Sun, Moon & Stars has opened our world and we are forever grateful to be a part of it. 

COMMUNITY PARTNER HIGHLIGHT - CT Music Therapy

Our longest running collaboration since 2017, we cannot say enough about this music-based social group. Emily Bevelaqua, MMT, MT-BC, has been an incredible partner. We have collaborated on other events such as “instrument discovery” where our kids were able to play with guitars, drums, a piano, violin, bass, flute, and clarinet. We continue to look for new ways for our kids to have fun with music while learning social skills. The CT Music Therapy staff is outstanding and our kids love working with Mr. Steve and Miss Kelsy.

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

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JUNE 27

SPANISH-SPEAKING PARENT SUPPORT GROUP 

See SPANISH PARENT SUPPORT page on sunmoonandstars.org for important information.

GRUPO DE APOYO PARA LAS FAMILIAS EN ESPAÑOL

Consulte la página de SPANISH PARENT SUPPORT en sunmoonandstars.org para obtener información importante.

 

JULY 13

SLIME MAKING

Step-by-step instruction on making customized slime with plenty of mix-ins! All ingredients will be available

and creations may be taken home. $5.00 per child. Pay at the door. RSVP required. 

Sat., July 13, 6:30-7:30pm at Bricks & Minifigs (1173 Queen St., Southington, CT). 

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JULY 19

PARENT SUPPORT GROUP

This kid-free parent group meets on the 3rd Friday of each month as we continually support and educate

our community. Fri., July 19, 7-8:30pm at Desserts of Watertown (51 Depot St., Watertown, CT). 

RSVP required. All participants must agree to and sign code of conduct. 

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JULY 20

SUPPER CLUB

Join us for a judgement-free dining experience. For families and friends of those on the Autism Spectrum. 

Sat., July 20, 5-7pm. Located at Gayle's Farm Shoppe (51 Depot Street, Watertown).

No reservations required. For restaurant information, visit GaylesFarmShoppe.com.

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JULY 25

SPANISH-SPEAKING PARENT SUPPORT GROUP 

See SPANISH PARENT SUPPORT page on sunmoonandstars.org for important information.

GRUPO DE APOYO PARA LAS FAMILIAS EN ESPAÑOL

Consulte la página de SPANISH PARENT SUPPORT en sunmoonandstars.org para obtener información importante.

See All 2019 Activities

Our mission is to promote activities, services and education to families with children on the Autism Spectrum while also providing a sense of community and support for Greater Watertown and the surrounding areas.

 

To learn more about what we're doing, please visit our web site: sunmoonandstars.org.

PO Box 563 Watertown CT 06795
203-510-9931

sunmoonandstars.org