Potential's Event Helps Local Children with Autism

HoeDown, ThrowDown for Autism Treatment, a Western-Themed fundraising event, was held recently at the New Hope Winery by Potential for a sold-out crowd of supporters.

Caring parents and community members came together to have a great time for a great cause and went home extremely proud that they were able to transform lives.

The Gala put a spotlight on the need for more qualified caregivers, since there are 120 children on Potential's list, some who have been there for as long as two years. Each person hired will undergo training at the "ABA Bootcamp" an intensive four-week course in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy and autism treatment.

Potential, a Newtown-based non-profit organization, was founded in 2006 by Kristine Quinby, Founder, President and CEO, and it helps children and adults with autism reach their full educational, social and emotional potential.

“It feels amazing to be here tonight. Our expectation was that we would sell 125 tickets and we sold out! It’s definitely our best event yet,” explains Quinby.

“We like to change it up every year so that it’s something new and different for people,” she says. “It helps to engage people and ultimately that helps us to convey our vision and our mission.”

The event was a fun-filled evening complete with a Western theme: line dancing to rousing music, country decorations, a delicious buffet, silent and live auctions and raffles, and a great deal of heart. Most guests wore their favorite cowboy or cowgirl attire.

Jim Worthington, the owner of the Newtown Athletic Club, was the guest of honor and received the Community Leadership Award 2018 for his dedicated work to support ALS research and for helping to launch Potential’s Car Show for Autism.

The 2019 Car Show will be held on Saturday, June, 8, from 4 to 8 p.m. (rain or shine). The newly expanded show will be held at Bucks County Community College.

“It’s always nice when someone gives thanks back for the things that we do; we don’t expect it, but we certainly appreciate it and I’m honored to be here,” Worthington said. “The Newtown Athletic Club is a platform for our philanthropy and advocacy work.”

His dedication to helping others started early in his life. “My parents were middle-class people, good solid community people, who believed in giving back. They did as much as they could with the means that they had.”

Cindy Murphy, the co-founder of the Comprehensive Learning Center, located in Warminster, was the winner of the new Autism Caring Excellence (ACE) Award.

This new Potential award was established to celebrate those who do exemplary work with children who have autism, and Murphy was commended for her dedication to the individual and providing exceptional care and years of committed service to the autism community.

Definitely not one to toot her own horn, Murphy said she was, “very humbled and honored to receive this award, but it’s always a team effort. It cannot happen without the total commitment of the parents. I am happy to be able to do what I love and make an impact in meaningful ways.”

The five ACE Award finalists, who were also recognized at the event, were: Angel Austin, Kathy Murphy, Soh Park, Katherine Pugliese, and Jophany (Joe) Raphael.

“It was very difficult to choose, because all of the finalists were amazing. They all deserve to be recognized for their hard work,”said Gadi Naaman, Director of Development for Potential and The Springtime School for nearly four years. He called the event “bittersweet” for him.

Sweet because of the great success in selling out the venue, raising money and bringing the community together to help families with autism, and bitter because he is leaving Potential this month to start a new life with his family in Israel, where he hopes to continue helping children with autism.

“We started planning this event nearly a year ago and we never knew how it was going to turn out,” says Naaman.

“So, when we had to shut down registration the night before because we reached capacity, it was very gratifying,” he said. “There is real electricity in the air. For every $4,000 we raise tonight, two kids come off of our wait-list, and this is awesome!”

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