Joshua Novy, an eighth grader at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School, recently made a very special and generous donation to the Association for the Help for Retarded Children (AHRC).

Novy donated $500 from the money that he received from his recent Bar Mitzvah and made the donation in honor of his 19-year-old brother David, who is a student at AHRC's Children's Education Center.

"The idea just came to me," said Novy. "I wanted to donate it to the U.N. and then to the Cerebral Palsy Association of America and then I decided on the AHRC." Novy's brother David has Cerebral Palsy from birth.

The donation kicked off a fund-raising campaign to raise $300,000 to renovate and modernize the Children's Education Center. Opened in 1968, the Children's Education Center currently services 205 students. The first phase of the campaign is to purchase and install new windows that will offer enhanced safety features for the children. This initiative is being spearheaded by parents and the Ed Center students and has been named "A Child's Vision."

Novy received a plaque of appreciation for his thoughtful donation. "It felt good to make the donation," said 13-year-old Novy. "Everyone at the school came up and hugged and kissed me. My brother was so excited."

Nassau AHRC is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to meet the needs of children and adults with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities by providing community-based programs and services, as well as guidance and support for families.

Nassau AHRC's programs are administered through a variety of divisions and currently serves over 2,000 individuals daily - from newborns to senior citizens. It is a membership association with over 8,600 members and overseen by a volunteer board of directors who work closely with executive staff to ensure that the goals and the mission remain consistent and strong.