2017AngelAmong Us
Mary Bertoni
Mary is a student at Bernards High School and has been a hard-working
volunteer at the ‘Saturdays in Motion’ Program at the Somerset Hills
YMCA for the last five years. A friend’s older sister who was involved with
the program encouraged her to join. The program is the largest and longing
running recreational program for children with autism and their fami-
lies. The children spend an hour in the pool and an hour in the gym focusing
on social interaction with others.
Of the over 100 volunteers Mary stands out because she is extremely hard
working and is consistently successful with the children in the program who
have more challenging behaviors. Her skill set includes focus, maturity,
confidence, energy, and creativity. She is able to change her strategy on a
moment’s notice to find an approach that works for a particular child in that
specific moment.
Most recently Mary has worked with a teenage boy whose behaviors can be
challenging to some of the other volunteers. She has been so successful with
him and built such a connection that the father immediately searches Mary
out when they arrive at the program. Because of this special relationship, he
typically does not exhibit many of his challenging behaviors and is then able
to enjoy the recreational opportunities of the program. It is obvious that
Mary has enriched the life of this teenage boy.
Mary has been an extremely reliable volunteer and has rarely missed a
session. She shows up early to help set up and will do whatever is asked of
her without questions.
In the fall of 2018, Mary plans to study engineering and business in college
and eventually go to business school. For her outstanding dedication to and
compassion with children with special needs, we are proud to honor Mary
Bertoni as the 2017 Angel Among Us award winner!