Students of Sargent Center’s Day School Program enjoyed their annual holiday luncheon at the Barnsider’s Mile & A Quarter Restaurant. Because of the extraordinary milestone –this year marked the 25th annual luncheon for Sargent’s students – the Barnsider was recognized by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and Mayor Davis N. Cicilline with proclamations for the restaurant’s outstanding community service.
During the past 24 years, the managers of the restaurant and the executive staff at the restaurant’s headquarters have demonstrated their ongoing support of providing children with complicated disabilities a special experience during the holiday season. Fred Goodwin, Barnsider’s general manager, said, “The staff volunteers each year to prepare and serve the meal because they can see very clearly just how much the day means to the students.”
“This isn’t just a holiday party,” states Pamela Morelli, assistant director of pediatrics at the Sargent Center. “For our students it is a day to enjoy lunch in the city as well as an opportunity for students with disabilities to shine, and apply all that they learn in school about participating in the community into practice.”
The Sargent Center assists approximately 2,500 children and adults each year through its four main programs, which specialize in neurologic disorders and provide education and medical rehabilitation care. •
