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Health & Fitness

TOP™ Program Coordinator Honored at RBR SOURCE Reception

RBR SOURCE presented the Outstanding Community Service award to TOP co-coordinator Annette LaBarbera of the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium.

Red Bank Regional (RBR)  Superintendent Jim Stefankiewicz told a gathering of proud parents and SOURCE supporters at the annual SOURCE Reception, “You would be hard-pressed to find a School Based Services Program better run then RBR’s SOURCE. He added, “I am here to tell you what a great program this is and how we cannot live without it. Every year they take on a new initiative to reach out to more kids. This year it is the TOP™ (Teen Outreach Program.)”


RBR freshmen who took part in TOP™ (an evidence-based program to aid teens in their personal and academic development) were invited to speak at the podium and introduce their co-coordinator Annette LaBarbera from the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium. Ms. LaBarbera was honored with The SOURCE’s Outstanding Community Service Award at the reception. (The SOURCE formed a partnership with the Consortium to administer the program which is funded by a grant from the Office of Adolescent Health.)


Freshman Victoria Ovanesian stated, “Joining TOP™ was the best decision I made all year! We grew closer as a group and more understanding of one another.”

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Freshman Azanda Lewis added, “It was a place I could be myself, and it taught me so much about myself and one another.”

Freshman Grace Rumph talked about the highlight of program, “The Out of the Darkness Walk,” sponsored by the club members to educate their peers on teen suicide awareness and prevention. The students engaged 370 of their students to walk and raised $2,000 for the cause. The program attracted the attention of Allison Blake, Commissioner of the NJ Department of Children and Families who walked with the students in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week. Freshman Adam Canterbury echoed her sentiments mentioning the opportunities given him in running the event, which also required public speaking responsibilities.

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Ms. LaBarbera, who co-chairs the program with SOURCE clinician Becky Stevenson, stated, I am so proud of my TOP™ students. They exceeded all our expectations. They are really going places.”


The SOURCE also awarded RBR junior Enrique Cabrera of Red Bank its Outstanding Service Award for his development of a website for The SOURCE. 
Additionally, college scholarships were given to Source seniors based on
their academic record and community service. Carlos Aparicio, Karla Pantle,
Jayla Berry, Laritza Lopez and Ana Valladares were this year’s recipients.

A highlight of the program involved the school’s current and alumni ELL students and their quest to attend college.The 2012 Andrew Kroon Memorial Scholarship was awarded to seniors Carlos Aparicio and Karla Pantle of Red Bank who are now able to afford Brookdale College. Carlos, a STS leader, and a soccer and track athlete hopes to launch a career in bilingual media. Karla Pantle who earned an International Baccalaureate Certificate, tutored in the RBR AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program and achieved a perfect attendance record, has aspirations to work in either nursing or computer science.  In all, over the past eight years, the scholarship has sent 35 RBR ELL (English Language Learners) to Brookdale College.  

 RBR also collaborates with a community volunteer mentorship program, founded and coordinated by David Prown of Red Bank, to support those students in college. Four of those students-- Alvaro Aguilar, Marlen Lopez, Esteban Urena, and Arturo Varella---graduated this year.  Marlen Lopez spoke on
behalf of the four graduates stating her appreciation for the scholarship that
made college possible, and thanked her guardian and her teachers at RBR.

She added a special thank you to the mentorship program stating, “They have brought four students to the finish line. This is the beginning of our future. We now have an associate’s degree and no one can take that away from us.”

Two other Andrew Kroon Memorial Scholarship students attending Brookdale, Roxanna Hernandez and Itzel Perez, were also awarded scholarships by the Latin American Association to aid in their college costs.

Itzel spoke eloquently to all assembled thanking the community including David Prown and the mentorship program.

She passionately stated, “I am so proud to say
that I graduated from this (high) school. We have really amazing people
including Risa Clay (RBR principal) and Suzanne Keller (SOURCE Coordinator) and
all the teachers. They have shaped my future and changed my life. Thank you for
all the work you do and the opportunity you have given us. I hope we are making
you proud.” 

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