RELEASE: May 8, 2000

Previous Screen

Human Services Commissioner Michele K. Guhl today joined pre-school children planting flowers and vegetables at a Children’s Garden at the Millhill Child and Family Development Center in Trenton. The cleanup of the garden site was part of the department’s award-winning People with Disabilities Make a Difference Day.

In October, over 100 volunteers, including many with developmental disabilities and mental illness, helped clean up the garden site at the child care center. The Department of Human Services volunteer project won a $2,000 Make a Difference Day USA award from USA Weekend.

Today, Commissioner Guhl presented the $2,000 check to the Millhill Child and Family Development Center for the further support of the garden and helped put the finishing touches on the garden. The students at the center will tend and cultivate the garden throughout the summer and fall as part of their curriculum.

Commissioner Guhl created the People with Disabilities Make a Difference program to foster greater understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities who are living in DHS-sponsored community residences.

"This garden provides an abundance of enriching lessons for the students," Guhl said. "One of the most important among those lessons is that even people who are a little different from them care about them and care about their community."

Steven Rosen, executive director of the Millhill Child and Family Development Center, said lesson plans will be structured around the garden. "By actually getting their hands dirty, our children will learn how things grow, how food is made, and how much work it takes to make something thrive," Rosen said. "This garden is a tremendous gift from hundreds of people who have made a difference in the lives of our students."

The $2,000 award will pay for plants, flowers, mulch, top soil, child-sized gardening tools, and stepping stones with each child’s name and handprint. Isles, a Trenton-based community development and environmental improvement organization, has assisted the center in selecting and planting appropriate flowers and vegetables.

The Millhill Child and Family Development Center is a non-profit organization providing services for children between the ages of two months and six years. Many have been abused or neglected.