Special Needs Youth, Young Adults Keep Active At Howell Program

HOWELL, NJ — Amazing Athletes, a partnership being offered through Howell Recreation, gives special needs youth and young adults some fun and physical activity during a long winter month.

The township Recreation Department is partnering with Amazing Athletes on Route 9 for two nights of "fun, games and pizza" on Jan. 20 and 27.

The program takes place between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. each night and the cost is $40 per session. Participants can go to one or both sessions.

Director of Community Relations Steven Fecher said there was a trial of the program in December and it was very successful.

He said this program is for youth and young people 14 years of age and older. And it fills a need, especially once young special needs people age out of school-based services.

"It's a small group setting," he said and so it's manageable to participate in the games and socialize.

Plus, it's a chance for parents to get a night out to go to dinner or see a movie, he said.

He said the township has run another program, Team Adventure, through his department for many years, and it also offers special needs athletic programming. He said participants are enrolled from many towns some distance away because, again, those programs for older special needs kids can be hard to find.

The Amazing Athletes program will take place at the facility at 1721 Route 9 north, near West Farms Road, he said. That's where the youth are dropped off and picked up.

Register and pay for the program through the township. Register online at www.howellrec.org. Just go to the Special Needs tab, type in "Amazing" as a keyword and you can get a prompt for the registration.

For more information, you can contact Fecher at sfecher@twp.howell.nj.us or call 732-938-4500, ext. 2106.