Schwartz Center for Children Announces 2014 Charity Fishing Tournament Dates

The Schwartz Center for Children announced today that its 4thannual Fishing For A Cause® recreational tournament will be held on Friday, June 27th and Saturday, June 28, 2014, culminating with a celebratory awards dinner on Saturday night. The tournament will once again be anchored at Pope’s Island Marina, 102 Pope’s Island, New Bedford, with fishing grounds from Cape Cod Bay to Block Island and beyond. Fishing For a Cause® is a catch-and-release striped bass, bluefish and fluke tournament organized by and for the benefit of the Schwartz Center for Children, a non-profit organization that provides critical services for children with special developmental and medical needs throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.

Interested anglers can register their own boat with up to three anglers for an entry fee of $750 or organize a team of anglers to join an all-inclusive charter challenge with entry fees staring at $1,500 per charter. Tickets for the catered awards dinner can be purchased separately and start at $100 per person. For more information visit: fishing4acause.org

This year’s tournament coincides with the anchoring of the historic Charles W. Morgan whaling ship in the New Bedford Harbor. The Morgan – a National Historic Landmark built in and first launched from New Bedford in 1841 – is the oldest American commercial ship still afloat. An influx of visitors is expected for this combination of events in the port city.

About Schwartz Center for Children: The Schwartz Center for Children, located in Dartmouth, MA, has been serving children with a variety of special medical and developmental needs in Southeastern Massachusetts since 1947. Services include a year-round Day School, an Early Intervention Program, Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, a Regional Consultation Program, Pediatric Specialty Clinics, and a variety of other programs. For more information visit: schwartzcenter.org

Summary of Schwartz Center Programs & Services:

Coordinated therapeutic and social services currently include:

1. An integrated Early Intervention Program for families of children from birth to 3 years with or at-risk of developmental difficulties. Services are provided at home and at the Center and include: screening and evaluation; occupational, physical, speech and language therapy; educational and play groups; family support and parent training; bi-lingual community groups; and resource and referral services.
2. A private accredited year-round Day School serving children and young adults with special needs from ages 3-21. Day School services include: speech, language and communication therapy; academic readiness; specialty clinics; behavior management; nursing services, activities of daily living; and physical and occupational therapy.
3. A licensed, comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Program providing on-site evaluation and treatment by therapists licensed and certified in a variety of therapy disciplines. It serves children with a broad range of diagnoses, disabilities and complex medical needs.
4. One of only six facilities to be named a Regional Consultation Program by the state of Massachusetts, the staff provides training and technical assistance to early-childhood professionals throughout the Southeastern region of Massachusetts regarding children with complex needs.
5. A three-track Family University program addresses the social needs of families of children with disabilities, including social skills groups for children with autism spectrum disorder, and separate parent and sibling groups to educate and support those closest to a child with special needs.
6. Educational, behavioral, and therapeutic Consulting Services to local public and charter schools.

Services Reach: In the last fiscal year, the Schwartz Center’s Early Intervention Program provided 26,200 treatment hours to 644 children in the last fiscal year; 56 children were enrolled in our Day School, for a collective total of 11,430 school days; in the outpatient Rehabilitation Program, 140 children received 5,156 hours of treatment time; among the three age groups enrolled in our Social Skills programs, the Center provided a total of 2,232 program hours of instruction to 31 children; and the Regional Consultation program held a total of 353 trainings and 99 consultations with 452 clients. Additional information can be found on the Center’s website at: schwartzcenter.org