Midland Park December 23, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 9 Ridgewood Philanthropist David Bolger and Bolger Enterprises President JT Bolger visited the new Children’s Therapy Center Upper School in Midland Park last week to tour the center they helped grow, offer additional contributions and bask in the warm appreciation shown by the students. “This has been a `labor of love,’ and we were thrilled to be able to show David what he has helped make possible,” commented Audra Hoffman, the center’s director of development. The Midland Park campus opened in September in the building that once housed St. Thomas More Interparochial School at the Church of the Nativity. Physical, occupational and speech therapy is provided to students ages seven through 12. The center also operates a facility for younger children in Fair Lawn. Through Bolger, who manages the foundation, the center received the last of the moneys in the DePhillips Foundation’s coffers: $76,626 for various projects, plus $2,000 for a piece of equipment specific to the Midland Park Upper School as designated by the principal. Nearly half of this gift, $42,000, will fund wheel-chair accessible swing sets for the new play area adjacent to the building. Also included are a horticulture area, Mac computers, smart boards for the classrooms, DePhillips donation benefits Children’s Therapy Center upgrades for power chairs, and other equipment. “We find it fitting that the final donation from the DePhillips Foundation helps the Children’s Therapy Center, which in turn is assisting the community as a whole,” said David Bolger, noting that the DePhillips family, who were Midland Park residents, “wanted to inspire a sense of community giving, for people in need.” “David has given so much to The Children’s Therapy Center over the years - not only financially but emotionally. He has shown such a genuine love of our program and our children by physically coming to our Center to hand out holiday gifts to our kids, helping with logistics when we were working on the expansion, offering suggestions for improvement, challenging us to increase our donor base and so much more. This is the sort of “behind-the-scenes” philanthropy that really proves that his giving is much more far-reaching than just writing a check and proving that he truly understands what it takes to make an organization successful and sustainable,” Hoffman said. Bolger previously contributed more than $300,000 to the Midland Park project. In August of 2007, he challenged the CTC to (continued on page 31) At right (L-R):, JT Bolger and David Bolger present final DePhillips Foundation contribution to Children’s Therapy Center Executive Director/ Principal Marvin Leiken. Below: David Bolger visits with center students who performed during the appreciation ceremony. SHOTMEYER BROS. “We’re the Energy Experts!” The Finest Heating Oil and Service Company in the Industry! AUTOMATIC DELIVERY! COMPLETE INSTALLATION! EMERGENCY SERVICE! Dependable, Reliable Service for Over 80 Years! Call Us Today! 973-427-1000