Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • January 26, 2011 Actress Ali Stroker of Ridgewood said she may be the first actress in a wheelchair in American Musical Theater to have landed a leading role in a professional musical. Stroker will play the role of Olive in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at the Paper Mill Playhouse. The show will run at the Millburn theater through Feb. 13. “As a kid growing up in Jersey, it was my life long goal to perform at Paper Mill Playhouse,” Stroker said. “Now my dream has come true.” Stroker is a graduate of Paper Mill Playhouse’s Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, and has long been a champion for the Christopher Reeve Foundation. She has starred in several productions at New Players, Playwrights Horizon, and American Theater of Actors. “Injured in a car accident at the age of two, Ali grew up in a wheelchair,” actor James Huffman noted. “Recently, she graduated from the Musical Theater Conservatory at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. The summer before her senior year, she made the cut for a summer theater program in Amsterdam. She played Sister Aloysius in a European production of ‘Doubt.’ She is an actress, singer, writer, and dancer; that’s right -- dancer.” Ali recently signed with a talent agent and has already filmed a MasterCard commercial. Disney is also interested in Stroker, according to her agent, Jed Abrahams. Tickets for Stroker’s performance may be purchased by calling (973) 376-4343 or at www.papermill.org. Actress may have ground-breaking role Emmanuel asks... Can You Help? Our hat’s off to 10-year-old Jasmine Barash who made about 75 activity bags for our kids. Each bag included a craft and some treats. She did this on her own as part of her Mitzvah project. The Wyckoff Seniors recently helped us fill our food pantry. Thank you, everyone! Our recent fundraiser was so successful that we are now referring to it as The First Annual Hollywood Bash! The night was amazing. We must mention a few people who helped us along the way: Aldo Cascio from the Brick House donated delicious food; Gina Polverino of Polverino Designs helped with the invitations, ad book, and more; Meryl Shattuck, who chaired the event; and the many people and local businesses who so graciously donated 4-29-09 karen/janine their services. A very special thank you goes to former EmmanuelHelp3x.75(4-29-09) ECF kid Jonnine DeLoatch. Jonnine and her father, Jesse, 3 x .75 both attended. Jonnine spoke about her experience and her story brought many to tears. Many thanks to Caseworkers Addie Haler and Jennifer Heath, ECF Board Vice President Judith Vernon and her husband Ed, and to our amazing volunteers. Our guests included Kim G. from “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” her friends Tom Murro from celebritymagnet.com and his wife Kelly, Kim’s publicist Robyn Polay, and celebrity fitness trainer Michael Blauner. They were kind enough to contact their friend, New York Giants great and NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson, who, with his wife Maribel, came to the bash, spoke to the crowd, and donated autographed items for our auction. We currently have 17 families receiving eight to 10 bags of groceries from our food pantry every month. Please help us keep the shelves of our pantry stocked! When you go grocery shopping and something non-perishable is on sale, please grab some extras and drop them off at our center. We use your donations of food, grocery store gift cards, and funds to help us provide free services to any New Jersey child who has cancer. Approximately 70 cents from every dollar goes towards direct care for our families. Ralph and his family need your help. Ralph is a 17-yearold who is enjoying his senior year of high school. He hopes to attend college and become a nurse like him mother. Ralph lives with his parents and three siblings in Bergen County. His father is blind and unable to work, and Ralph’s mom supports the family the best she can working as an LPN. Ralph was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2004 and with leukemia in 2009. Ralph needed a bone marrow transplant, which was provided by his eight-year old sister. He recovered well from the treatments and multiple surgeries, including a leg amputation. Although he continued to have weekly blood transfusions and tests done following the bone marrow transplant, he was in remission. A few weeks ago, test results showed that Ralph’s leukemia has returned. He will likely need to undergo more chemotherapy. Because of his amputation and weakness from cancer treatments, the family decided to convert the back room behind the kitchen into a bedroom for Ralph. This allows him easier access to his bedroom, but he still needs to go up many steps to the second floor to access the shower. His family would love to be able to build a shower in the small half-bathroom on the first floor to make life easier for Ralph. The family hopes a contractor or handyman will help convert the bathroom to include some type of shower for Ralph. However, the family does not have the financial resources to pay for the supplies or the work this project will require. You can help in a variety of ways. Turn your next gathering or event into a fundraiser by asking guests to bring checks or gift cards for our families. Your efforts help us to help families like Ralph’s in many ways, including sending a caseworker to visit the families at home or in the hospital. If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer. Volunteers are welcome to assist on Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. Call us at (201) 612-8118 before you stop by. Please do not leave items at the center without checking with us first. Our storage space is limited. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue, Midland Park, NJ 07432. Visit us on the web at: www.emmanuelcancer.org. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families! The Waldwick High School Grad Ball 2011 will host a Fashion Show dinner fundraiser, “Down the Shore,” on Tuesday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. at Seasons in Washington Township. Fashions will be modeled by students from the Class of 2011. Tickets are $50 per person. To reserve tickets, call Su Ritondale at (201) 670-9198 or Denise Nitsche at (201) 670-5043. Anyone interested in donating prizes may contact Karin at (201) 445-5234 or Christine at (201) 670-4799. Grad Ball fundraiser set Just a Click Away! www.villadom.com Thousands r of Readers Ove se and Above Tho r u Who Receive O Paper in the Mail! Visit Our Website: Direct Links to Advertisers ’ Websites! Read Our Other Editions Too! Current & Past!