Dec. 16, 2009

Thanks to a collaboration between students at California State University, Monterey Bay and a non-profit organization serving children with disabilities, some local families now have a valuable tool available to them.

The Monterey-based Special Kids Crusade started work on a family resource directory in 2007. The directory was intended to help families identify regional advocacy and legal services, educational and vocational providers, public agencies, family support services, therapy and treatment providers, and recreational activities that support children with developmental disabilities in Monterey County. The 256-page directory was printed in August 2008.

"We knew there was a need for this information in Spanish," said Ilene Allinger Candreva, secretary of the organization's board of directors. "We also knew it was going to be prohibitively expensive to pay for it to be translated." Since the organization relies on donations, a few state grants and an annual fundraising event, there was no money available for the project.

Candreva knew of CSUMB's commitment to serving the community, and its emphasis on languages. She reached out to the university's School of World Languages and Cultures, where Professor Maria Zielina invited her to a meeting.

"Ilene told me that she's the mother of a special-needs child. She talked about her struggles and the obstacles she has to overcome in order to get information for her child at school, at the hospital, everywhere," Professor Zielina said. "She was so eloquent and she painted a real picture about the struggles faced by families with disabled children.

"Imagine how much harder it would be for the mother of a special-needs child who did not know the language, who couldn't get help or meet other parents experiencing the same thing.

"I understood that I needed to help. I promised Ilene that I would find a way to do it."

Professor Zielina recruited five of her former students to take on the task. "I asked them to imagine how hard it must be for families to have a disabled child, to experience peoples' ignorance and not be able to get the help they need."

The students – Francisco Lopez, Gerardo Zenteno, Marisela Ramos, Elizaura Magana and Maria Zuniga – earned no academic credit for their work; it was done on a volunteer basis. Their only "payment" was seeing their names on the Spanish-language edition, and the knowledge that they can make a difference.

The translation was finished around Christmas 2008. While the Special Kids Crusade board members went about raising money to cover the printing costs for a thousand copies, the translation went to an editor.

The Spanish edition of the directory was available in the fall of 2009. So far, about 100 copies have been distributed. Copies can be picked up at the Special Education Division of the Monterey County Office of Education; Special Education Office of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District; and the San Andreas Regional Center. Copies are also available at the Special Kids Crusade office in Monterey by calling 372-2730.

"The students did the work on this project," Professor Zielina said. "My role was helping them, encouraging them and staying in touch with then frequently.

"We're all proud of what we did. It's the university's Vision at work."