Susan Romano devotes a lifetime to those most in need of help

Sussex County - As the holiday season fast approaches, many people will open their hearts and give to a particular charity or cause. They may even give some of their time to that cause, but it takes a rare person to give of themselves on a daily basis year after year. Susan Romano is one of those people who has been an active community volunteer for more than 20 years in the Sussex County area. Her community involvement is probably best exemplified in her years of volunteer service for the SCARC (Sussex County Association for Retarded Citizens) Foundation Inc. She has been a member of the foundation’s board of trustees for more than 14 years, has held a seat on every sub-committee and has served in every office including that of chairperson. Romano’s late husband, Pat Romano, and his first wife, Gloria Romano, were instrumental in starting the organization’s first group home in Newton in 1980, and their son Thomas, who had Downs Syndrome, was the first resident. Thomas, who died in April of this year at the age of 54 had been involved in association programs since its inception in 1957. “Susan has a tremendous compassion for people with developmental disabilities, not only because she had a step-son with Downs Syndrome, but because she had other family members with disabilities as well,” said Diane Chudoba, executive director and chief operating officer of SCARC Foundation Inc. “She has embraced our cause, and without this kind of devotion to people with mental retardation, we would not have the program and services we do in Sussex County.” The foundation is the fundraising arm of SCARC, which now has 17 group homes and several assisted living apartments in Sussex County. “Awareness has really come a long way since we opened our second group home in ’82, when there was fury in the community that we were there,” said Romano. “Up until then, parents of children with Downs Syndrome, autism or really any kind of mental retardation had very few options and most of these children ended up being institutionalized,” she added. Romano continues to work for the organization as enthusiastically as ever, citing as her motivation the family motto: “Give back to your community” The SCARC building is located at 11 Route 206, Suite 100 Augusta, NJ, 07822. For more information, visit www.scarcfoundation.org.