Letters from Friends

Alumna Sandra C. Slomin builds a center for children with autism

Slomin, Cameron, and Griffin with Brutus

A devoted Buckeye, Sandy Slomin, second from left, and Lori Cameron dedicated Alumni Brutus to Archie Griffin, whose No. 45 jersey is among the Ohio State symbols decorating the statue. Alumni Brutus can be viewed at Longerberger Alumni House.

"I believe in two things: Things happen for a reason, and the purpose of my life is to pay it forward."
-- Alumna Sandra C. Slomin, '71 BS, Education

A gifted child named Devin, the son of close family friends, taught alumna Sandra Slomin of Delray Beach, Fla., what it means to have special needs.

"Years ago, my mother had a stroke and needed home care," Sandy says. "A lovely mother and two daughters cared for her, and our families became very close."

When Devin was born to one of the daughters, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Everyone wanted him to have the best life and education possible, so they worked with Ann Levene, advocate and director of Special Needs at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Palm Beaches. Thanks to their efforts and the child's bright spirit, Devin excelled in a mainstreamed classroom from the start. Today, he is a thriving third-grader.

"From the experience, I learned the importance of having someone who can help parents every step of the way in serving their special needs child," Sandy says. "Through Ann, I also learned about autism, because one of her programs is made up of 99.9 percent autistic children."

The children are my purpose in life

"The children grabbed my heart," Sandy says. They guided her to contribute to the JCC preschool program for special needs children. She upgraded the playground to be special needs accessible. She helped start the JCC's special needs program in Boynton Beach.

Ann also introduced Sandy to the need for a school for older children with autism, so she assisted with the expansion of The Palm Beach School for Autism in Lantana, Fla., a public charter school now serving K-5. After that, Sandy wasn't sure what else she could do to help, but she knew she would soon learn.

Inspiration first struck when Sandy toured the college's Schoenbaum Family Center at Weinland Park while it was being built.

"Weinland Park is my model," she says. "I am trying to duplicate the concept for our county down here."

She fell in love with the idea of a center, like the Schoenbaum Family Center, that provides complete services to children and their families as well as engages in community building around an identified need.

Sandy's focus is on creating a similar full-service center that will serve children and families and build community support around improving lives for those with autism.

Serving those with autism in memory of her parents

Sandy has just the right background to work with children and schools. The Long Island, NY, native eagerly studied to become a teacher in our college.

The way she tells it, she never considered going anywhere else. "My sister's best friend invited me to visit her for a weekend at Ohio State, and that was it," Sandy says. "It was totally Ohio State from the moment I set foot on campus."

After Ohio State, Sandy earned a master's in education from Hofstra University. She then taught kindergarten in an at-risk neighborhood in Florida. Life intervened and Sandy became a real estate agent, well known for her expertise in the Palm Beach area. But in the last few years, she's come full circle and now works for children as a full-time philanthropist.

"People don't understand how hard it is for families to get a child on the autism spectrum all the needed services. Things we take for granted with typical children, like going to a dentist or getting a hair cut, are so difficult with a child who has autism. And the statistics on the number of married couples with an autistic child who break up -- they're enormous. These families need support."

And provide that support is exactly what Sandy intends to do. Today, she has successfully launched The DreamBuilders Capital Campaign, and land is being acquired to create The Roslyn and Raymond Slomin Campus in memory of Sandy's parents.

"It's because of my parents that this project is possible," Sandy says. "They spent their lives giving quietly, anonymously, and I usually do too, but this time, the tribute to them will be well-known."

Our heroes of autism are our children

One side of The Roslyn and Raymond Slomin Campus will house The Palm Beach School for Autism, which has so many children, it desperately needs more space. The other side of campus will offer the full-service, state-of-the-art Sandra C. Slomin Family Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. The center will provide medical, therapeutic and personal services -- including that special dentist and hair stylist who understand autistic children -- as well as social programming for the 150 children with autism who attend the school. Children from the community will also be served, and activities for young adults with autism will be an important focus, too.

Children's families will benefit from educational programs and direct advocacy in the use of community resources. And the center will serve as a coordination point for the county, with a task force of local organizations helping to mobilize around the needs of those experiencing autism.

With 167,000 students in the Palm Beach County School District, the 11th largest in the U.S., and with more than 5,000 of them diagnosed with autism and related disabilities, the assistance will be most welcome.

Sponsors are joining the cause. Autism Speaks, one of the nation's largest advocacy and research organizations co-founded by Bob and Suzanne Wright, supports the DreamBuilders Capital Campaign and its vision. "Our target is to make it as easy as we can for families to give kids all the opportunities they deserve to live life to the fullest," Sandy emphasizes. "Our children are our heroes of autism."

Building this Center is the impact that going to Ohio State had on me

"My experience at Ohio State was definitely character forming," says Sandy, who also supports her college as a donor. "It made me insist that my Long Island-raised nieces and nephews go to school in the Big Ten, to expose them to the Midwest. Understanding the Midwest brings you to the reality of who we are as a nation and what's important: good character and solid values."

One of Sandy's nephews, Adam Handelman ('03 BS, '04 MEd), chose Ohio State and teaching as well. He graduated from our college specializing in early childhood education. He started his career teaching preschool, then recently married and entered the Slomin family business. He's actively involved with creating The Center because, like Sandy, he believes in education.

"Recently, I saw Archie Griffin on 'Eye on Alumni' talking about Coach Woody Hayes' philosophy of paying it forward," says Sandy, referring to the program that airs on the Big Ten Network. "It reminded me that Archie and I both considered Woody our role model. Today, Archie is a valued friend and role model. Like him, I continue to pay it forward.

"The part I like to play in philanthropy is to fill the void that no one else has stepped up to fill, to make the difference that other people don't realize is important. I believe that building this Center is what I was meant to do."

View other letters from our alumni.

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