Please visit this year's charities...

Transcription of the article which appeared in the Courier Post on Sunday 4/1/07

Ed Vernick says it's impossible not to be moved by parents who lose a child to illness, who take "the most horrific of circumstances and decide to make something positive out of it."

Parents like Mario DiNatale, whose daughter, Alicia Rose, contracted a rare form of cancer and died in 2002, just after her 17th birthday. Instead of drowning in their grief, Mario and his wife, Gisele, started the Alicia Rose Foundation.

In the last five years, the foundation has raised more than $1 million, establishing centers for teens with cancer in 38 hospitals. "It keeps our daughter's name alive," Mario DiNatale said Saturday as he bowled with more than 1,100 people at Baker Lanes during the 13th Annual Remington & Vernick Engineers bowling tournament.

Vernick, whose company is one of the most successful firms in the state, said he feels "blessed" by his good fortune and looks forward to the tournament each year. "It's the day that rejuvenates me," he said. "It makes you feel good about people and good about life." This year's tournament, he said, will raise $65,000 to help five local charities.

Part of the money will go to the Canuso Foundation of Voorhees. The founder, builder John B. Canuso, said he and his wife "lived in the corridors" of Children's Hospital as their 9-year-old daughter, Faith, battled leukemia more than 30 years ago. He realized parents with sick children needed a place to stay so they could be near their loved ones as they fought for their lives. That's why he built the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. The need was so great, he said, the idea caught fire. There are now more than 280 Ronald McDonald houses around the world -- including a 44-room home in Philadelphia and a 20-room house near Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

Representatives were at the event from three more charitable organizations that provide services to children in need.

Tina Fiorentino discussed how The Little Rock Foundation helped blind children.

Robert Jakubowski and Sally Switzer explained how the Big Brothers Big Sisters group helps find mentors for children.

And Ellen Schisler talked about how her group, NJ COSAC, helps parents of autistic children. Stephanie Griffiths, 14, of Magnolia, said she liked the bowling tournament because "it's raising money for a good cause and you can have fun with your friends while doing it."

Vernick credited members of his staff, Chip Adamson and Dana Ridpath, with organizing the event. "When we first started this," Vernick said, "we raised $440." A day like Saturday, he said, gives him and his employees "a chance to give something back."

Reach Alan Guenther at (856) 317-7871 or aguenther@courierpostonline.com Published: April 02. 2007 8:00PM