Noahs Place Playground-New Bedford, MA

ABC Massachusetts member Victor Fernandes and his wife Christine discovered in 2006 that their son Noah had M.E.L.A.S., a progressive and degenerative mitochondrial disease. When massive strokes, blindness and juvenile dementia followed, it would have been easy to let their grief consume them.

But Christine and Victor took a very different approach, starting the Team Noah Foundation to help find a cure for mitochondrial disease and ensure that no disabled child is left without the equipment needed to maximize his or her quality of life.

That determination didn’t falter, even when they lost Noah in March. Today the Team Noah Foundation is focused on making Noah’s Place Playground a reality.

New Bedford has provided a beautiful piece of land in Marine Park on Pope’s Island. Designers, architects and others have been engaged to plan and build the playground, which will feature amenities like solar-powered bathrooms that can accommodate special-needs children and adults.

But building a fully accessible playground – one that allows handicapped children to access things like swings that accommodate their wheelchairs – is expensive, even when so many are donating their services. ABC members may recall Nelson DeGouviea, a Team Noah Foundation board member, who spoke passionately at the 2016 ABC installation breakfast about the great work the foundation is doing. ABC members enthusiastically supported the foundation’s efforts then, and those who want to continue to help can go to http://www.teamnoahfoundation.org/noahs-playground/, where they can sponsor various pieces of equipment. Companies will be recognized with plaques on the equipment they sponsor and multiple companies can go in together to purchase the more expensive pieces.

There are other ways for ABC members to support the Team Noah Foundation. The foundation’s fourth annual golf tournament will be held on June 27 at the Acushnet River Valley Golf Course in Acushnet, to be followed by dinner at Café Europa in New Bedford. Those seeking more information can call Joe Pereira at (508) 207-5408, or Peter Ferreira at (508) 951-7432.

The foundation will also present “New York, New York”, a fundraising event at The Light Hall in Fall River on November 12th. Those interested in more information on the gala should call Olga Medeiros at (508) 509-9789, or Christine Fernandes at (508) 817-6813.

Christine and Victor Fernandes’ determination to channel their grief into helping other children and families who face daunting challenges is an act of remarkable courage. I hope our members will reinforce that courage by participating in this noble effort.

James Rudolph, Esq. is the managing partner of Rudolph Friedmann LLP, Boston and is the 2016 ABC-Mass. chairman, Woburn, Mass.