Mayor Wayne Smith has been appointed to the Board of Trustees for Wynona’s House, an organization that serves the victims of child abuse by providing a safe haven and working with professionals from the medical, mental health and law enforcement fields to help reverse traumatic effects of the experience.

 

He will serve for a period of one to three years and general duties will include attending 5 board meetings yearly, participating on a committee, assisting with fundraising and acting as one of the spokespersons for the agency, according to Barbara Wood, executive director.

 

“We are delighted to have an elected official to be interested enough in this cause and step forward and do something,” said Wood, who praised the mayor’s record of community involvement.

 

“I am deeply humbled to have been selected for such a critical endeavor,” Smith said. “Nothing is more important than shielding the innocence of our children and giving them the tools that are necessary to lead happy, productive and fulfilled lives.”

 

Toward this end, the issue of youth development plays a prominent role in the Smith administration. Under his tenure, recreational opportunities have expanded with a boxing program; multi-faceted arts program; municipal funding of the Pop Warner football program; installation of a skate park at Chancellor Park; and construction of new playground equipment at municipal parks, among other initiatives. Furthermore, a number of safe havens have been established throughout the township in conjunction with the township’s designation in the federal Weed and Seed program that seeks to “weed” out social ills and “seed” in community stability through an array of services in public safety, recreation, job training and other initiatives. In addition, the township last year secured $100,000 grant from the state’s Juvenile Justice Commission targeting at-risk and delinquent youth. Mentoring, after-school and behaviorial modification programs are being offered to students in grades four through eight.

 

Located in Newark, Wynona’s House is the namesake of the late Wynona M. Lipman, who in 1971, made history as the first African American elected to the NJ State Senate. A champion of issues that directly and indirectly impact children, she pioneered legislative action on family leave, pay equity, enforcement of child support orders and other causes.

 

“I knew Sen. Wynona Lipman very well and participated in her minority entrepreneurial sessions at Essex County College that she sponsored for many years,” the mayor said. “I know the legacy of her work concerning children and women’s issues and am honored to be working for this organization in her tradition,” Smith added.

 

 

 

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