Dear Friends,

It's hard to believe Cedar Hill/St. John's Community Development Corporation is celebrating its fifth anniversary. These years seemed to have passed in an instant. However, the accomplishments achieved by the CDC in the five short years of its existence are more befitting of achievements attained over a much longer period of time. From a tenuous beginning with a very limited budget and admittedly lofty goals, we have grown and flourished, attaining excellence as we struggled to survive during these economically challenging times. Now, Cedar Hill/St. John's after-school program is recognized as a positive force within the community, benefiting the individual families we serve as well as the community at large.

Congratulations and thanks are due to the many people who have contributed to the CDC's growth and success by volunteering time and donating money, supplying the energy and wisdom necessary to plan and execute countless meetings and special events, and by always being there to provide encouragement when things begin to look a little bleak. Thanks go especially to the professionals associated with our programs for being just that, professional, with all the positive attributes that the word expresses.

We are about to embark upon a new phase. Our promise of commitment, safety and enrichment has been realized on one level. Children at risk of becoming latch-key kids have been taken off the streets. Their afternoons and summers are spent in a secure environment where their knowledge is enhanced as is their exposure to new ideas and different cultures. Our outreach will now extend to the larger community; our neighbors in Boonton who have not yet availed themselves of our services. They will see us as a resource. We will open our computer lab to parents who do not have access to computers. Our families have brought to our attention the desperate need for affordable, safe and well-maintained housing. We are seeking opportunities to provide such. In time, a variety of services will become available through Cedar Hill/St. John's CDC.

Time is relative. It seems to go faster and faster with each passing year. Anyone who has lived on this earth for more than a few years will attest to this. Einstein theorized the faster we travel, the less we change, i.e. the less we age. The next five years will pass by even more quickly than the last but Cedar Hill/St. John's CDC will continue to evolve. Someone else may be writing the message from the president by then as I may begin traveling as much and as fast as possible. Nevertheless, with the sustained effort of all of us the message will be as easy to write and have the same optimistic tone as this one.

Tim O'Donnell, Executive Director