To the editor: The initial reason for me writing this letter came out of reading a Thumbs Down in the Aim Action News a couple of weeks ago. I would have contacted the writer directly; however the nature of the “thumbs” is that the writer remains anonymous. Then I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Maple Road School’s bubble day to offset the negativity of the thumbs down in the paper and would like to respond to both experiences. First, a response to the Maple Road School principal, PTO, faculty and students: Thank you so much for inviting me to your “Bubble Day” celebration. I was very excited to accept the very generous donation voted on by the students to send their bubble donations to the West Milford PAL. It is a privilege and honor that the children thought enough of the Police Athletic League to choose to support its efforts. All the money that was collected will go directly back into the programs that a lot of the students participate in during the school year. In addition, a special thanks to the faculty and PTO volunteers who support the Voters Ed programs that allows the children to understand the power of their vote and the importance of exercising that vote. Second, a response to the thumbs down in the AIM: The writer mentioned that there was a phone call soliciting funds on a Saturday morning. I assure you that was not the West Milford PAL as we do not solicit funds on Saturday or Sunday mornings. There is another organization that uses phone solicitation and has been know to pretend to be the local PAL. If there is ever a concern about this, you can call the West Milford PAL at 973-728-9725 to verify if the caller is legitimate or send any donation directly to The West Milford PAL, P.O. Box 644, West Milford NJ 07480. Then the writer mentioned that nothing at the PAL is free. That is not true. Perhaps we have not adequately informed the public. Currently, we have a play group for young children during the weekday mornings, the after-school open gym and activity nights where there is always something raffled off. The West Milford PAL is a non-profit organization that runs three seasons of soccer and basketball and year-long Cavaliers programs. The PAL offers open gym Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m. at no charge and free themed activity nights for children in grades 5 through 8. In the past we have offered spring break camps and community programs like the seminar on Teen Dating Abuse. In addition to our sporting and community outreach programs, we have opened a preschool that offers before and after care for Maple Road and Westbrook Schools. Our mission is to keep kids safe, active and productive in an environment they can call their second home. Can we do more for the community? Perhaps, but not alone and not without proper funding. The West Milford PAL has a small staff to ensure there is proper supervision of the building and its occupants; however, the organization is only as strong as the volunteers that support it and the donations that we solicit from the general public and community. We pay for our programs through registration fees, donations from the general membership and community businesses during our fund drive, our annual tricky tray and occasional grants from the National PAL. We have to pay the staff salary, the building heat and electric, the mortgage and upgrades and maintenance. In addition to the building expenses, we have program expenses which include t-shirts, balls, trophies, referee fees and equipment fees. We have an executive board of 12 volunteers that work full time jobs but find time to change the light bulbs, fix the bleachers, put up new flags, mow the lawn and call the town to get rid of the bear that keeps on getting into the dumpsters. We have a large population of coaches that volunteer their time to teach kids the meaning of sportsmanship and the mechanics of participating in a sport. For all those who donate money or time, I cannot thank you enough. You make the organization a fun, productive and safe place for our children. I heard somewhere that it takes a village to raise a child the volunteers and donors at the PAL are our village in West Milford. Elizabeth Walsh-Wong President, West Milford PAL