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Claps Times
Making a Difference, One Day at a Time
By Pearl Lerner Kane
Ginger Katz, together with her husband Larry, has made a lifelong commitment to advocating for those whose voice may not be able to be heard. Whether it is for their daughter Candace, who resides at CLASP's Reynolds Drive group home, or for their late son Ian, whose young life serves as a message to thousands of local teens about the dangers of substance abuse, the Katzes are tireless in their devotion to the causes they pursue.
Probably from the moment Candace was born in 1969 and diagnosed with Down Syndrome, Ginger Katz was determined that her daughter would reach her highest potential and that she would be a prominent member of her community and school. She fought to have her daughter accepted into an innovative pilot program at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., initiated by Dr. Mary Coleman, a maverick researcher who believed that people with developmental disabilities could achieve more than previously thought.
Nineteen years ago, Ginger was a single mom, living in Westport with her two young children. Into her life walked Larry Katz, a man who fell in love with her and fell in love with her children. Larry made an impression on Candace from the start when he fixed her television's antenna. She called him "big stuff" - a nickname she uses to this day. Soon after, Ginger and Larry married and encountered the first of many challenges they would face in the battle for school inclusion.
At Candace's middle school in Norwalk, it was accepted policy for special education students to be graduated separately from their classmates, "like an extra class, out of alphabetical order," as Ginger describes it. Through their efforts, the Katz family proudly watched Candace's class as the first to graduate with the whole graduating class. Faced with the same situation four years later at Norwalk High School, Candace and her classmates walked proudly with their graduating class, in alphabetical order. Larry and Ginger Katz expected great accomplishments from their daughter - they have had great faith in her abilities. Because of their tenacity, Candace began two jobs, more than eleven years ago. She continues to be a valued member of the employee team at Loehmann's and Blockbuster. Last year, Candace was given an award by Loehmann's, marking her tenth year of service. A beautiful bracelet made the ceremony memorable.
Tragedy struck the Katz family four years ago when son Ian lost his life from an accidental drug overdose. The distraught family has bonded together to keep Ian's memory as a reminder to all young people that drug use, at any level, is potentially life-threatening. Ginger talks about Ian's struggle with drugs through her foundation, The Courage to Speak Foundation, Inc. At Ian's funeral, Candace gave her eulogy to her brother. She told the mourners: "My brother came to visit me last night. He told me to tell you that he is in good hands now. He loves us all and wants you to be happy." This spiritual message was brought to those gathered by a young woman who many thought would never be able to understand the world as other do.
Candace, Larry and Ginger are a family whose strength and ability to turn the proverbial lemons into lemonade should be a role model for us all.
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