On a day like Mother’s Day, I feel it appropriate to give my testimony about Colleen’s Corner.

Your mother passes away on a day just like today.  No warning, no plan, no goodbye.  The hardest of prayers go unanswered, and you realize the nightmare is a reality.  The time passes and your mind tries to cope with the new day.   The day when your Mom is now the memories of the past and the belief system in which you subscribe.

My Mom was unwavering in her approach to life and maintained a positive outlook.  She had an undeniable ability to make you look at the world in a way where dreams were attainable and every moment of life was precious.  She was beautiful inside and out, loving, caring, fun, full of life, a great listener, compassionate, understanding, and all around great time to be around.  She afforded my sister and I an amazing environment to grow up in and a marriage to my father to be admired.  I will forever be proud and grateful of the childhood my parents provided us and strive to be half the person my Mom was.

She was always learning (and teaching) and was a student of education all the way up to her death.  The children of Passaic were the real employer of my mother.  It was always about the children, and she committed her entire life to this belief.  We often spoke (over a good meal and a glass of wine)  about education, and how to create a business around her knowledge.  My Mom, myself and a bottle of wine is all we needed for a several hour brainstorming session where we solved the problems of the world with the power of education.

It wasn’t easy to move on after losing my Mother, but I came to the realization that to truly honor my Mom, I must abide by her wishes and never stop moving forward while truly appreciating “the moments” and the special people within my life.

With my new found inspiration and energy, I knew I had to sink my teeth into a cause that my mother would be proud of.  A cause that would hit home and leave a lasting impact on children.  After doing research on other non-profits, we decided to take it upon ourselves to create our own non-profit in memory of Mom (Colleen Ortega), with 100% of the money going back to the children.  We naturally thought of Passaic to start our quest in making Colleen’s Corner a reality.  With the help and support of Passaic BOE, especially the early-childhood department, we were granted an opportunity to enrich 200+ classroom corners.

The Ortega’s (Jocelyn, Manny & Nick) banded together and in the last 6 months, created Colleen’s Corner Inc., created a logo/marketing strategy, developed a website, filed for 501 (c)(3) status, organized our first brunch, sponsored our first marathon runners, and developed a vision I think my Mom would be proud of.

In the next several months we will be tirelessly working towards raising funds, enriching the corners, developing a teacher advocacy program, and increasing our brand awareness.  It is still early days at Colleen’s Corner but we’re excited for the opportunity and challenge to impact the thousands of children in Passaic and the millions of children around the world.

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Sincerely,

Nick Ortega

CEO of Colleen’s Corner Inc.