The Most Inspirational Springfield Stories of 2011

If you ever need proof that heroes walk among us, look to the example Tony Sidar set. A longtime volunteer for Springfield’s Auxiliary Police Force, Sidar made a habit out of helping people in need and taking care of situations threating to become out of control. Until his death this year to complications of Leukemia, Sidar was a rock for Springfield’s Community.

Reflecting on a fire that forced her out of her home and threatened the lives of her two young children, Mia Kabea was powerfully affected, not by fear but by an outpouring of generosity from people in the community. She wrote “the scariest, saddest, and most profound moment of my life turned into a gift I will remember forever. The community support, the support from the schools and from so many people who are now my dear friends will never be forgotten because everyone gave from their hearts. By the next day, my children had clothes for school and toys to play with because of good people.” Her experience led her to implore other Springfield residents to donate toys in this year’s Springfield HOPE toy drive.

Springfield mom Stephanie Steiner transformed a near-fatal tragedy into hope and help for pregnant women by organizing the first-ever Promise Walk for Preeclampsia in New Jersey. She helped to raise over $12,000 for a disorder that almost took her life and that of her unborn child. Steiner was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a disorder that occurs during pregnancy and affects both the mother and the fetus, while awaiting her first child Marissa, now a healthy 11-year-old. The walk was held this past Mother’s Day at Nomahegan Park in Cranford, and attracted 60 walkers and raised needed funds and awareness for this potentially fatal disease.

Jason Condit

Schedules are full and money is tight, but community members have still come out in droves to support the Condit family. Jason Condit, the 7-year-old son of Clark Dairy Queen owners and Springfield residents Bill and Lois, was diagnosed with cancer in September, and his plight has inspired many in the area and prompted benefits throughout the year.

In her autobiography "God Does Play Dice," Holocaust survivor Klara Samuels describes herself as a lucky person, even in consideration of spending six years in Bergen-Belsen, the same concentration camp as Anne Frank."On an individual basis I can argue that God gave me a fair share of luck: a good brain, six years of horror balanced by over 50 years of happiness and prosperity, good health and reasonable longevity," Samuels wrote. "But on the vast scale of events I am still bewildered and horrified by the cruel and senseless deaths during our own Holocaust and those of other victimized people." Samuels addressed Springfield’s Hadassah chapter in April.