Youth Advocates Anna Baldwin, Tommy Licato, and Tess Kowalski accept the award from Governor Chris Christie on behalf of the entire NJCTS Youth Advocate team. (Photo by Matt Smith/NJ Advance Media)

NJCTS Youth Advocates receive State's highest honor for public service

Since 2007, the New Jersey State Governor's Jefferson Awards for Public Service has recognized volunteers who make a difference in their communities. Among the 2017 honorees were NJCTS Youth Advocates who were recognized in the Youth Volunteer Group Category. We are honored to work with such an amazing group of young leaders and we congratulate each and every one of our 30+ Youth Advocates! The Jefferson Awards were established in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft and Sam Beard and are America's highest honor for public service and volunteerism, honoring the "informed and involved" citizen. Read more.

Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-7) presents awards at the State House on Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day in New Jersey.
State House event honors NJCTS Youth Scholarship winners and Youth Advocates

To mark the occasion of Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day in New Jersey (June 4th), NJCTS celebrated with a press conference and award ceremony at the New Jersey State House in Trenton on Monday, June 5. We thank  Assemblyman Troy Singleton for being such an important part of our TS Awareness Day event! Read more.

NJ Governor, Senate, and Assembly proclaim June 4th as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day in New Jersey

NJCTS received an official proclamation from the Governor's Office of New Jersey as well as a Joint Legislative Resolution recognizing June 4th as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day in the Garden State. Senator Christopher "Kip" Bateman of New Jersey's 16th legislative district presented the proclamation and resolution to NJCTS Executive Director Faith Rice and staff.
The Glick family received a proclamation from Freehold Township.


Thank you to all the families who joined the effort to spread TS awareness across the state by requesting proclamations from their home towns!
NJCTS Youth Advocates Dare to Dream 

Nine NJCTS Youth Advocates delivered keynote presentations at New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education's Dare to Dream Student Leadership Conferences throughout the stat e. More than 2400 teachers and students were on hand to hear  Dare to Dream speakers inspire and empower students to develop self-advocacy and leadership skills. NJCTS Youth Advocates presented at the following:

April 27: Drew Friedrich at Concordia Learning Center
May 5: Anna and Eric Baldwin at Rowan University
May 15: MaryKate Donahue at Stockton University
May 17: Tess Kowalski at Rider University
May 19: Hallie Hoffman at Raritan Valley Community College
May 22: Benjamin Stark at William Paterson University
May 25: Tommy Licato at Middlesex County College

May 31: Mike Hayden at Montclair State University
NJCTS Youth Advocates making waves

NJCTS Youth Advocate Tara Barr recruited friends to host a bake sale at her school. Together they raised $140 for NJCTS and educated their peers about Tourette Syndrome. 






NJCTS Youth Advocate Ally Abad accepted a proclamation from the North Brunswick Board of Education and she also used the opportunity to speak about what Tourette Syndrome is and how it has impacted her life. And thank you for organizing a Jeans Day fundraiser on June 5th to benefit NJCTS, Ally!  Call NJCTS today to find out how you can become a Youth Advocate.
UC San Francisco, Massachusetts General Hospital, Univ. of Florida, Yale, and Rutgers collaborate on groundbreaking TS research announced May 3, 2017

New Jersey leads research to identify Tourette genes. "Our partnership with Rutgers has resulted in the identification of key genes contributing to Tourette Syndrome, leading the way to a better understanding of this complex disorder," said Faith Rice, Executive Director of NJCTS. "New Jersey families' participation in the 2008 initial pilot led to establishing 26 National Institutes of Health collection sites around the world and to this expanded research. Because of their participation, we are closer than ever to understanding Tourette Syndrome." Read more.
Click to hear Dr. Gary Heiman discuss the TS genetics project.
Your help is critical in moving Tourette Syndrome research forward

June 29 & 30 and July 12 & 13 at Rutgers

Would you like to see more people working on a cure for Tourette Syndrome? How about research into the causes of TS? Now is your opportunity to join the NJCTS effort and personally be part of making that happen. For more information and to schedule an appointment, contact Dr. Gary Heiman, team leader at the NJCTS Cell & DNA Sharing Repository at Rutgers University, at familystudy@biology.rutgers.edu.

Save the Date for TS Rocks!

Sunday afternoon, October 1, 2017, in Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Stay tuned for more details.
Ask The GreaTS Live Chat - Join the Community! 

NJCTS launched a unique new opportunity for teens and young adults to learn more about TS and ask questions of a live team of "experts." On May 24, we hosted our first Ask the GreaTS Live Chat where we began to talk about disclosure and how to tell friends, family, coworkers, and others about TS. Stay tuned for our next Ask the GreaTS Live Chat--you do not want to miss it!

Explore new ways to support NJCTS
programs and services
Save the date for these upcoming events!




October 1: TS Rocks - a concert to benefit NJCTS


November 2: Childhood Mental Health Symposium at Cooper Hospital in Camden