Reel World: RSDM Students Volunteer for Special Fishing Derby

Fishing Outing for People With Disabilities in Mountainside

Teach a man to fish and you can both have fun - even if you don't catch anything. That was the lesson for about 30 RSDM students who volunteered at the Fishing Outing for People With Disabilities in Mountainside.

Even though some had never fished before, the students helped disabled anglers in other ways: guiding them to and from the water's edge, keeping them company as they cast their rods and celebrating together when they caught a fish. RSDM students are used to treating a wide range of people and volunteering as oral health educators, but this was chance to get to know the disabled outside of the clinic, said Dr. Glenn Rosivack, director of RSDM's residency program in pediatric dentistry.

"Instead of caring for their teeth, they get to interact with them in a way that’s just playful," said Rosivack, a member of the Newark Bait and Fly Casting Club, which organized the event. RSDM students are required to log four hours of mostly dental-related community service but the event counted toward that goal.

Since 2004, Rosivack has invited students to help out at the event. Organized in conjunction with Union County Parks & Recreation, it draws a range of disabled participants, from those with Down syndrome to others who are autistic, deaf or blind.

For more than 30 years, Rosivack has been a member of the Newark Bait club, which began in Newark in 1907 and has since moved to Kenilworth. At Mountainside, there was no fishing for big game, but the water was stocked with small sunni fish. One of Rosivack's warmest memories from the event is fishing with an 80-year-old blind participant. "He told me he hadn't caught a fish since he was five," said Rosivack. "The joy on his face when he got a fish was something to see." Dinah Jammal, an RSDM third-year student, discovered how easy it was to make a connection. "It was really great just spending time with them and listening," she said. "It was a beautiful experience, to be honest."