BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Editor

Approximately 200,000 people are born with cerebral palsy each year in the United States.
Clarkston resident Drew Moscovic was one such individual some 42 years ago.
These days, Moscovic can be seen around town collecting cans and bottles and returning them to Neiman’s Family Market to raise money for the continued development of Drew’s Home of Clarkston, a building on Washington Street that provides one-, two-, and three-bedroom residential apartments for adults with disabilities.
“Drew started returning bottles and cans for family and friends approximately ten years ago with his support staff incorporating this activity into his daily program within his community,” explained Dick Moscovic, Drew’s father and president of Drew’s Home of Clarkston. “He would pick up the returnables once a month. As we formed Drew’s Home of Clarkston (a 501(c)3 nonprofit), we decided to expand the program as a small fundraising activity. We opened up the idea of offering the returnable service to area residents and donate the money collected to Drew’s Home of Clarkston.”
The funds are used to enhance the lives and living conditions of everyone who lives under the auspices of Drew’s Home of Clarkston, who live at Clarkston Corners.

Occasionally, the money will be used for a special activity for the residents, such as free tickets and spending money at a Magic Bus concert.
Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to part of the brain that controls muscles. It affects movement, balance, and muscle tone leading to rigidity in the joints, involuntary movements, and exaggerated reflexes. Treatments include medications, physical, occupational therapies, psychological therapy, and surgeries to improve quality of life, but there is no cure.
Though the disease can be challenging for family members, Moscovic said it has always been his goal to help Drew live as normal a life as possible.
“We’ve kept him very active in our community, and he is well-known here,” Moscovic said. “He’s an active member at St. Dan’s and people come up to him at the end of mass and shake his hand. He’s like a celebrity. We’re blessed to have (Drew’s caregiver) Roxanne Flint, and we have a few other gals that work with us, but Roxanne is by far the best.
“We have been very fortunate. Our two older boys went to school out of state and one (Dean) is a doctor here in town and the other (Derek) is a paramedic here. What is so unique about our family situation is that both boys came back, and Drew was the main reason why they wanted to come back. Not only did they come back home, but they live across the street from each other. We also have seven grandchildren – six boys and one princess – and they’ve been able to grow up together, which is phenomenal for us.”
Nate Neiman, manager and owner of Neiman’s, located on Dixie Highway, has been enamored with seeing Drew come into the store to return the cans and bottles.
“This is really an easy thing for us to do, to make this available for Drew’s Home,” Neiman said. “Drew just lights up a room, and this does so much good not only for Drew but for the whole community. We’re just a small part in all this, but we are happy to take part and support a great cause any way we can.
“You look at Drew, and that smile, and it just makes it all worth it. We also employ two other people from Drew’s Home – Tony Kwapisz and Louis Donagrandi – and we look forward to the days they work. The customers also look forward to it, so we’re all behind Drew’s Home and, hopefully, it goes on for a long, long time.”
Moscovic said Neiman’s is a much larger part of the initiative.
“They were the ones that kind of reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we can do this for Drew,’” said Moscovic. “They are very family-oriented, which is great. Overall, we’re just grateful for the community we live in because we have had phenomenal support since we started this.
“Hopefully, we can be a role model for younger parents coming up that might be facing some of the issues we’ve had to face and are facing every day.”
Moscovic added that plans are coming together to continue renovating and upgrading the apartments at Drew’s Home, including the addition of laundry rooms in three units and walk-in showers in two others.
More updates have also been started.
Anyone interested in donating returnable cans and bottles to Drew’s Home of Clarkston can contact Dick Moscovic at 248-866-3649.