LeAnne Cantrell's Fundraiser:
KidSense:Special Needs Playground
LeAnne
EVENT DATE: Dec 30, 2010
DEADLINE TO GIVE: Aug 15, 2011
HOURS PLEDGED: 2,750
AMOUNT RAISED OFFLINE: $62,250.00
HERE'S THE STORY:
The KidSense Project is part of Angels on Earth Foundation who are dedicated to helping kids with disabilities. The KidSense team builds special needs playgrounds for Louisiana public schools. We installed our first playground in 2009 and our second in February, 2011. We continue to raise funds for pediatric wheelchairs, iPad apps for teachers to use with students with autism, and wheelchair surfacing for other school playgrounds.
Designed for children with autism, ADHD, and physical challenges, all students use the KidSense motor sensory playgrounds together!
KidSense yards are meticulously designed as "motor sensory" playgrounds...the kind of therapy that's been used by Special Educators and Occupational Therapists for over 30 years. Some schools today have "Sensory Rooms" for this purpose, but with walls and a ceiling, kids are limited in the scale of their therapy...not to mention how loud the room can become with just a few children inside at once.
By bringing motor sensory integration OUTSIDE, we can haul in huge climbing boulders, fast & bumpy slides, little green hills to roll down. With the sky for a ceiling and the wind for their walls, kids with Autism, ADHD, or special needs have room to work out their over-stimulation. Our layout separates sensory stations so students don't feel hemmed in by dozens of others on the same structure.
So what's the benefit, other than a beautiful wheelchair accessible playground? Studies out of Temple University indicate that 95% of kids with ADHD and 91% of those with Autism have BETTER CONCENTRATION after regular sensory breaks. Teachers, para-professionals, therapists, and principals will attest to the restorative powers our first KidSense yard brings.
That's why our playgrounds go to PUBLIC SCHOOLS...we want to give kids a sharper edge toward education. In addition to accessibility, the yards feature secret Braille messages & textured murals that kids can "see" with their fingertips. While nowhere near the size of a giant recess yard, KidSense sites are just large enough so the WHOLE CLASS comes out with the kids who actually need the break.
Yes! Its called REVERSE INCLUSION...typical kids and special kids play alongside each other. Whether the student is challenged by ADHD or autism; physical or visual disabilities, the KidSense yard levels the playing for all children. And then sends them back inside to LEARN!
Check it out at http://www.KidSenseLA.com. On behalf of the kids from south Louisiana, THANK YOU FOR CARING!
$62,480
RAISED OF $135,000 GOAL| LeAnne Cantrell | $100 |
| Tina Dalgren | $30 |
| NFL Play 60 (November, 2010) | $10,000 |
| New Orleans Saints (December, 2010) | $10,000 |
| Anonymous Parent of Child with Autism | $35,000 |
| Fore!Kids Foundati... PGA Zurich Classic | $5,500 |
| Barnes & Noble, Mandevil... LA | $1,750 |
| james mullett | $100 |
DONOR:
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DONATION: $100
I saw your story on Facebook and was very moved. God Bless your son, your family and friends who are so so generous!