Stoneworks Sports and Wellbeing Centre receives a £300 community grant from Power NI to support the sensory development of autistic children.
The Antrim based organisation received a community grant through Power NI’s staff sponsorship scheme, ‘Helping Hands’. The staff initiative enables Power NI employees to nominate local organisations to receive funding. Thanks to the nomination by Power NI employee, Jason Mulgrew, Stoneworks Sports and Wellbeing Centre will purchase sensory toys for children with autism.
The toys will include; disco lights with sound activated balls, obeda sensory toys, first play sensory shaped been bags, light up led flashing maracas, rocking chairs, therapy balls and crash pads.
The room, when completed will provide a dedicated space for sensory experiences, designed to help children with autism to feel calm, supported, and focused.
From birth, children are exploring their senses and processing new information. They begin to make sense of the world around them as they grow through the exploration of new textures, materials and resources. Sensory play will prove to be a valuable way of engaging autistic children in activities that will heighten their senses and enrich their learning through Stoneworks Sports and Wellbeing Centre.
Thanks to Power NI, the sensory toys will provide a way to engage autistic children’s senses in a less distracting way, which is useful in dealing with their current health condition.
Appreciative of the funding, Jason Mulgrew comments: “The £300 funding provided by Power NI will be a massive help towards the upcoming project that is currently in development. Stoneworks Sports and Wellbeing Centre aims to build a sensory room for kids with Special needs.”
“During the course of lockdown, Jim, the owner of the gym, made it his mission to help everyone in need through running events to raise money for the homeless, donating food/clothes to members of the public that have lost their jobs. It’s great that the Helping Hands scheme can repay his kindness and dedication even in a small way”
Jim Cosgrove, Director of Stoneworks Sports and Wellbeing Centre also commented:
“This funding provided by Power NI will help bring us one step closer to achieving our goal in building a full functional room for those who have sensory issues – Thank you Power NI!”
To find out more on how Power NI is energising local communities click here.
