Kevin Long is fundraising
Timmy's Team to fund Sensory Gym for students at DDI
Since establishing Timmy’s Team 10 years ago, my family, friends, colleagues, classmates, and even a few strangers, have helped us raise more than $150,000 for organizations supporting those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) like my son. No organization has benefited more than the Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI) whose mission is to help children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) experience their maximum fulfillment.
I’m once again asking for your support to help fund development of a Sensory Gym at the Children’s Day Program in Smithtown to benefit more than 100 students up to the age of 22, including 40 children who reside in multiple residences on the campus. The total cost of the room is $20,000. Through my own family’s contributions and that of a generous family foundation, we have raised half of this. I am asking for your help to raise the remaining $10,000.
Timmy’s Team funding has helped DDI:
- build a track used by more than 100 students
- purchase virtual reality goggles to help desensitize individuals, many non-verbal, for medical and dental visits
- secure classrooms with door locks needed in today’s reality of school shootings
- provide staff with additional financial support given the inability of NY State to provide adequate funding for a living wage.
My family knows first hand that individuals diagnosed with I/DD face challenges in sensory processing and communication, resulting in frustration, isolation, disruptive behaviors, and difficulty in learning and self-expression. The Sensory Gym will feature seating, swings, activity stations, auditory and tactile elements, and LED and fiber optic components, creating a multisensory environment for engaging and controlled learning.
The Gym will operate five hours a day, year-round, providing 30-minute sessions supervised by adaptive physical educators and physical and occupational therapists. The Sensory Gym will offer a stimulating, supportive, and enriching space that fosters motivation, social skills, focus, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), self-regulation, and personal fulfillment.
As with our previous campaigns, I will be running a marathon to raise funding and awareness for this most needed Sensory Gym. I had planned on running the Hartford Marathon but Covid interfered with my training so I have pushed back and will return to Philadelphia the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
For those who have supported us in the past, especially those who have supported Timmy’s Team multiple years – Thank You!
Whether you have supported us before or are considering doing so for the first time, please help us get this room built so we can provide staff with another tool for supporting the individuals they serve.
With gratitude,
Kevin
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61 supporters
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