What to expect:
We will have two different projects to take part in--making tie blankets for the Milwaukee Street Angels’ mobile outreach and creating fidget keychains that will be given to a project partner to give to kids who may benefit from them. The projects will take place in a party room which is separate from the gym space (although visible through interior windows). The set up will be very laidback for kids to move at their own speed with their family. If a kid isn’t connecting with the project and would rather go back to playing, we understand! If a kid wants to make more than one keychain to take along for themselves or a friend, we welcome that too! This event will be designed to be as flexible as possible so we can pivot as needed.
When you register, you will have the option to register as “project only” which means you will arrive at 6 pm, complete the project, and plan to leave after and not play in the gym space. The second option will be “stay and play.” Families electing this option will pay an additional $10/kid upon arrival (this is a discounted admission price WRTS is offering SBK families for some extra fun outside the project), and your kids can play in the large sensory-safe gym space before/after participating in the project. Once we know the number/size of families registered, we will assign an approximate time that your family will participate in the project so that you can prepare your child if they will be playing in the gym first and then doing the project or vice versa.
In the days leading up to the project, we will send registrants a social story to share with your kids if they would benefit from having a more detailed vision of the project and space ahead of time.
Registration note:
We are excited to plan this project specifically to include kids that may otherwise have a hard time participating in certain projects due to sensory-processing challenges. While we normally love to include all kids that are interested, we ask that members allow families with a child that would benefit from this environment to register first for this activity (although the whole family, including siblings, is welcome!). No formal diagnosis required of course- just a kid that may have a more enjoyable experience attending a SBK project in this customized environment. We want to build ALL kids’ confidence they can make a big difference through SBK!
If we have additional spots available after the first week, we will post on social media that all members/guests are able to fill the remaining spaces.
Capacity & Age Recommendations:
Open to all ages and abilities! In an effort to maintain sensory-friendly atmosphere, we will be limiting this project to a smaller number of families. We expect to have room for approximately 6 families, depending on number of people in each family (please use an accurate headcount in your registration for this reason). Registration will be open to members* only for the first week.
What to bring:
No need to bring anything! Sunbeam Kids will provide all supplies for the projects we’ll be working on.
What to wear:
Kids can wear their SBK t-shirts/lanyards if they would like. Otherwise just wear comfortable clothes to play in if you plan to spend time in the gym and make sure to bring socks!
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
This project is currently open to members*. Please only sign up if you know you can attend. We understand illness and emergencies do come up but our partner is counting on our hands, so if you register and can no longer attend please let us know ASAP so we can work to fill your spot.
Special thanks to We Rock the Spectrum-Pewaukee for partnering with us on this project, the Autism Society of SE WI for providing extremely valuable insight as we worked to plan this new type of project (hopefully the first of many!), and of course thank YOU for lending a little hand!
Amanda Barnhart
Board President
*While we rely on member donations to keep the good work going, we never want the $40/family/year to be a hurdle to volunteering with us. If you are in need of assistance, we do have a limited number of scholarships available that are 100% confidential, just email and ask!
