According to SONshine Center Assistant Director Jaime Gough,
“Ensuring that special needs adults have a safe and fun environment to learn, participate in a variety of activities, and socialize is of vital importance to help them gain independence, feel valued and reach their full potential! The SONshine Center is a Monday – Friday day program for adults with special needs. Our “AllSTARS” (Super Talented Awesome Radiant Students), participate in activities throughout the day that promote self-help skills, socialization skills, communication skills, and pre-vocational/vocational skills. They also have opportunities to participate in music, art, dance, recreation, equine therapy, picnics, holiday parties, and much more!
“The SONshine Center opened in 2015 with 12 clients and 2 staff members. We currently have 15 staff members that provide services to 104 clients and have many more on a waiting list. We serve all types of disabilities including Down Syndrome, Autism, Angelman Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injuries, CHARGE syndrome, visual and hearing impairments, and intellectual disabilities. For many of our AllSTARS, the SONshine Center is the only place they go to socialize and feel included in our society. They love coming to the center each day! The money we raised last year for North Texas Giving Day was used to expand our special activity program. It is our goal to continuously provide new and exciting activities for our AllSTARS that allows them to participate to the maximum extent of their ability. We were also able to purchase ten new iPads to help facilitate growth and communication.
“This year for North Texas Giving Day, the SONshine Center is seeking donations so that we can purchase a handicap accessible van. Due to new federal guidelines, beginning in March of 2023, we will be providing a portion of our students the opportunity to participate in community activities. We will provide activities that integrate our AllSTARS into the community and promote the development of skills and behaviors that support independence and personal choice. A handicap accessible van will be required for us to provide transportation between our facility and the off-site community locations. This new requirement has already caused several local day programs to close their doors indefinitely, so funding for a handicap accessible van is imperative to our success.
“We are determined to meet the challenge of providing off-site community integration head on! We know that this will be a great opportunity for our AllSTARS and can’t wait to watch them prosper in the community!”
* Photo credit: Jaime Gough and Andrew Minx ** Graphic/photo provided by SONshine Center
Communities Foundation of Texas’ North Texas Giving Day helps build awareness and support for nonprofits like nothing else. In 2021, $66 million was raised through 103,000 donors benefiting over 3,300 local nonprofits, bringing the 13-year total to over $441 million for our community. NTx Giving Day is the largest community-wide giving event in the nation.
On Thursday, September 22, support SONshine Center by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay