LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey is sponsoring a new indoor sensory playground that serves individuals with special needs and their families at LifeTown, a new immersive educational, therapeutic and recreational center.
The recent grand opening event featured LifeTown CEO Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum and HFNJ Director/CEO Marsha Atkind, whose organization is sponsoring the $500,000 program. A handful of trustees of the foundation joined the celebration, including Gary Beinhaker, Toby Fanburg, Sharon Falkin, Carol Marcus, Amy Reisen Freundlich and Marcy Felsenfeld, the foundation’s senior program officer.
The HFNJ indoor sensory playground serves as a fun indoor space for students to enjoy, as well as a place where families can enjoy a time at the park together in an environment that breaks down barriers caused by some of their family members’ special needs.
“When Rabbi Grossbaum came to HFNJ to talk about his vision for LifeTown and the inclusion of a sensory playground as part of the project, we were sold. Throughout our history, the foundation has been funding programs that improve the health and well-being of people with special needs,” Atkind said in a press release. “The HFNJ Sensory Playground at LifeTown serves a dual function: It allows children and young adults with special needs to improve their physical skills in an environment that feels like fun instead of work, and it enables entire families to play together in an inclusive environment. So often children with physical challenges are unable to play with their normally developing friends and siblings. The HFNJ Sensory Playground breaks down those barriers and allows them to just be kids together.”
“We’re very excited that The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey has partnered with us to create an indoor therapy park. It not only helps therapists but also allows every play session with their teen buddies to have a therapeutic impact,” Grossbaum said in the press release. “Through their experiences at LifeTown, participants will learn life skills and be more confident in their everyday lives.”
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