HEAL Foundation Grants Awarded in 2014

Camp I Am Special
Camp I am Special offers 7 week-long summer residential camps and at least 1 weekend mini-camp during the year for children with physical, emotional and developmental disabilities and disorders such as Autism, Spina Bifida, Muscular Dystrophy, Quadriplegia, Sensory Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a safe, loving environment with one-on-one support. The program offers life-enriching experiences, which have been written into the IEPs (Individual Educational Plans) and ITPs (Individual Treatment Plans) of some of our Campers.

Super Surf Camp
The Super Surf Camp will provide a fun day in the sun for the children with educated instructors and fun equipment including kayaks, surfboards, boogie boards, catamarans and safety equipment. Come out and ride a wave with the Super Surf Camp!

Camp Cummer Scholarships
Camp Cummer is a week-long summer camp taught by full-time Museum Educators whose work is supported whose work is supported by the time and talent of dozensf of volunteers. Camp Cummer is a fun summer camp that offers fun, adventurous ways for children to grow by discovering art and person Expression. The Cummer will have six one-week programs for grades 1 through 6. These campers will print, draw, paint, create with clay, and learn new ways to think and talk about art in the galleries and gardens. The Cummer will also offer a one-week session grades 6 through 9. These campers will learn the skills of printmaking, drawing, painting, and clay techniques while being inspired by masterworks in the galleries and the histories gardens. All the children will also spend time exploring Art Connections.

Smile Camp
Smile Camp is a weeklong summer day camp for children ages 5 to 11 with autism, cerebral palsy, mental handicaps, spina bifida, visual and hearing impairments, as well as other physical health challenges. Smile camp offers children living with disabilities the chance to experience a week of new friends, outdoor adventures, and a sense of belonging.

Great Strides Summer Camp
Great Strides School is a part of Great Strides Rehabilitation, Inc. Great Strides Summer Camp is an 8-week Summer Camp that allows children who would not typically be able to participate in regular summer camps the opportunity to experience a wide range of extracurricular activities while in a safe and highly educational setting under the direct care of individuals trained in dealing specifically with behavior problems in a therapeutic manner. Their mini-camps include: basketball, dance, swim and surf, career exploration, cooking, music and art, and tai chi and yoga. Also the campers will be taking numerous field trips into the community and inviting organizations to our facility to further enhance the student's experience within the camp while experiencing real-life situations.

Primary mission of Haven Horse Ranch: "to assist each child with special needs in reaching their full potential through interaction and therapy with rescued horses." A licensed Spirit Horse Therapeutic Riding Center providing Free Equine Assisted Therapy. It's the only facility in NE Florida providing full time, free, therapy, 6 days per week for those with Autism, MS, MD, Celebral Palsy, Down's Syndrome, Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, Learning disabilities, Developmental Delays, and at risk and abused youth. To provide 100 sessions of Equine Therapy along with camp and various "horse shows" (a kind of Special Olympics with horses) for local children diagnosed specifically with an ASD.

Camp Possible 2013
Camp Possible 2013 will provide learning in a fun environment while promoting age-appropriate social skills. Each week Camp Possible will have a different theme, which will relate to an area of living an independent life, such as safety and/or health. Camp Possible will have volunteers and community resources to enhance the experience for each camper.

The Power of Poetry
The Power of Poetry will provide funding for Hope at Hand to expand services to children on the Autism Spectrum attending Hope Haven Summer Camp. Hope at Hand programming will incorporate poetry, art, language, creative thinking, focus and concentration. Using creativity, language, and therapeutic approaches, we facilitate healing and personal growth to struggling populations through art and poetry.

Junior Golf Program
HUG- Junior Golf Camp focuses on teaching the game of golf to juniors within the autism spectrum. The HUG Junior Golf Program is hosted at the TOUR Academy at TPC Sawgrass. This program integrates the following into the golf camp; physical fitness, history/rules of the game, environmental stewardship/golf course maintenance and the fundamentals of the golf swing. One of the goals of the program is that it will be a model for other PGA Professionals to use at their facility/community.

Bowling and Fishing programs for families
Inclusion Solution provides structured programs for families with children with autism and related disorders. They provide trained and experienced adult volunteers to be on site to help with grouping children and starting conversations and wait turns. The fishing program helps the children and parent by providing the materials and assisting with questions.

JSA Summer Camp
JSA Summer Camp offers campers an experience to integrate the arts into academics and "camping" experiences. Each day campers will experience movement activates, songs, team building activities, artistic expression activities, motor skills practice, etc. that are infused and integrated into science and cultural themed objectives.

ABA Intensive Summer Camp
Little Star is offering an 8-week Intensive ABA Summer Camp for up to 20 students that teaches academic, communication, social skills, self-help skills, and community skills. The summer program helps children maintain their acquired skills throughout the summer and also learn more significant social behavior in the community. Fields trips are offered with no additional costs to the summer families. The field trips include places such as: the grocery store, museums, fire and police stations, farmer's market, movie theater, O2B kids and bowling.

Rising Stars Baseball
Trying to serve more special needs kids ages 8-15 from the Jacksonville are by giving them access to sports/baseball. The league was established to allow children to have fun with baseball, build self-confidence, teamwork skills and lasting memories and friendships. Rising Stars Baseball is able to support a range of abilities; from mild coordination concerns to moderate gross motor planning challenges.

Sensory Integration
The Webster School has a beautiful gymnasium facility for use by the exceptional students they serve. Each ESE teacher has an assigned time in the gym. It is not part of the PE program but a separate program for their students. Two activities are planned and prepared every two weeks.

World Arts Education is dedicated to providing innovative learning experiences in the arts and filmmaking for all ages and abilities. World Arts Education program offers integrated opportunities for competent development of social skills, vocational job skills in the arts and inspire creativity.

Arrowsmith Program
The goal of the Arrowsmith Program is to help students strengthen the weak cognitive capacities underlying their learning dysfunctions. The Arrowsmith Program deals with the root causes of the learning disability rather than managing its symptoms. The program is capacity based, in that it changes the capacity of the individual to learn.

Autism Wing
The Autism Wing at Westview Elementary provides a safe, loving environment for children on the Autism Spectrum to explore and grow on their individual learning paths.

Ms. Karen Thomas' Pre-K CSS Class
Ms. Thomas' class at Loretto Elementary aids pre-k children with varying levels of ASD in strengthening their communication and social skills.

Facilitated Communication Training Seminar
The Facilitated Community Training Seminar will train 12 families (one child and four trainees). The seminar will help non verbal or verbally limited individuals to communicate through typing with a goal of independence.

Best Buddies School Friendship and Ambassador Project
This project will directly engage at least 155 high school students with and without Autism and related disabilities as associate members, buddies (students with disabilities) and peer buddies. Students with Autism and related disabilities are paired in one to one mutual mentoring friendships with peers without disabilities. These friendships are maintained for at least one academic year to maintain meaningful friendships to develop. Best Buddies requires that new friends contact each other once per week and spend time together at least twice per month.

iHEAL- iPads Helping Enrich Autistic Lives
HEAL is striving to place an iPad in every ESE classroom. This will enrich the students' education and help give a voice to the non-verbal students.

Equine Therapy
Haven Horse Ranch is a Licensed SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Center and Equine Teaching facility. The grant will be used to provide therapy to children on the Autism Spectrum that can't otherwise afford the therapy.

Free 2 Be Me School and After-school Program
This grant will be used to help fund a playground project, including swings and a safety surface to go under the swings. They will also purchase 5 Kindle Fire devices to use with the students to enhance their learning experiences.

Autism Evaluation
Hope Haven provides diagnostic evaluations for the purpose of confirming whether or not a child meets the criteria for an autism diagnosis. The grant will be used to offset the costs of the evaluations for low-income families.

JSA Enrichment Program
The grant will be used to help support the schools enrichment program, which includes piano/music, karate and yoga. Remarkably, many Autistic children have been found to have extraordinary musical and artistic talents.

Teacher Training Program
The Jericho School is one of the longest serving schools in Florida that works exclusively with children with Autism and other developmental disabilities. They will use the grant to provide ongoing training both out in the community and in the classroom for instructors who work on a daily basis with Autistic children.

New Sensory Room
There is much anecdotal support for the use of sensory equipment to produce positive effects on behavior. The grant will be used to purchase equipment for the Center's new Sensory Room.

Recreational Enhancement and Education Project
The May Institute serves primarily moderate to severe Autistic individuals with severe behavioral problems in residential living facilities. In order to increase levels of independence for the adults they provide skills training. The grant will be used for recreational and outdoor living equipment as well as educational and vocational training.

Multi-Sensory Environment
The grant will be used to provide a Multi Sensory Environment for the special needs children. A Snoezelen projector will be purchased. This will be used to help the children relax and can benefit the children by allowing them to control and enjoyable variety of sensory experiences. They will also purchase a Bubble Tube and a Bubbling Water Panel, both will aid provide the children on the Autism Spectrum the opportunities for bridging the barriers these students deal with daily.

Student First Programming; Sensory Integration
The funds will be used to supply the sensory room rotations with a wide variety of activities that support students' sensory needs. These activities include both fine and gross motor skills. Technology apps will be purchased to augment the iPads and apps already donated by HEAL and Project Autism.

Apps for Autism
The grant will be used to purchase apps for existing iPads. The occupational therapists will purchase apps based on the needs of each Autism Spectrum Disorder child. These apps will enhance and support curriculum and social needs of the students.

Pre-K ESE
Two iPads, cases and apps will be purchased and used in the Pre K class for the use of the teachers and students to support learning and behavioral modifications.

Autism Service Dogs
Project Chance trains puppies to work with families who have a member with Autism. These funds will go to train service dogs. Autistic children can become nervous or anxious in public situations. Service dogs become another set of eyes and a calming factor for the autistic child.

Multi-Sensory Room
A multi-sensory room offers a safe, controlled environment that will encourage sensory simulation. This often results in students being more motivated to complete educational tasks. The room can also calm and sooth regulatory systems which results in reduced anxiety and disruptive behavior. Funds will be used purchase equipment for the Academy's new room.

Accessible Playground for Special Nation
Special Nation Ministry would like to expand their services to children and adults with special needs. They are implementing a Buddy Break Program to assist families that are overlooked and underserved. The grant will be used to help fund accessible playground equipment.

Athletic Leadership Programs
The grant will be used for to help with the recruitment of eligible athletes and training for both the athletes and Leaders. The Leaders are required to attend two seminars a year in Clermont, Florida. The funds will offset these cost as the athletes and Leaders are not charged for any training.

2015 VSA Festival
The VSA Festival provides unique museum-based, hands on opportunities for more than 2,200 children, teachers and families over a four day period. Public students from the surrounding five county Exceptional Education Student Services program rotate through eight art stops in the in the Museum's galleries and gardens to create art, view the Cummer's collection, listen to live musicians and storytellers, and learn about art appreciation. The grant will be used to help fund this event.

ASD/IS/LD Classrooms
Transition School is an alternative public school in St Johns County serving a variety of high-need exceptionalities. The grant will be used to purchase iPads and apps. These will enhance the learning experiences for the mainly non-verbal students.