On Monday September 26, Island Walk held their superhero workshop that was developed for children with special needs living at the community. The idea originated
from one of the community's mothers who advocated for the event on behalf of her son. Island Walk’s Social Work intern from George Mason University, Amy Burkhart, excitedly joined the efforts along with one of the ECD’s Youth Specialists, Eman Kurtu, who works in the on-site grant-funded after-school program.
The three leaders met bi-weekly and planned out how the event would best serve the needs of the youth and their families. The team decided it would be best to have stations with different activities or crafts for the children that were specifically designed with their needs in mind. The various stations included playing with kinetic sand, making a rainbow with colorful construction paper, making sensory balloons, and assembled a small box to take home all their crafts.
About 15 residents and staff attended the event and the space was designed to ensure the youth felt safe and limited the possibility of sensory overload. The parents and siblings of the kids were strongly encouraged to participate to engage with each other and build a stronger sense of community. The kids loved each station, especially the kinetic sand.
"Overall, it was a great success and the families are already requesting future events!" exclaimed Community Network Manager Sharon Blacketor.
If you or someone you know is interested in Island Walk or an Enterprise Residential property, please contact us at 443-451-6800 or [email protected].
See more of Enterprise's community events on Facebook at @EnterpriseResidential!