Luzerne County Head Start Cuts Ribbon on New Sensory Room Create by Leadership Northeast Group

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday at Luzerne County Head Start, Beekman Street, Wilkes-Barre, signifying the completion of the organization’s first sensory room.

The sensory room is a community impact project organized by Leadership Northeast’s Core Class 2024 Head Start Heroes team. The team worked with Luzerne County Head Start to create a sensory room for all young children who attend Head Start’s Beekman Street Center.

According to Beth White, assistant executive director of Luzerne County Head Start, the sensory room will give them a safe and calm place to relax and be themselves. While children with autism or those who are on the autism spectrum are the ones who primarily use sensory rooms, Head Start Heroes and Luzerne County Head Start envision this space being one for children of all abilities.

Head Start Heroes group members are part of Leadership Northeast’s (LNE’S) Core Class of 2024 and include Chelsey Coslett, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC); Michele Duris, Step-by-Step Inc.; Amy Hoyt, Building Blocks Learning Center; AJ Jump, the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts; Chris Mayerski, Wilkes University; Jaclyn Reisser, Mobiniti; and Rebecca Thomas, Empower. The group chose the sensory room as their LNE community impact project because they wanted to create something that was sustainable and would last for years to come.

The team mailed donor letters to friends, family, networks and places of employment asking for monetary and in-kind donations from their Amazon wish list. Head Start Heroes also organized a successful concert, Tunes for Tots, at The River Street Jazz Cafe back in April to also help raise funds. As a result of these efforts, the team exceeded its fundraising goal and was able to purchase the remaining items on the Amazon wish list.

Head Start Heroes painted the sensory room, along with designing the layout and setting up the items. Occupational therapist, Bridget Rischawy of Beyond Behavior, will train Head Start staff on how to maximize the use of each item to child’s needs. This project is the beginning of a great initiative at Luzerne County Head Start, opening the doors to future sensory rooms for all its centers.