Inclusive Play Places, LLC Launches “Tony’s Place, Autism & Special Needs Gym” in Minneapolis/St. Paul

Blaine, MN, August 09, 2018 --(PR.com)-- Inspired by six-year-old Tony Morina, his mother Wendy Leigh Morina, and her business associates, family members, and the special needs community at large will be fundraising to support a 4,000 square foot recreational facility and retail shop in Northtown Mall in Blaine, Minnesota. Opening day is set for October 1, 2018.

Inclusive Play Places, LLC will participate in a family-friendly fundraising event for Tony’s Place, Autism & Special Needs Gym on August 25, from Noon – 4pm in Blaine at Christ Lutheran Church, 641 89th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55434. Admission is $10 per person, children 4 and younger are free, and there will be inflatables, games, and food concessions. All proceeds will go towards the purchase of a custom jungle gym, interactive sensory projection system, and reinforced swing set system to accommodate the kids coming in.

Inclusive Play Places, LLC is a company built on the foundation to promote the mission of inclusion for children on the autism spectrum and special needs community. "Our goal and mission are to embrace children of all abilities in a play place where they can welcome others into their world," said cofounder, Wendy Leigh Morina. “The ceilings are lower to keep out the noise, and it’s smaller than a typical recreational space or trampoline park, but it makes it easier for us parents to go help our kids when they get stuck!” she says, with a chuckle.

Tony’s Place, Autism & Special Needs Gym is the first concept of its kind, both on a national and local level. It will have retail space dedicated to providing products available previously only online to families wishing to purchase toys and accessories for their children with special needs; full sensory room; jungle gym and inflatable obstacle course; and vestibular devices such as platform swings and cuddle swings, typically something one would see in a therapy setting.

Tony’s Place will also carry informational brochures for family education, DIY sensory projects, and potential funding resources for families juggling the demands of raising children with autism and special needs and paying the bills. Tony’s Place will host birthday parties for a small cost, and provide ice cream cake to birthday boys and girls, along with special invitations for community (police, fire, teachers, etc.) to attend scheduled birthday parties.

“The idea for this project was initiated by Tony,” said Morina, “In spite of his diagnosis of tethered spinal cord, severe autism, and global developmental delay and non-verbal communication, this is his contribution to the world. Like any parent of a child with special needs, I learned how to listen to my son tell me what he wanted in his own way – something special we can share with others. We strongly believe that the next step of awareness is inclusion.”

Inclusive Play Places, LLC, a Minnesota Limited Liability Company, founded in 2018 is currently seeking 501(c)(3) status. Tony’s Place, Autism & Special Needs Gym was founded to promote inclusive play for the general public. They also provide consulting services for sensory room activations and installations in the cultural attractions industry.