New venue a hit for special kids’ Christmas
The spirit of inclusion was the best gift special needs children and their families received at this weekend’s annual Special Children’s Christmas Party.
Cairns
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THE spirit of inclusion was the best gift special needs children and their families received at the weekend’s annual Special Children’s Christmas Party.
Fun, games plus visits from Santa, Star Wars heroes and Paddy the SES platypus were a bonus.
Hundreds of special needs kids and their families came together in a free party shouted by the Cairns business community and made possible by an army of volunteers.
For the first time a fully airconditioned venue made the event more assessable to sensitive children who couldn’t cope with the heat.
Putting on the party for 27-years event manager Anniemarie Hodson said the celebration was designed to create an inclusive place of understanding for both parents and children.
“You walk in here and you feel people understand and they accept you,” she said.
“It’s the relief of coming here and even if the kid loses it completely, nobody cares or tells them to ‘control that child.’
“We don’t know what it has taken for the parents to get the kids here. To get them in the building some days, in itself is an achievement.”
Crafting stations, jumping castles, music, games, free food and gifts provided a special Christmas treat for disadvantaged children from the Cape to Cardwell.
“We have lots of craft activates. The kids that are on the spectrum just having that craft can just bring them down a little bit if they are getting that sensory overload,” she said.
More than a treat for the kids Ms Hodson said the event offered a chance to connect.
“The parents network, they talk about where they are accessing the best services,” she said.
Ms Hodson said she was driven by incredible satisfaction of improving lives.
“It’s incredibly satisfying. We have a group of volunteers who are passionate about this, We facilitate the kindness of the business community reaching families,” she said.
“I am on to my second generation. I often get parents who come and say I used to come as a child.”
Ms Hodson said the Cairns Convention had already been secured the party in 2020.
Originally published as New venue a hit for special kids’ Christmas
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