Tunes for Tots event Head Start Heroes group, from left: Chris Mayerski, Wilkes University; Rebecca Thomas, Empower; Michele Duris, Step-by-Step, Inc.; AJ Jump, the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts; Jaclyn Reisser, Mobiniti; Chelsey Coslett, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC); and Amy Hoyt, Building Blocks Learning Center.
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WILKES-BARRE — Tunes for Tots: A Concert to Support the Creation of a Sensory Room for Luzerne County Head Start was held Thursday evening at the River Street Jazz Café in Wilkes-Barre.
The event raised close to $4,800 for the project.
Organized by Leadership Northeast Community Impact Project team Head Start Heroes, the event featured the sounds of five local musicians, including Bret Alexander, Nyke Van Wyke, Gracie Jane Sinclair, Justin Mazer and Joe Burke & Co., who played for a standing-room-only crowd.
The event also served to raise awareness of the Head Start Heroes’ community impact project, which is to create a sensory room for young children at Luzerne County Head Start’s Beekman St. Center in Wilkes-Barre.
Head Start Heroes group members are part of Leadership Northeast’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 community impact project because they wanted to create something that was sustainable and would last for years to come.
“While reviewing the list of project requests Leadership Northeast received from various local nonprofits, our group liked the Head Start sensory room because the room we create will serve as a prototype for future sensory rooms at Head Start’s other locations throughout Luzerne and Wyoming counties,” said Chelsey Coslett, media rep for Head Start Heroes. “Thus, our project will not only be put to good use well into the future, but it is also the beginning of a great initiative at Head Start. We also liked the fact that any child who attends Head Start’s Beekman St. Center will be able to use our sensory room as a calming environment. Most people think that only children on the autism spectrum use sensory rooms, but they benefit all children.”
“At Luzerne County Head Start, we strive to provide all students with an opportunity to succeed in not only academics, but also when looking at social and emotional skills,” commented Suzanne O’Gorman, Luzerne County Head Start teacher. “We are mindful and aware that our students are only just beginning to understand the feelings that are within themselves, and we want to continue to support the needs of all students. A sensory room, regardless of the design or featured items, will provide all students with a safe space to not only decompress and help regulate, but also to regain a sense of comfort knowing that it is okay to have feelings that we sometimes do not understand.”