PPC donates to special education

The Pervasive Parenting Center (PPC) recently donated more than $600 to help with assistive technology for three local schools. The funding came from a classroom grant sponsored by the center to help with supplies for special education.

Kim Crase of Bokoshe will use the funding for a calming corner in her special education classroom. This will give students a designated place to help regulate or take a break.

Kinnilee Mooney of Roland will use the funds to help purchase a frame for a sensory swing that they recently purchased. The swing will help students with coping skills for sensory issues.

Ashley Brant of Sallisaw will use the funding to upgrade her sensory room in the middle school. The grant will be used to help with accessible sensory items for students in wheelchairs.

As funds are available, school districts in LeFlore, Haskell, Latimer, Sequoyah, Cherokee and Adair counties can apply for classroom grants to assist with purchasing supplies for their special education classrooms. To date, the center has donated more than $4,000 in grant funds throughout eastern Oklahoma.

The schools must explain in less than 200 words what the grant would be used for and why they are necessary. A committee, made up of PPC board members, approve the awards based on need.

“We understand that budgets are tight in schools,” said Kodey Toney, PPC director. “This is especially true in the special education departments. We feel this is a little way of giving back to the community and helping the children in our local schools. We’re here to help families, schools and especially the students.”

PPC is a non-profit organization that launched in January 2014 to help families in eastern Oklahoma find resources available for people in eastern Oklahoma diagnosed with autism and other disabilities. They are partially funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education, but the funding for the classroom grants come from donations and fundraisers.

If you have any questions, call Toney at (918) 647-1255 or e-mail him at ktoney@pervasiveparentingcenter.org.

Visit the website at www.pervasiveparentingcenter.org.