League School Receives Generous Support from Christopher Catanese Children’s Foundation to Enhance OT Gym Space
The League School of Greater Boston has received a generous $25,000 donation from the Christopher Catanese Children’s Foundation.
The presentation of the donation was made during the CCCF’s 14th Annual Dinner and Auction Fundraiser, held at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood on Saturday, Nov. 26. Proceeds from the event will help children in the community.
During the event, League School Chief Executive Officer Lawrence E. Sauer spoke to the crowd about the impact the money will have in helping the school enhance its Occupational Therapy gym space.
“We are grateful to be the beneficiary of this support from the Christopher Catanese Children’s Foundation once again,” Sauer said. “The changes we will be making to our Occupational Therapy gym space will be transformational for our school, and more importantly for our students.”
The Christopher Catanese Children’s Foundation has been a long-standing supporter of League School. Of note, the foundation’s generous donation in 2015 allowed the school to construct a dedicated space for music and art programs.
This latest donation will help enhance another vital part of the school building for the benefit of students.
League School’s Occupational Therapy gym is used by more students than ever before, including students with broader ranges of needs, ages, and abilities. Occupational therapists use meaningful exercises to help students engage in activities that they participate in on a daily basis by addressing the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and sensory components of performance in the educational environment.
As the school continues to increase its student population, it will be crucial to provide functional, safe, and extensive equipment options in the Occupational Therapy gym to meet the varying sensory needs of students that will, in turn, support overall well-being and success. The donation from the CCCF will allow the school to meet this need.
“Managing the demands of the school day can be exhausting for many of our students, whose unique nervous systems can put them at risk for sensory overload, social burnout, and difficulty self-regulating. By creating a space that incorporates a variety of sensory inputs that can be individualized for each student, we can provide much needed sensory input and more effectively teach self-regulation skills,” said Lindsay Wagner, League School Director of Neurodiversity & Community Inclusion and an Occupational Therapist. “Therapeutic equipment such as swings, rocking chairs, deep pressure tools, lighting, and sound helps students to access the sensory stimuli that allows them to feel comfortable in their skin, whether they use the space at intervals during the day or as a coping mechanism when triggers arise. These spaces promote well-being for all individuals in the program, including the staff.”
The League School is extremely grateful to the Christopher Catanese Children’s Foundation for this generous donation, which will allow for the purchase of some really wonderful equipment for the Occupational Therapy gym. It has been a long-term dream of League’s occupational therapy department to develop this space.
For more information on the League School’s Occupational Therapy gym improvement plan, including ways to donate to the project, click here.
About CCCF
The Christopher Catanese Children’s Foundation is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization established by Peter and MaryAnn and their son, Peter in 2004 after the death of their son and brother Christopher. The mission of the Foundation is to allow as many children as possible to experience the joy of Christopher’s life by reaching out to children in need. For more information on CCCF, click here.
