Description
Team Activities for Special Kids, fondly known as TASK, is local nonprofit organization with a mission to enrich and nurture the lives of children with special needs by providing opportunities for them to participate in sports, recreational and social activities. TASK has grown from a single tee ball session in 1996 to offering year round programming for over 300 unique participants in 2011. The programs are supported by a tremendous team of volunteers, nearly 500 annually. These individuals are the lifeline of the programs as TASK strives to maintain a 1 to 1, participant to volunteer "coach" ratio at each activity. Exciting progress in 2012, TASK was able to purchase a permanent home. After spending years of renting various locations across St. Louis County, TASK is now the proud owner of the former UAW Union Hall in Fenton, MO. Projects are underway to convert the existing building and land into a catch all facility for all programs, specifically adapted to the needs of TASK participants.
TASK programs are session based, 6 weeks in length. Participants of each age group meet once a week for the 45minute - 1 hour activity. Included in the list of sessions are various sports, (basketball, tee ball, soccer, bowling, golf, etc.), recreational (arts and crafts), social (dances, bingo) life skills (cooking) programs. TASK emphasizes participation over skill and focuses on improving an individuals self esteem, self confidence, and social skills. Coordination, physical stamina and cognitive function will improve as a byproduct of furthering the other attributes.
No longer limited by time and space constraints, TASK can expand its program offerings both in frequency and type. The current calendar of events will account for over 1,000 participations (by 300+ participants). The organization’s goal is to grow activity to 5,000 participations annually. One strategy for accomplishing this objective is to develop programs for non-school aged participants. Life skills, work training programs targeted at TASK members out of high school. Fine motor and friendship classes created for pre-school aged children.
