A Tallahassee school for young people with special needs is looking to expand.
IMPACT Tallahassee is a nonprofit organization comprised of a preschool, an academy, and a therapy program. It serves families from fourteen Florida counties and four Georgia counties.
The school was founded in 2006. It's gone through name changes and has grown to accommodate ages 6 weeks old to 22 years old.
“But then what happens after that? Some folks are really ready to go into a job, but not everyone is,” says IMPACT Director of Development Kayla Kolka. “So our goal is to build a community center where our folks who have graduated from the academy, also anyone in the community who has graduated from their own schools, are able to come and receive job and life skills training so that they can find their highest level of independence and happiness.”
Nearly 100 students attend the IMPACT preschool and academy. More than 500 clients receive therapeutic services. That’s a fraction of the estimated 1 in 4 children in Leon County who have special needs or disabilities, according to the Children’s Services Council.
So, Kolka says a fundraiser next week will help with the renovation and expansion of IMPACT Tallahassee’s facilities on Hermitage Boulevard.
“We started our first phase of the process about a year ago, and we were able to double the size of the therapy space that we're using and really help make a dent in our therapy waitlist that's pretty long,” Kolka says. “We've also been able to renovate some of our academy classroom space.”
To go even further, IMPACT Tallahassee will hold the 2024 “Clays for IMPACT” event April 19 and 20th at Southwind Plantation in Attapulgus, GA, about 45 minutes away.
The weekend includes sport shooting events, plus dinner and dancing with bluegrass music from Dickie and the Porch Party Pickers.
Click here for details about the Clays for IMPACT fundraiser, and click here for information about IMPACT Tallahassee.
