Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Jan. 12, 2025 – A Jonesboro grandmother is working to open Northeast Arkansas’s first sensory gym for special needs children and adults, Zachary’s Sensory Gym.
Vickie Lewis, who has been working on the project for five years, said the gym still hasn’t opened yet, as she is still raising funds. She expects to have the nonprofit approved by the IRS in April.
The inspiration behind the gym is her special needs grandson, 20-year-old Zachary Harper. The son of Jennifer Henderson, Harper was two years old when he was diagnosed with autism. He is also nonverbal and has epilepsy, a sensory processing disorder, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Harper graduated from Brookland High School in 2022, where he won several Special Olympic medals, helped the administrative office by unloading supplies for the secretary, and put away books in the library. Harper regularly volunteers at the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, stocking cans and supplies.
Lewis decided she wanted to do something to make a difference, not only to help her grandchildren but other families with special needs members too.
“We needed to keep Zachary on a routine, and we needed to learn about autism,” Lewis said. “We needed to learn what we could do to help him and to give him the quality of life that he needs to have. We didn’t know much about autism.”
“I researched, and my daughter researched, and I kept seeing that there were sensory gyms around in other places, but there wasn’t anything offered here except for therapy clinics, which we’re very thankful for because Zachary just now finished from being a part of the therapy,” Lewis said.
Lewis decided she wanted to open a sensory gym to improve Harper’s quality of life. Since there wasn’t any in the area, she had to open a gym herself.
“I said ‘I want to open a sensory gym, but I can’t open a franchise because I don’t have the money.’ So, I decided to do 501 (c) (3) tax exempt. I filed that. I taught myself everything on YouTube because it was like $5,000 to get an attorney. But I said, ‘I’ve got this,'” Lewis said. “I taught myself and started getting everything in order.”
The gym would include equipment such as a sensory swing, trampolines, ball pits, climbing walls, ziplines and more. It would also feature calming rooms for when members are overstimulated and would have an activity room to play with Play-Doh, sands and slimes. Lewis has already created a wish list, a donation site on Zeffy, and a Facebook for Zachary’s Sensory Gym.
She said sensory gyms are important due to how overstimulating the world can be.
“Out here in the community, it gets so loud for these special needs children with sensory disorders.” she said. “If you’ve ever come across and you see what looks like a tantrum, it’s not a tantrum. It’s a meltdown. They’re having a very hard time out here with the noise and a lot of the lights are so bright and the crowds. They can’t deal with it.”
Lewis has also formed a board for the gym.
“Everyone on my board either has someone in their family with a disability or work in the field or have experience with nonprofits,” Lewis said.
Board officers include Lewis, who is the CEO and executive director; Henderson, Zachary’s mother, a registered nurse and the board chairman; Barabara Von Lienen, who has degree is in IT and is vice chairman; Cindy Brown, a DHS worker and the board secretary; Tonya Woodward, Lewis’s other daughter, who is a supervisor for DHS and is the board the treasurer.
Other board members include Christy Wilkes, director of The Learning Center; Michelle Downs, who works in special education at Brookland Schools; Brenda Chandler, who is retired and has a grandson with autism; JP Harper and Robin Harper; Zachary’s father and stepmother who also work in the medical field; Josh Caldwell, an anesthetic technician; and Karleen Sheets who works in grant writing.
To raise money, Lewis said she will be writing grants and hosting fundraisers. The gym’s very first fundraiser will be a Valentine’s Day Bake Sale on Feb. 1 from noon to 4 p.m. at Chandler’s Salon in Jonesboro.
“Every piece of this special equipment in my gym will make it difference in their sensory needs,” she said. “I just pray that the community can comes together to give donations and be a part of this beautiful gym for these special needs kids and adults with sensory needs that will help us so much.”