Heather Allmendinger isn’t afraid to dig in and get her hands dirty, especially when doing so benefits a mission or organization she’s passionate about, like ACCESS.
The busy mother of two, local volunteer and Director of Public Relations & Business Development at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP, is chairing ACCESS’ largest annual fundraiser Starry Starry Night on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Statehouse Convention Center. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Starry Starry Night, so Allmendinger and her committee aim to make the evening truly special, reminiscent of the event’s early years.
“The very first Starry Starry Night events were garden parties hosted in the ACCESS Gardens, and within a couple of years the event moved into a patron’s backyard,” says Allmendinger. “The parties were intimate and whimsical. Though the event has grown beyond the capacity of one’s backyard, our committee is working hard to bring back that special intimacy of a garden party experience. This garden party theme ties in with the ACCESS Garden Program, which is instrumental to the vocational education that ACCESS offers. We want to take it back to its roots, no pun intended!”
In-kind sponsor Tanarah Luxe Floral will help set the stage with imaginative lighting and décor, including lots of fresh greenery and flowers to help bring the outside in. Another special touch will be signature cocktails topped with greenery grown in the ACCESS greenhouse.
Allmendinger says ACCESS hopes to have 350 attendees and raise more than $140,000 in revenue at Starry Starry Night. Funds will support the ACCESS operating budget for full-time education, outpatient therapy and evaluation, and resource services for infants, toddlers, children, youths and young adults who are developing or diagnosed with a number of conditions, including ADD/ADHD, apraxia, autism, developmental delays, down syndrome, feeding disorders, language delays, sensory integration disorders and others.
A native of El Dorado and a UofA grad, Allmendinger had never heard of ACCESS until about five years ago when she and her husband Scott were expecting their first child (Vivian, now 4) and began researching child care options.
“My sister-in-law Robyn mentioned that she had recently been on a tour of ACCESS and was extremely impressed. I was unaware of ACCESS and that it was open to typical children ages 0-4, as well as non-typical children,” she says. “I found that it was not a daycare, but a school that provides a true curriculum that best meets the needs of the children in the classes – typical or non-typical – even in the infant and toddler classes. Each room has a full-time teacher and teaching assistant, in addition to assigned therapists. I wanted the comfort of knowing that if Vivian, a typically developing child, displayed early signs of a disability or even developed signs later as a toddler, she would be in the right place. It was also important to us that Vivian grow in a diverse environment. We wanted her to learn that a disability doesn’t define a person and that everyone is beautiful in his or her own way.”
Allmendinger recently received confirmation that the latter goal had come to fruition. “As we checked Vivian into her new Sunday school class on promotion Sunday, I skimmed the room to see familiar faces to point out to Vivian. I noticed a little boy in the corner, opposite the room from the other children, playing by himself. He had hearing aids, and by his actions, I could tell he was a non-typical child. Instead of going over to play with the kids across the room, Vivian ran right over to the boy and excitedly said, ‘Hi, Sam!’ The little boy, not saying anything, looked up and smiled at her as if he was happy to see a friendly face and continued playing. Vivian sat right down and played with him. She explained to me later that he couldn’t hear and didn’t speak much, but that he was one of her friends from ACCESS. I cried because I was so moved by her warmth and acceptance.” Vivian now attends Christ the King pre-K in preparation for kindergarten there. Allmendinger’s 2-year-old son Croix (also typically developing) is enrolled at ACCESS.
In addition to the preschool for typical and non-typical children ages 6 weeks to 4 years, the ACCESS Foundations program serves 3- to 5-year-old students with disabilities in an intensive language-learning environment; ACCESS Academy serves students kindergarten to age 21 with a comprehensive education and life skills training; and ACCESS Life is a day program for adults ages 18-35 who have developmental disabilities. The program teaches the basics of developing healthy lifestyles, maintaining academic skills, practicing vocational skills and developing independence.
According to Allmendinger, ACCESS will soon expand its adult programs even more. “This fall, ACCESS will open Project SEARCH, a one-year internship program for young adults with disabilities whose goal is competitive, sustainable employment,” she explains. “[ACCESS] is the first central Arkansas provider for this unique program, which was developed at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.”
“In late 2013,” Allmendinger continues, “ACCESS will also begin offering Cogmed Working Memory Training through the ACCESS Evaluation and Resource Center. Cogmed is an evidence-based program for helping children, adolescents and young adults sustainably improve their working memory. ACCESS will be the first Arkansas provider of this service.”
The ACCESS campus includes three developmentally appropriate playgrounds, the gardens and greenhouse, a commercial kitchen, a mock apartment with a fully functioning kitchen, a library, a mobile laptop lab, an art room with an adjoining ceramics kiln room, and more.
One of Allmendinger’s favorite areas of the ACCESS campus (and ours) is the new, state-of-the-art 6,700-square-foot therapy gym. Among its many amenities, the gym has an in-ground ball pit, trampoline and foam pit, and swings, a climbing wall and gross motor equipment (therapy balls, bikes, a balance beam and scooter boards).
As chair of Starry Starry Night and an ACCESS parent, Allmendinger hopes to not only drum up support for the event, but also raise awareness of the mission of ACCESS and the myriad services the nonprofit provides.
“I know there are parents out there with children who struggle each day with developmental delays and parents who wonder if their child has a delay, who aren’t familiar with ACCESS. If through my involvement I can make even just one family aware of the opportunities ACCESS can provide and encourage them to find answers through early detection and therapy at ACCESS, I’ll be overjoyed.”
For more information about ACCESS or Starry Starry Night, contact Callie Gutierrez at 217-8600, Callie@AccessGroupInc.org, or visit AccessGroupInc.org.
About ACCESS Gardens
“ACCESS Gardens is a horticulture program offered as part of the vocational training for students ages 12-21.
The program incorporates project-based learning, social skills development and coping strategies to help ACCESS students achieve vocational development, independence and community integration,” Allmendinger says. “Students participate in every aspect of the gardening process, from planting and caring for the plants to pricing, logging inventory and providing customer service at the semi-annual plant sales.”
Plant sales are open to the public; the Spring Plant Sale is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 12, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday, Apr. 13.
Heather Allmendinger cultivates a successful garden party in a dress from Barbara/Jean. Flowers by Tanarah Luxe Floral.
Heather Allmendinger cultivates a successful garden party in a dress from Barbara/Jean. Flowers by Tanarah Luxe Floral.
ACCESS Gardens is a horticulture program offered as part of the vocational training for students ages 12-21. The program incorporates project-based learning, social skills development and coping strategies to help ACCESS students achieve vocational development, independence and community integration,” Allmendinger says.
Heather Allmendinger gets a touch-up from hair and make-up artist Angela Alexander inside the ACCESSS greenhouse.