|
|||||||||||
|
| For one local business owner, it's all about the kids WEST PALM BEACH -- Jump N Slide Party and Play is much more than its name implies. Just ask the parents of any one of a dozen or so special needs kids who get to let loose in this indoor play arena twice a month -- at no charge. The gratitude on their faces say it all. Jump N Slide is the dream of Jeff Smith, who opened the doors to this vast kid's paradise Labor Day weekend. It is the culmination of an idea that took root in his mind last New Year's Eve driving home from Chicago when he stopped in North Carolina to visit his godmother, who worked in a similar place. "I took one look and thought, 'This is something I've got to do,'" said Smith, who is a little league coach, former sales exec, general contractor and believer in Steven Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The idea exploded into eight months of fast work locating a facility, finding inflatables including a 20-foot high double slide and a climbing gym with a chute/slide, painting the walls bright colors, locating arcade games and all the accoutrements to delight children and parents alike. It is housed in the building where many will remember seeing National Camera right next to Al Packer Ford on Military Trail, just south of Okeechobee Boulevard. But the idea that makes this project so fulfilling to Smith is inviting special needs children to come and play free two nights a month on the second and fourth Wednesdays. "When you stand there and see the face of a child brighten up, it's priceless," Smith said. Jump N Slide has only been open a few weeks and the news is just beginning to spread. Most of the special needs children whose parents have discovered it are autistic, although there is one deaf child and one who has Down Syndrome. "As you go through different levels of life, you experience different goals. In my 20s, it was my dollar income. Now, it's how many people you touch, how many people you add a glimmer of hope and happiness. It's a totally different situation," Smith said. Colleen Cooper and her son Liam, age 3, learned about Jump N Slide from a flyer they received at Liam's day care provided by Easter Seals at the Palm Beach School for Autism. "I'm glad it's open. He's safe here. I don't have to worry he'll run off. The employees are helpful." Smith keeps the doors locked so the children cannot leave. All the equipment is cleaned and disinfected by the employees, which are mostly high school girls who love children. Parents can enjoy the wide-screen TV in the parents' lounge and have a quick bite from the concession that provides hot dogs, soft drinks, soft pretzels, popcorn, pizza, nachos, chips, cookies, ice cream and that adult addiction, coffee. Patricia Upton says the employees are wonderful. She and her husband Rick bring their autistic twin sons, Ronnie and Austin, to play. Their other two children, Arturo and Chris, are also allowed to join the fun. Jump N Slide employees Abby McDonald and Erin Barber, both in high school, say they like special needs night best because they love working with the children. They slide the giant inflated slides with them, holding them if they're afraid. They help the kids learn to play on the other big inflatable toys or wherever they want to play. "We interact with them as long as they would like us to," said Erin, adding that most autistic children don't talk much. Also on staff is high school student Allison Surette, a part-time swim instructor who wants to be a pediatrician someday. She says she adores working with these special needs kids. "I actually get to come to work and play all day long," she said. "It's a joy being with these kids." All the other days and evenings of every month, Jump N Slide is open to all children and their parents and guardians for the price of admission. In the spacious quarters of Jump N Slide, the inflatable room is the biggest with several large pieces of play equipment and a "virtual" roller coaster to rival any. (It's not recommended for the squeamish or those with bad backs.) After climbing in the cockpit, the doors are locked shut and you begin the ride of your life. It rocks and bumps, twirls and turns upside down. And if you last through the whole ride -- there's a panic button -- you may emerge wobbly but laughing, wanting to ride again. For the little ones, the toddler room has playthings just their size. Smith stresses that these toys are disinfected twice a day. Four party rooms of varying sizes are located in the back, two upstairs. The Arcade Room, about 40 feet by 80 feet, beckons children with flashing lights and music. It's filled with all kinds of little fun machines and a pint-size two-lane bowling alley. Kids get tickets for winning games and can redeem them for prizes. Smith's partners in business are his wife, Joy, and Enrique "Kiki" Matias, who owns the building. "I'm nowhere near done with the project," Smith said, glad that they took the giant leap to begin. "Right now it's surpassed what I first dreamed, but it's still morphing." And when all is said and done, it won't be the money that concerns Smith. It will be that his efforts, "26 hours a day, eight days a week" in his words, added a glimmer of hope and happiness to the lives of children. It's his way of showing his love for people and his passionate heart to provide a fun place for children. |
