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West Newsmagazine 12-13-23

Local news, local politics and community events for West St. Louis County Missouri.

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24<br />

December 29, 20<strong>23</strong><br />

WEST NEWSMAGAZINE<br />

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WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM<br />

The Joy of Giving: Local charity plays ‘Santa’ with help from community<br />

By LAURA SAGGAR<br />

This holiday season more than 100 local<br />

children with special needs will get to open<br />

an adaptive toy thanks to The Arya Foundation,<br />

a Chesterfield-based non profit that<br />

assists families and caregivers of children<br />

with disabilities in the greater St. Louis<br />

and St. Charles County area. Through this<br />

end-of-year program, families of children<br />

with disabilities are invited to apply for an<br />

adaptive toy up to $250 in value. This year<br />

the foundation broke their record, awarding<br />

116 gifts to area children. That’s not all The<br />

Arya Foundation does to help children with<br />

special needs in the community.<br />

Named for their daughter who was born<br />

with disabilities, Arya, the foundation was<br />

created in her memory in 2014 by her<br />

mom, Sunanda Dhananjay; dad, Dhananjay<br />

Kokate; and brother, AJ Kokate. AJ was 9<br />

years old when his sister was born on Valentine’s<br />

Day in 2004. Arya died five years later<br />

in 2009. While AJ was young at the time, he<br />

said he remembers the support from the<br />

community that helped their family tremendously.<br />

“In the time she was around, there was so<br />

much support from the community that we<br />

got from the various organizations and we<br />

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wanted to, in memory of her, give back to<br />

the community,” AJ said. “And after understanding<br />

a lot of the struggles and hardships<br />

that families who have kids with a disability<br />

go through, we want to help alleviate that<br />

in a way.”<br />

AJ knows firsthand that leaving the house<br />

with a child in a wheelchair is not a simple,<br />

or inexpensive, task. Adaptive equipment<br />

for children with special needs is expensive<br />

and not always covered by health insurance.<br />

The Arya Foundation grants up to $1,000<br />

per child per year toward the purchase of<br />

adaptive equipment. This includes communication<br />

devices, ramps, customized wheelchairs<br />

and glasses, just to name a few. The<br />

cost of adaptive equipment adds up. Hearing<br />

aids can cost more than $1,000; an adjustable<br />

hospital bed is estimated to cost $850;<br />

Tomato glasses, a brand of flexible, durable<br />

eyeglasses, cost more than $400; a cranial<br />

molding helmet costs more than $1,000; a<br />

bathroom lift system is nearly $800. Dustin<br />

Taber, Arya’s director of networking, said<br />

they awarded 45 pieces of equipment in 20<strong>23</strong><br />

and they hope they can give more next year.<br />

“Add the word ‘adaptable’ to anything and<br />

the price goes up,” Taber said. “It’s expensive<br />

enough to raise a child without special<br />

needs. We want to help children have as<br />

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normal of a childhood as possible.”<br />

In order to qualify for assistance, families<br />

must be referred to the foundation by<br />

a social worker or physician, and provide a<br />

statement from the child’s physician regarding<br />

the necessity of the item, along with a<br />

completed application through thearyafoundation.org.<br />

Applicants can<br />

expect to receive a response<br />

within 30 days. The item<br />

will either be ordered and<br />

shipped to them, or they<br />

will receive a check made<br />

payable to the provider.<br />

Another mission of the<br />

foundation is to bring<br />

awareness to the community<br />

about the different<br />

resources available to<br />

those who have a family<br />

member with a disability.<br />

One way they provide<br />

Arya Kokate<br />

those resources is by hosting a Disabilities<br />

Awareness Convention from noon-4 p.m. on<br />

March 24, 2024, at the DoubleTree Hotel<br />

located at 16625 Swingley Ridge Road in<br />

Chesterfield. Admission to attend is free and<br />

everyone is invited. The convention features<br />

exhibits, workshops and presentations in an<br />

effort to educate participants on the latest<br />

opportunities, best practices and legislation<br />

in the community. AJ said the convention is<br />

one of the largest in the Midwest for people<br />

with disabilities.<br />

The foundation is still accepting vendors for<br />

the convention. This is the third year for the<br />

convention, but the first time it has been held<br />

since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />

Exciting news for 2024 is the launch<br />

of The Arya Foundation’s TAF House<br />

online store that will feature jewelry made<br />

by Arya Foundation kids and volunteers.<br />

The online store is set to go live on Jan. 1.<br />

Jewelry sales serve as a fundraiser for the<br />

foundation and previously had only been<br />

available at various craft fairs held around<br />

the area. Michelle Todd, director of philanthropy<br />

for the foundation, said the jewelry<br />

is so popular that people ask her where they<br />

can buy it all the time.<br />

“All of our jewelry is handcrafted by kids<br />

with special needs and adult volunteers,”<br />

AJ said. “Everyone really enjoys coming<br />

together in a group and making it together.<br />

It also helps with fine motor<br />

skill improvement. At the<br />

Parkway Central craft fair<br />

we were selling a piece of<br />

jewelry every three minutes.<br />

The TAF House gives kids<br />

the chance to be creative.<br />

They even design the box<br />

the jewelry is packaged<br />

in. Just like the jewelry,<br />

every (box) is their unique<br />

design.”<br />

AJ is hoping to boost<br />

the foundation’s presence<br />

online in order to reach<br />

more families and caregivers. There are<br />

several ways the community can help.<br />

“Join our events to learn about us,” AJ<br />

said. “Share our content. We love donations<br />

and volunteers. The more people who know<br />

about us the better because we’d love to<br />

help as many people as possible.”<br />

The Arya Foundation can be followed on<br />

social media at thearyafoundation on Facebook,<br />

and @aryafoundation on Instagram. A<br />

newsletter is available at thearyafoundation.<br />

org. AJ also suggests that volunteers are<br />

always needed. All of the board members<br />

are volunteers.<br />

Over 90% of donations go directly to purchasing<br />

equipment for kids.<br />

The foundation’s website sums up The<br />

Arya Foundation’s mission best:<br />

“We are more than an organization: we<br />

are the hopes and dreams of children everywhere<br />

in promoting a brighter future. It’s<br />

about making a positive difference and<br />

building happier moments. Most importantly,<br />

it’s about ‘turning challenges into<br />

opportunities.’”<br />

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