On Friday, 4th June 2021, The Minister for Social Protection, Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys will officially launch Sensational Kids in Clones, which provides subsidised therapy supports to children of all abilities across Monaghan and the surrounding counties. The official opening of Sensational Kids in Clones marks the organisation’s fourth Child Development Centre and cements its presence in every province of Ireland. Since the non-profit organisation was set up in 2007, Sensational Kids has helped almost 9,000 children and saved their families over €2million in therapy fees.
Speaking at the event, Minister Humphreys commented, “It is a great privilege for me to officially open the Sensational Kids Child Development Centre in Clones. Karen and her team do wonderful work and I am delighted that they have chosen Clones for their fourth centre. Social Enterprises are set up to serve the community and improve people’s lives. That is exactly what Sensational Kids is all about. Since its establishment in 2007, the organisation has provided vital supports to almost 9,000 children with additional needs. By choosing Clones, hundreds if not thousands of children from Monaghan, Cavan, Longford and further afield will benefit from these important therapy services over the years to come.
Five-year-old Jack Hall who attends Occupational Therapy at Sensational Kids and through its partnership with The Down Syndrome Centre North East attended the launch and his mother Mary said, “Jack loves attending OT at Sensational Kids. It makes such a difference to day-to-day activities for him. He is currently working on school readiness & fine motor skills as he prepares to make the transition from preschool to primary school in September. The OT sessions are play based and fun, meaning Jack looks forward to each and every one of them!”
CEO of Sensational Kids, Karen Leigh was also in attendance and said of the launch, “Sensational Kids is delighted to open our first child development centre in Ulster. The Clones centre now means that Sensational Kids is present in every province of Ireland. We love what we do and seeing the difference it makes to families and children is so rewarding. Children of all abilities deserve to be able to access help when they need, and therefore Sensational Kids exists. We are a non-profit organisation and all proceeds from our stores and online shop along with our training workshops for parents, educators and healthcare professionals are reinvested into the organisation to increase our impact on the lives of children who use and need our services. We are very thankful to Minister Humphreys for launching Sensational Kids Clones and shining a light on the needs of these children.”
Sensational Kids in Clones started seeing children last March, just as the Covid-19 Pandemic began and since then, the centre has helped over 120 families and saved them more than €35,000 in therapy fees. Currently the centre provides Occupational Therapy services. To make a booking, please contact clones@sensationalkids.ie or call 047 52671. For further information on Sensational Kids, please visit www.sensationalkids.ie.