The Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation recently teamed up with the developmental disability workshop facilitator Life Is Washable Inc. to bring sensory-friendly kits to visitors of the Carrier Dome.

The program is intended to provide a more comfortable experience for guests of all ages with sensory challenges such as autism, dementia, traumatic brain injury or developmental disabilities.

Each complementary Friendly Access Sensory Safety Kit is packaged in an orange drawstring backpack. It includes a pair of noise-reducing ear covers and ear plugs, anti-glare glasses, a communication card for nonverbal individuals, a fidget toy, sanitizing wipes and tissues, an identification wristband and a venue map to easily locate quiet spaces.

Loud noises and bright lights can make it difficult for individuals with developmental disabilities to enjoy events, according to the Magic Paintbrush Project, the name under which Life Is Washable Inc. does business.

Life is Washable Inc., which is based in Endicott, New York, has been providing sensory-friendly kits to visitors of the Binghamton University Events Center for about a year. The company approached prior benefactors Jim & Juli Boeheim to expand its program to Syracuse University less than a year ago.

The Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation, which has donated to organizations ranging from the CNY Autism Society of America to the Syracuse City Ballet, awards about $80,000 per year in grants for causes that support its expansive mission statement, said Kelly Taylor, the foundation administrator. Its website lists donations to more than 30 charities in the spring of 2016 alone. Life is Washable Inc. was one organization to receive grant money a few years ago.

The kits are on loan from the Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation, who have paid for them, while Life Is Washable Inc. provides expertise on running the program successfully.

“Once we found the right people to talk to, it was really a no-brainer,” Taylor said of coordinating with the Dome to put the Friendly Access program in place.

The kits were made available on loan at Guest Services starting last month, making the Dome “the first venue of its size in the United States to offer sensory accommodations to its patrons,” according to a press release from the Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation. The Dome, at 49,250 seats, is significantly larger than the 7,753 seat Binghamton University Events Center.

Though the program had an unannounced soft opening at the Dome earlier this basketball season, the Jim & Juli Boeheim Foundation didn’t start publicizing the initiative until a few weeks ago, when six of the kits were distributed directly to a community group at SU’s home men’s basketball game against Boston College.

In the future, the kits will be distributed from Guest Services, a department that was created to assist people with all different abilities, said Tom Benzel, assistant director of business and operations for the Dome. Currently, the kits must be returned at the end of the game and are not available for purchase.

Since being introduced last month, Taylor said the kits have been reportedly well received.

“I think (the participants) were thrilled that they were available complementary and that effort is being made to acknowledge the needs of those with sensory impairments,” Taylor said.

Published on January 22, 2017 at 7:55 pm

Contact Mary: mdcatalf@syr.edu | @mrycatalfamo