Providing Art, Music, and Play to Children With Disabilities

 Philanthropy through fun!

DeepBlueRipple International, Inc.

update 7/2/09

We have just returned home from a fantastically successful service project at Westhaven Children's Home for the Disabled in Copse, Jamaica.  17 volunteers consisting of disability specialists, an art therapist, massage therapists, special educators, musicians, a documentary filmmaker, a chiropractor, and several young adults worked daily with the residents of Westhaven.  We built relationships and created laughter through specially tailored art, music, and recreational activities that accommodated to the special needs of the Westhaven kids.  The bedridden children participated in bedside art activities, bedside movement and play therapy, bedside games, received massage and chiropractic care; and were read stories and serenaded with live music. Negril Escape sent a truckload of workers from across the island to help improve the grounds.  The men hand cut a defunct sugar cane field and tripled the size of the garden, cleared a play area with a jungle gym and made it wheelchair accessible, and made various needed building repairs.  It was a huge success!  Funds from the DeepBlueRipple Westhaven Benefit went towards the purchase of vegetable seeds and fertilizer for the new garden. There was a cake & ice cream party and live Reggae Mento music by The Overtakers.  The kids of Westhaven love to dance and the staff were equally as thrilled and joined in on the dance party!  Thanks to the success of our supporters we were able to leave an enormous supply of therapuetic toys, recreational games, art supplies, musical instruments, educational DVDs, CDs, books, educational materials, garden supplies, and more.  Nicholas Hunter of Hazen Hunter Photography documented the entire week and the photos can be viewed at www.westhaven.hazenhunter.com . DeepBlueRipple International, Inc. Executive Director Elana Himmelfarb took photo portraits of each child and in collaboration with the volunteer group constructed profiles on each Westhaven resident.  The profiles include their name, a potrait photo, and information on their likes & dislikes, specific needs, suggestions on what is soothing, art/music/play preferences and skills, and personality.  This compilation of profiles will be sent to Westhaven to be available to visitors and volunteers to facilitate and encourage bonding and  relationship building with the children.  The portaits will also be printed up, laminated, and hung over each resident's bed.  The children absolutely loved the photos we gave them and will be thrilled to have their personal space marked by their very own photo! The wealth of information, depth of experience, and body of work that has emerged from this service project will not only help us understand the specific needs of each individual child but will also prove instrumental in designing future projects at Westhaven.  Most importantly this week forged and solidified bonds that will last a lifetime.

If you are interested in participating in a future Westhaven Children's Home for The Disabled project or any other of our service ventures, please contact us.elana[a.t]deepblueripple.org

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All events are designed to raise awareness, funds, and resources for DeepBlueRipple International, Inc. providing art, music, and play to children with disabilities.