A recent donation of boxes full of toys from Safari, Ltd. will make a big difference in the lives of children receiving Play Therapy at Center for Child Counseling to help them heal from trauma and abuse.
July 1, 2019 — Play Therapy is one of the most effective ways of working with children who have experienced abuse or trauma. Highly-skilled, specially-trained childhood mental health therapists, like those at the Center for Child Counseling in West Palm Beach, Florida, use toys to communicate and interact with children as young as two years old. “Play is a child’s language age and toys are their words,” explains the Center’s CEO, Renée Layman. “We use established best-practice techniques and we operate Play Therapy rooms at our Child and Family Center and in numerous community-based locations.”
Safari, Ltd. has made a tremendous difference in the lives of children visiting the Play Therapy rooms by donating a truckload of their toys to the Center. Since 1982, Safari has created hand-painted learning toys for kids — from dinosaurs, to wild animals, to mythical creatures. Their detailed models help children understand the world they live in. They fuel the imagination, promote creativity, and give hours and hours of playtime fun. Most importantly, they’re built to last!
“This donation means the world to us,” says Stephanie de la Cruz, Center for Child Counseling’s Director of Clinical Services. “Our clients use sandboxes to build scenes and tell stories; they use the toys to express their fears and show us situations and experiences. Toys are crucial elements in our work. The quality of Safari’s toys makes them both beautiful and durable.”
Many of the Center’s clients need financial assistance with their services. “Not having to outlay money for toys means we can use that money to support direct services for the children we help. That means more children will get the therapy they need to begin to heal,” says de la Cruz. “We’re so grateful to Safari for giving back in this way. Their gift will bring so much joy to children who, we believe, always deserve to be playful, hopeful and healthy.”