Thursday, October 1, 2026
Howie’s Heart partnered with the Special Education PTA Committee to host a school beautification day at Washington Street School, creating an inclusive community service event designed for neurodivergent children.
Howie’s Heart — a volunteer group that frequently incorporates accessibility into its outreach — worked with the SEPTA committee, part of the Franklin Square Interschool PTA, to organize the day. Activity stations were set up to ensure that children of all abilities could take part comfortably, including a sensory play zone and a cool-down tent for those who needed a quiet space.
“I work with kids who have special needs,” said Jen Camacho, founder of Howie’s Heart. “A lot of families don’t feel like they have an opportunity to do things with their kids on the weekends, in their community. When we started Howie’s Heart, we knew we wanted to put an emphasis on making all of our events inclusive — so they have an opportunity to just be part of something in our community, giving back, giving service. Spreading kindness is something that we all should do.”
The event’s main task was planting flowers around the school sign, including chrysanthemums for the fall season. The school also pointed out two newly planted trees near the kindergarten entrance, which volunteers helped showcase with additional flowers.
Students and families rotated through three craft tables, lawn games such as cornhole and Jenga, a photo station, a bubble-blowing area, and a pizza and lemonade stand — all designed to keep children engaged at their own pace.
Among the volunteers was Manuel Ismael Leal, who spent the afternoon helping while keeping an eye on his younger sister.
“It helps in general just to find out who she is,” he said, adding that he’s motivated by his mother’s example. “I like to help people, and I like seeing smiles on their faces. I like my mom too. She likes to help people and I get that from her.”
His mother, Vanessa Leal, a SEPTA parent, said events like this help children feel seen.
“I think it shows them that they’re part of a community of wonderful people,” she said.
Vanessa said SEPTA has helped bring meaningful change to her daughters’ school, including a sensory room and a designated cool-down space at Willow Road Elementary School for PTA events.
“So when kids do events like dances, or any PTA-run event, they have a safe space,” she said. “They’re not excluded from the event, but they can take a break in a nice and quiet environment.”
SEPTA co-chairs Danielle Sukman and Christine Castellano said their mission is to make existing district programs more accessible — not just to children on the autism spectrum, but to students with a range of neurodiverse needs.
“We’re more geared toward neurodiverse,” Sukman said. “The Halloween dance at this school — 800 tickets get sold. That’s really overwhelming for kids. So we try to make it so they can participate in the events that happen at their own school.”
Part of their approach is encouraging older students to volunteer alongside younger children with special needs.
“Really, where you see improvement in inclusion is when you target young people, because they’re still open to ideas and learning how things go,” Sukman said. “It’s harder to teach it later in life.”
Castellano said the collaboration with Howie’s Heart felt natural.
“Jen is very open to trying new things,” she said. “We share a lot of the same values.”
