Celebrate the Children Sensory Gym Funded Through Bike to the Beach

In 2025, Celebrate the Children used funds raised through our Bike to the Beach event to build a brand-new sensory room. The Celebrate the Children Sensory Gym is a vibrant, hands-on space where students with autism and other developmental differences can regulate, refocus, and recharge throughout their school day.

The Celebrate the Children sensory gym is a powerful example of how Bike to the Beach riders turn miles into meaningful impact. Thanks to funds raised through the Bike to the Beach event, Celebrate the Children built a new sensory space where students with autism can move, play, and regulate throughout the school day.

Building Spaces for Growth and Inclusion

Last year, Celebrate the Children proudly opened its first large sensory gym in the school’s Related Service Gym — a space designed for therapy sessions. The impact was immediate: students were calmer, more focused, and more engaged in class after using the room.

This year, the team decided to “spread the wealth.” Instead of one shared space, they’re building two smaller Celebrate the Children gyms throughout the school, giving students easier access to sensory breaks when they need them most.

According to Lisa Bruno, Occupational Therapist–Related Service Coordinator at Celebrate the Children, construction is already underway:

“We are actually in the process today — the construction team is here building our second small sensory room,” Lisa shared. “It’s going to be wonderful.”

Empty classroom at Celebrate the Children before the sensory gym renovation funded through dollars raised by the Bike to the Beach charity cycling event.
Before transformation — this empty classroom at Celebrate the Children was turned into a vibrant sensory gym thanks to funds raised through the Bike to the Beach event.
Classroom at Celebrate the Children before construction of the sensory gym made possible through funds raised during the Bike to the Beach charity ride.
The space before renovation — soon to become a new sensory gym at Celebrate the Children, built using funds raised through Bike to the Beach.

Inside the Sensory Gym: A Space to Reset and Thrive

The new Celebrate the Children gym is more than a play area — it’s a purposefully designed environment for physical and emotional regulation.

The space includes:

  • Monkey bars and zip lines for motor skill development and movement-based therapy
  • Calm-down corners for quiet reflection and self-regulation
  • Interactive sensory tools that help students focus and build awareness
ew sensory gym at Celebrate the Children with a blue slide, yellow stairs, and padded loft — made possible with funds raised through the Bike to the Beach event.
The new sensory gym at Celebrate the Children, funded by Bike to the Beach, includes a colorful slide and loft for safe sensory exploration.
Monkey bars and sensory rings at Celebrate the Children’s new sensory gym, installed with funds raised through the Bike to the Beach charity cycling event.
The Bike to the Beach sensory gym renovation added monkey bars and sensory rings, helping students strengthen coordination and confidence.

These elements allow students to regulate their bodies and emotions, helping them return to class ready to learn and engage.

“Social interactions, peer interactions — they’re all expanded in these rooms,” Lisa explained. “It’s wonderful to see our students thrive and become more active participants throughout their school day.”

The Power of a Pedal Stroke

Every donation, every training mile, and every finish-line moment contributes to real outcomes like this one. Because of Bike to the Beach riders and donors, Celebrate the Children’s students now have a place to move, explore, and grow — spaces that directly support their physical, emotional, and academic development.

This is why we bike — to build opportunities, one ride and one community at a time.

About Celebrate the Children

Celebrate the Children is a pioneering New Jersey-based school dedicated to advancing the development of students with autism and other special needs through relationship-based education. Their approach emphasizes understanding, empathy, and creating environments where every child can succeed — both in and out of the classroom.

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