Sanctums of Solace

My name is Mike Cherniske.  I work as a Behavioral Therapist, and I'm the father of two children with sensory processing disorder.  I'm also a long time Geek and fan of Comics, Movies, and pop-culture.
 
A longtime dream of mine was to attend comic-con, which I was finally able to do in the last two years. And it was everything I hoped it would be. Despite my enjoyment, it was also completely overwhelming.


I realized that my own children, and even the kids I worked with, would have a very difficult time attending, as the sensory input would be just too much, and the kids would easily experience overload.



Then I had an Idea: What if we could provide accommodations for kids with special needs and their families so that attending Comic-con was a feasible option?

Sanctums of Solace plan to build and provide sensory friendly quiet rooms with a super hero theme for public events such as Comic-con, county fairs, and carnivals for those individuals with sensory and special needs. All families should be able to enjoy the great public events our communities provide, and with a little help, they can.

We have two main designs, with a cost of about $3,000 and $5,000 each. These structures will be portable, and will be able to travel from location to location. We will outfit each booth with sensory friendly seating, adjustable lighting, weighted blankets, ear muffs, and decorate the interior with calming, soothing colors and images. We also hope to provide small sensory toys and items, such as stress balls, ear plugs and gum, which will help individuals with sensory needs better endure the crowds of the convention.

The outside will be decorated with an inviting and fun pop culture inspired design that will allow the booth to fit in with the convention, and in this way children in need of our services will feel welcomed and invited rather than excluded.

The convention space itself will cost about $2,000 unless space is donated by the convention itself. Additional funds is for equipment and transporting the quiet rooms to the convention.

Throughout this project, we have been in contact with various Autism Advocacy Groups, and have received the blessing of one, Autism Speaks.


With your help, we can make the world a more inviting place for families with children with special needs. We can give these children a safe, welcoming place to meet their needs so that they can enjoy the wonderful events our communities have to offer. Please, help us to make the world a more welcoming place for these children and their families.



In addition to the love and admiration of we here at Sanctums of Solace, Donors will have their name posted on the gratitude page of our website, and all Donors will have their names enscribed on a wall of our booth at the public events we appear at! In addition, all donors attending any Public event we appear at will be given a tour of the booth and its accommodations.


Thank you for your support!