National Lekotek Center receives grant for innovative AblePlay™ toy rating system from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust

CHICAGO, IL (July 18, 2006) – The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust recently awarded a $50,000 grant to the National Lekotek Center, a division of Anixter  Center, one of the Chicago area’s largest providers of educational, vocational, health care and related services to individuals with disabilities. The grant from The Trust, the Midwest’s largest community foundation, will help fund Lekotek’s AblePlay Rating system, a social entrepreneurial venture. AblePlay is a one-of-a-kind toy rating system and web site (www.ableplay.org for consumers; www.ableplayrating.org for toy manufacturers) that assists consumers in selecting the best toys for children with special needs. The AblePlay seal provides an at-a-glance understanding of a toy’s appropriateness for children with physical, sensory, communicative and/or cognitive disabilities. Products are given a rating from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. Rated playthings include arts and crafts, educational, electronic, general, interactive books, outdoor and specially-adapted items. Through the AblePlay web site, consumers can purchase toys online directly from manufacturers after reading positive reviews.

AblePlay evaluators have degrees in special education, early childhood education, or related therapeutic disciplines and have been previously certified by the National Lekotek Center. As part of the toy evaluation process, evaluators assess each toy with 5 - 8 children of varying disabilities during at least 5 - 8 play experiences.

AblePlay is the National Lekotek Center’s first social entrepreneurship venture. Lekotek is a highly respected name in the world of therapeutic play, providing direct services, support and information to children with special needs and their families in resource and play centers that are found worldwide. Lekotek, based in Chicago, Illinois, is the U.S. headquarters and the administrative and training center for a nationwide network of 34 Lekotek centers.

In November 2005, AblePlay was launched with start-up funds from the National Lekotek Center and its parent organization, Anixter Center, along with pro bono marketing and design assistance from an Evanston company, Neiger Design, Inc. The grant from the Community Trust will help advance the business in a market with tremendous potential: There are 6.2 million children with disabilities in the United States, and approximately $3.5 billion is spent annually to purchase toys for these children. Additionally, AblePlay provides hard-to-find expertise for parents and others in selecting that “perfect toy” for kids with disabilities. Because parents of kids with disabilities are, in many instances, even more strapped for time than other moms and dads, they often shop online out of necessity.

For more information about Lekotek, see www.lekotek.org.

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National Lekotek Center and Anixter Center

National Lekotek Center is a division of Anixter Center (www.anixter.org) in Chicago, IL. The mission of the Lester and Rosalie Anixter Center is to assist people with disabilities to live and work successfully in the community. Anixter Center is a leading provider of high-quality vocational, residential and educational options, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and health care. Anixter Center is an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities to be full and equal members of the community. More than 5,000 individuals a year are served through 70 programs at 35 locations throughout the Chicago area. Anixter Center recently was named the 13th-largest charitable organization in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Note to reporters and editors: for more information about Anixter Center, please visit our media room at http://www.anixter.org/mediaroom/index.htm.