Live Auction To Raise Funds For Students With Special Needs

PINELLAS PARK, FL — An auction fundraiser for the Nina Harris Exceptional Student Education Center will take place Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m., at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center.

The school, which has about 200 students with disabilities and special needs, ages 3 to 22, is “a hidden gem” within the Pinellas County Schools system, Jacquie Grimes, a behavioral specialist at the school who is helping with the fundraiser, told Patch.

“I don’t think people even know we’re on the map, which is mindblowing to me,” she added.

Grimes knows firsthand the difference the Nina Harris ESE Center can make in a student's life.

The Pinellas Park native’s youngest brother attended the school, where she also volunteered every summer as a teenager.

This inspired her career in education. Since returning to Florida after college, Grimes has worked at Nina Harris for 18 years.

“What we do here is individualize all instruction to their independent needs,” she said. “We have therapies for them here, everything from vision to speech and language. We do whatever we can do to get each kid successful in their own unique way.”

Though Nina Harris is funded through the public school system, there are more costs involved than at a typical school.

“We have to modify everything to our students' needs,” Grimes said.

For instance, they have students who have no or little use of their arms, legs and head, so they communicate using specialized Eyegaze Edge equipment.

“It’s super expensive, about $500,” she said. “It’s hooked up to an iPad and it’s a thing that reads your eyes so you can communicate. It varies, which level you get. It’s expensive; all the equipment here is unbelievably expensive.”

The school recently received a $50,000 grant from the Hawkins Family Foundation for walkers and gate trainers to help students spend time out of their wheelchairs.

“But we were only able to buy six of them with that money - which is still huge for us,” Grimes said. “Now, we’re able to get six kids out of wheelchairs and get them upright and walk around the school. They have the biggest smiles on their faces when they have that sense of freedom. But this equipment is just so expensive.”

The school is only designated a certain amount of money for equipment each year, and much of the equipment that Nina Harris already has “is old and outdated,” she said.

What causes more difficulties - and more expenses - is that “all the kids are different sizes and shapes, so on and so forth, so everything has to be individualized,” Grimes said.

The school also hosts special events for the students throughout the year from a pirate festival inspired by Gasparilla to its recent Spring Fling with a petting zoo, adaptive Easter egg hunts and a foam party.

“We try to bring as much into the school as we can so they get to experience all that,” she said, adding, “This is why [Saturday’s] fundraiser is so important.”

The event kicks off with a dinner hosted by Glory Days Grill at 6 p.m. for $20. The live auction of around 100 gift baskets and prizes starts at 7:30 p.m. The auction is free to attend.

Prizes range from hotel stays and concert and theme park tickets to jewelry, art, beach-themed baskets, barbeque and specialty food baskets, and more.

“We get all kinds of different things,” Grimes said. “Hopefully, we’ll get a lot of foot traffic this year.”

Those who can’t attend the auction fundraiser but are interested in donating to the Nina Harris ESE Center can learn more here.

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