about MLTfoundation
The MLTfoundation was organized to carry out Mikaela's life vision: empowering individuals with special needs through occupational therapy services.
By partnering with St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children, the MLTfoundation will continue Mikaela’s work and keep her memory alive. St. Mary's is one of the nation's premier providers of intensive rehabilitation and specialized care for children with special needs and life-limiting conditions. Each day, St. Mary’s provides these services to children throughout the New York metropolitan area at its inpatient facility.
The MLTfoundation has chosen to work with St. Mary's for the many reasons listed above, but also because it is a place where Mikaela spent her time working with children at "Camp Helping Hands," an intensive summer therapy program offered at St. Mary's.
Thank you for all that you are doing to support a great cause and for keeping Mikaela's spirit and dreams alive.
A special message from St. Mary's:
"At St. Mary’s we believe all children have the ability and right to thrive, to dream, and to be the beautiful individuals they are. We believe in our children’s inspiring resilience."
There are many things we do each day without a second thought, like getting dressed and feeding ourselves.But for thousands of children with hemiplegia (partial paralysis) doing these seemingly routine tasks takes considerable effort and energy. These children are often the ones left on the sidelines. Encumbered by a weakened limb, you won't see them playing on a T-ball taem or hanging from the monkey bars at school, but they are full of energy and imagination. These are the children that St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children's Helping Hands Program empowers and strengthens.
Helping Hands is an intensive therapy program offering 5-6 hours per day of age-appropriate play and adaptive skills practice to help children wtih hemiplegia regain strength, mobility, and function in their weakened limb. The program utilizes Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT), a proven treatment method that focuses on restraining a child's unaffected arm in a cast, which drives him or her to use the weaker one during a succession of kid-friendly and engaging exercises in a camp-like environment. This multi-disciplinary three-week camp provides an individualized treatment approach to help children develop functional skills for everyday activites. Occupational and Physical Therapists work one-on-one with each child, and engage the children in activities such as circle time, games, yoga, and crafts.
This year, the MLTfoundation in memory of Mikaela Tick - who spent time working with children at "Camp Helping Hands" - provided generous support in the form of scholarships for participants to attend the program.
Special thanks to the MLTfoundation for honoring Mikaela's memory in this special way and for supporting St. Mary's mission to improve the health and quality of life for children wtih special needs. Each day St. Mary's provides intensive rehabilitation, specialized care, and education to children throughout the New York metropolitan area at its inpatient facility - St. Mary's Hospital for Children - at home, and in the community. St. Mary's would not be able to accomplish all it does for these children without the financial support of friends like the MLTfoundation.
On behalf of all the children at St. Mary's, thank you for believing in possible!
St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children
718-281-8890