The non-profit foundation, formed in October by Brittany Savage, aims to not only continue the work begun by Aly’s Monkey Movement, but to expand the availability of services for special needs children in the area.

“We’re neurodivergent and disability focused, and our main goal is to build a center here in Williamsport so that all children feel involved,” she said.

The goal is for the center, which Savage compared to the Lewisburg Children’s Museum on steroids, to include therapeutic rooms, support groups and sensory walls, among other supportive options.

Savage’s passion for the projects stems from the difficulties experienced by her son.

“He is severely visually impaired and has a lot of medical complexity, and that’s the whole reason that we did this,” she said.

Savage was largely in the dark when traversing her son’s medical conditions, something she hopes the foundation can alleviate for other families throughout Lycoming County.

“When we heard what we were going to be dealing with, my first question was, ‘how do we learn braille? How do we learn all those things?’ And no one talks about that here,” she said.

Due to a lack of resources in the area, the family utilized the services of the Altoona Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services in Blair County, who work with their child in their home, which is much appreciated, but less than ideal.

“We do three therapies a week for my son, and we’ve learned that if it’s not around familiar people or not in the comfort of your home, they strive so much better,” Savage said.

“That’s another purpose of a center, for them to have a space for the child to know, ‘okay, I’m going there to do therapy,'” she explained.

“We also took over Aly’s Monkey Movement, so we will be putting out sensory friendly bears. We’re calling them ‘Brookie’s Bears.’ We’re in contact with all the hospitals and children’s agencies, like CYS and Dwell,” she said.

“Smith Farm and Field makes them for me, and I have a local apparel company that brands the t-shirts, and then I have a local company that does the tags for the ears, so I kept it all small, local business. I didn’t outsource to Amazon or anything like that,” she said.

Since beginning the Brookie Foundation, Savage has been hard at work, reaching out to other local organizations such as the YWCA and Family Promise, and they recently joined the Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce, seeking to raise awareness of their mission.

While Sunday’s affair was a chance for children to grab the ear of Santa Claus, himself, it also served as another avenue for getting that awareness out to the public, with several local businesses taking part.

Briana Mazzotta, who drove up from Centre County with daughter, Gianna, called it an awesome event.

“We wanted to come see Santa Claus, of course, but also to support the foundation,” she said.

“In Centre County, we just got a playground that’s handicap friendly, sensory friendly, and it’s packed all the time with kids, and it’s a nice atmosphere, because kids are more mindful of each other, and it helps the kids that usually can’t participate on normal playgrounds, be able to participate,” Mazzotta said.

“I think it would be a great benefit to this area for sure,” she added.

In addition to the jolly old elf, Princesses of Arendelle, Anna and Elsa, of Disney’s Frozen, mingled with attendees and held a storytime for the children.

“This is nice to give the kids something to do, and they’re over there, coloring their little gingerbread men,” said Alyssa Carpenter, of Williamsport.

“This foundation is absolutely amazing,” said Kara Cosentine, of Hughesville, a good friend of Savage’s.

Cosentine’s husband, Connor, was a business participant as well, with a booth dedicated to his veteran owned The Cozy Candle Company.

“To see her bring awareness to children that have different health things going on or learning issues is incredible,” she said, adding that despite the difficult nature of some of the conditions, having an open dialogue is important.

“Our kids are having a blast with Santa and Anna and Elsa, so it’s a nice thing to do on a Sunday,” she said.

For more information, to get involved with The Brookie Foundation, or to refer a child to receive a Brookie’s Bear, visit www.thebrookiefoundation.com or The Brookie Foundation’s Facebook page.