Not all ribbon-cutting ceremonies include an alligator, whale, and a sliding swing, but the one on March 6 did! The celebration commemorated a partnership between Wishes & More, AMEK Design + Build, and Vujovich Design Build to grant a wish that would transform a basic basement area into a life-altering hangout/therapy room for a Woodbury boy who lives with multiple medical challenges.
Finley, along with his brother Aidan and parents Lee and Heather Stanek, were on hand for the official ribbon cutting ceremony revealing the customized space and donated gifts. Attending the event were Allison Gray, Senior Outreach Representative from US Representative Angie Craig’s office, Carol Bistodeau, Director of Wish Services at Wishes & More; Hanna Crosser and Jason Anderson from AMEK: and Sydney Monson and Kaitlyn Zachman from Vujovich plus Finn’s grandparents and great grandmother, and teachers.
Wishes & More is a Minnesota-based organization providing experiences, wishes, scholarships, and memorials for children with life-threatening conditions. The goal for Finley’s wish was to create a personalized sensory area to fortify Finley’s teachers and family for engaging activity and learning. Our design + build team learned that 12-year-old Finn likes to do “heavy work” like medicine balls and using deep pressure equipment, so they created the room with large-muscle and colorful art activities and also included an adjacent gaming area for his 16-year-old brother Aidan.
A partial wall was added, flooring was changed, an ocean-themed mural was created, and a sliding platform swing was installed. Many items like weighted balls, tables and chairs on wheels for flexible room arrangements, interactive wall and floor activity pieces, and hands-on therapy pieces were donated to fulfill the wish. Favorite elements include the alligator play piece and whale mural on the wall along with the colorful bubble picture and the wall touch tiles and movable rainbow floor tiles. Because Finn loves hanging out with his brother, a sliding curtain was installed to easily and safely allow interaction or separation as needed.
Wishes & More Volunteer President, Karla Blomberg states, “We are thrilled to share the excitement of Finley’s newly outfitted Therapy Room as a result of the amazing collaboration with the talented and generous partners from Vujovich and AMEK! This wonderful, customized space is truly a wish like no other. Finn and his brother will not only enjoy many moments of play, Finn will continue to learn, receive his therapy, and enjoy every component for years to come. Thank you to Vujovich and AMEK for their unparalleled creativity in constructing this wonderful wish-come-true.”
Having an unique, child-centered project for our AMEK team to work on along with the Vujovich group and Wishes & More staff was a gratifying experience. To also be included in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and see Finley’s reaction and his family’s appreciation was a happy ending to cap off the group effort.
“Creating Finley’s Room was really enjoyable for us because we were helping someone who was going to appreciate what we did,” noted AMEK Design + Build Project Superintendent Jason Anderson. “The Stanek family was so cooperative and flexible, so we worked well together.”
AMEK’s Senior Designer Hanna Crosser said, “It was incredibly rewarding to see Finley so engaged in the space our design team created for him and to witness the pure joy and gratitude from the Stanek family at the ribbon cutting—knowing our work made such a meaningful difference in their lives.”
““He LOVES the swing and really likes moving the tables and rainbow mat,” according to his Dad Lee. “He also likes us to put the bubble wall on! Every time he goes down he finds something new to play with – it’s been so wonderful.”
Mom Heather posted, “To say we have been blown away is an understatement. Everyone at Wishes and More, the team at Vujovich, AMEK and all the people working to create his room have been so kind, caring and thoughtful!
“Finley’s love of the ocean is like nothing we have ever seen, he is drawn to it. To think the team personalized his space to the thing he loves most made it so special for him. It means the world to us that they cared so much for Finley’s happiness. We are so beyond thankful for the thoughtfulness, time and passion that was put into this project. They have been the most amazing team to work with. They transformed our basement in a way that will be loved by our whole family!”
