Final day to vote for new playground equipment for Mitchell's Place upcoming

Mitchell’s Place could win funds to purchase playground equipment designed especially for children on the autism spectrum, and it needs community support to help.

The center for children with autism has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Let’s Play Video Contest, and voting oting for the winner runs through Friday, June 26 on facebook.com/letsplay. Winners will be announced on June 29.

The video contest is part of Let’s Play, an initiative by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to provide kids and families with the tools, places and inspiration to make active play a daily priority. Organizations nationwide were asked to submit videos illustrating their need for places to play for a chance to win one of five $20,000 grants, which can be used to build a new playground.

Through Let’s Play grants and projects, Dr Pepper Snapple and KaBOOM! have built or improved more than 2,000 playgrounds since 2011, benefitting an estimated 5 million children during the lifetimes of the playgrounds.

From its Overton Road campus, Mitchell's Place serves as a non-profit, comprehensive treatment center for children, adolescents and their families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. It was founded almost 10 years ago by Mountain Brook residents Nancy and Allen Meisler in honor of their son, Mitchell, and Mountain Brook resident Sandy Naramore serves as its executive director.

Mitchell’s Place offers an early learning program that includes a preschool, serving children on the spectrum and typical peers ages 2-6 years old. Its campus also has a Multidisciplinary Resource Center open to the public and does not require a diagnosis of ASD. The center's treatment options include: speech therapy, occupational therapy, psychology/psychiatry and applied behavioral analysis.

Local PR firm blr/further assisted Mitchell's Place in the production of this video pro bono.

For more information, visit mitchells-place.com, LetsPlay.com or Facebook.com/LetsPlay.