In a cross-college collaboration dedicated to service, Kentucky 4-H Youth Development, part of the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is partnering with the UK College of Health Sciences to adapt toys for children with disabilities.  

Through the 4-H Teen Conference in Lexington and a pilot program to expand these community-based experiences statewide, Kentucky 4-H youth have been contributing to Toys with a Purpose, an initiative to develop cost-friendly adaptations that make toys, books and games more accessible for children. 

“Play is essential for child development and toys are a crucial part of play. However, most toys are not usable by many students with different disabilities,” said Patrick Kitzman, professor in the UK Department of Physical Therapy. “There are companies that do sell toys that have been adapted, but the prices are extremely high, which is a significant barrier to many families being able to provide these items for their children.”

'Contribute in a meaningful way’ 

When Rachel Guidugli, assistant extension director for Kentucky 4-H Youth Development, met Kitzman and learned about Toys with a Purpose, she connected him with Charles Stamper, special projects coordinator for the UK Cooperative Extension Service.  

“Through this connection, I hoped to expand opportunities for young people to learn how to contribute in a meaningful way to others in their communities,” Guidugli said.  

Around that time, Stamper and others were working to revive the 4-H Teen Conference after the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year, the 4-H Teen Conference includes a day of service, when young people participate in service-learning projects. For two years, Toys with a Purpose has been one of over 30 community-serving partner organizations in Lexington.  

After two successful years of partnership between Toys with a Purpose and the 4-H Teen Conference, Stamper and Kitzman are working to expand statewide, hosting community-based experiences for local 4-H youth. The pilot program was held in September at the Jackson County Extension Office, where 4-H students from three counties participated. 

The collaborators’ goal is to host one or two of these learning experiences each semester, in different locations across Kentucky. Now that the 4-H Teen Conference has been hosted in Central Kentucky and the pilot program has been hosted in Eastern Kentucky, they hope to target Western Kentucky in the spring.

‘Think outside of the box’ 

At the conference and at community-based experiences, 4-Hers help Toys with a Purpose by brainstorming the most effective ways to adapt toys using more affordable materials, often things that could just be lying around a house.  

“I love seeing the creativity of the 4-H youth and their ability to think outside of the box to make toys, books and games accessible,” Kitzman said.  

For example, 4-Hers worked on Sorry!, a game that requires players to move small tokens around the board. The solution: Add a plastic topping to each token that makes them more accessible to children with grasping issues.  

4-Hers also worked with board books, making them more tactile and easier to handle. They used pipe cleaners to recreate illustrations in the same colors so that kids can more easily see and feel them. 4-Hers also put tiny popsicle sticks on the edges for easier page-turning.  

“It was very creative and engaging,” Stamper said. “The young people felt like they had a sense of purpose and that they could really help someone.”  

After 4-Hers create prototypes, Kitzman and his students continue to formalize the designs. Eventually, those adapted toys will make it to families and facilities that need them.  

In addition to helping kids with disabilities, this collaboration also educates the 4-H youth about accessibility and serving as an advocate for those with different abilities.  

“It helps them look at the world around them through a different lens,” Kitzman said. 

Stamper has a personal connection to adapting toys—he has muscular dystrophy that makes it difficult to grasp objects. Recently, Toys with a Purpose has added another target area: adults with disabilities who need adaptive toys to play with children and grandchildren.  

“One of my responsibilities is instructional design—how do we design our 4-H programs to serve more youth with different abilities?” Stamper said. “Working with Toys with a Purpose fits my personal passion, but it also fits the job that I do.”

'Focus the creativity of the entire university’ 

Cross-campus collaborations are valuable for all involved.  

Kitzman said one of Toys with a Purpose’s goals is “to see what would happen if we could focus the creativity of the entire university on one area.” In addition to the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the College of Health Sciences works on Toys with a Purpose with the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Design.  

“We in 4-H want to partner with others like Toys with a Purpose because we may never have thought of that program, and they may never have thought that 4-Hers could come up with ideas,” Stamper said. “It’s a partnership that brings both of our missions together but still allows for that uniqueness to occur.”  

To learn more about 4-H Youth Development programming, visit https://4-h.ca.uky.edu/.To learn more about Toys with a Purpose, visit https://chs.uky.edu/karrn/toys-with-a-purpose.  

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Writer: Bailey Vandiver, bailey.vandiver@uky.edu 

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