Sophie’s Playroom is one of the major additions to the new building.

WARSAW — After three years of operating in a building with tight spaces, Joe’s Kids was finally able to make the move to a larger facility to meet all of its clients needs. The move was made possible with help from many organizations and individuals.

Joe’s Kids is a local nonprofit that allows children to receive physical, occupational and speech therapy in order to help them reach their maximal level of independence. In 2016 the organization served 250 unique children, with many of the children having multiple appointments a week. The growing number of clients meant that this recent move was necessary to continue to provide proper help to local children.

The new building, located in the health center at 902 Provident Drive, Warsaw, includes three speech therapy rooms, feeding room, larger play and rehab equipment, an infant room, a physical therapy room, occupational therapy rooms and much more. Some of the more exciting additions include Sophie’s Playroom and the indoor track.

Sophie’s Playroom was a donation made by the Sophie Long Foundation. Sophie was a beloved client of Joe’s Kids who passed away in August 2016. The donation made in her honor funded a playroom complete with a swing suspension unit, a zipline and new rock climbing equipment.

The indoor track runs throughout the whole circular layout of the building. Lines on the floor help children visualize where they can travel and wide openings allow bikes, wheelchairs and other equipment to pass through with ease. The track will allow clients to build up strength indoors during winter months or bad weather, something that was lacking in the old building.

“It’s like Christmas everyday when we walk through the doors now,” said Rebecca Bazzoni, executive director. “This state of the art, beautiful facility happened because of the community.”

Bazzoni estimates that the move was almost 100 percent funded through the generosity of others. The only thing the nonprofit had to purchase was a few small office supplies.

The building itself is owned by the K21 Health Foundation, which agreed to help Joe’s Kids with rent for the first five years in the new space. The organization was able to build the space from the ground up, designing the space with Hope Architects to make the building fit client’s needs.

The rest of the funding for the new equipment and construction came from many organizations including the AWS Foundation, DEKKO Foundation, Kosciusko County Community Foundation, REMC, Sophie Long Foundation, Esther Pfleiderer Charitable Trust and the West Point Class of 1968. Many generous individuals in the community also donated to the cause.

A few companies donated their services to help with all the changes. HRW, a branding company out of Indianapolis, helped the organization go through a whole rebranding. Joe’s Kids will now feature softer, calmer colors which can be seen throughout the building and a new logo. WJ Carey Construction, out of South Whitley, helped cover the cost of the special steel structures necessary for the ziplines and suspension units.

The main goal of the move was to ensure every child who needed help could receive it. Joe’s Kids doesn’t want to put any child on a waiting list, and the added space will help ensure that doesn’t happen.

“Just to be able to accommodate everyone in so many ways is so exciting,” said Bazzoni.