Daily Skiff

Little Horned Frogs at one of the university's laboratory schools will experience a more enhanced learning environment thanks to a generous donation from an alumnus' foundation, the school's director said.

Marilyn Tolbert, director of Laboratory Schools, said a $25,000 grant from the Henry House Foundation will fund new therapeutic equipment for students at KinderFrogs, a laboratory school in the College of Education that works with children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays.

Tolbert said the contribution from the Henry House will cover the cost of some equipment that has been on a "wish list" of KinderFrogs' teachers and staff for quite some time. Equipment that helps develop motor skills, mobility, and speech are a few of the items coming in that will help the staff and the children, such as kits that will help staff train their students in speech, Tolbert said.

"We are thrilled and honored that the Henry House Foundation has dedicated $25,000 for equipment for the children," Tolbert said. "Children with Down syndrome have many developmental delays and the supplies that they're providing will greatly enhance (the children's) ability to accomplish their goals."

The Henry House Foundation was founded by J.J. Henry, an alumnus and PGA Tour professional, in 2006 to help support programs that focus on the health care and well-being of children.

Henry could not be reached for comment, but Laura Anderson, marketing director for his foundation, said selecting KinderFrogs as the program to support was an obvious decision for Henry and the rest of his board members.

"When we became more familiar with what the KinderFrogs school is and what they do, it just seemed like the absolute perfect fit," Anderson said.

Anderson said the foundation is always looking for projects that need financial help and the fact that there was one on campus made it even more appealing to Henry.

"We liked the idea that it's a school that benefits the medical well-being of the children," Anderson said. "And the fact that it's TCU was icing on the cake, because TCU does mean so much to J.J."

Tolbert said the equipment should come in within the next two weeks.

"The kids don't know (about the equipment) yet," Tolbert said. "We'll show them when it arrives, and they'll be real excited."

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