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Step up and step out for students at Mainspring Academy

The special educational school is raising funds for music therapy.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mainspring Academy, a special education school in Jacksonville, is looking to raise funds for new adaptive enrichment programs.

"We really believe our students need to be taught the way they learn. We want the most success for them in and out of the classroom, and we want to do whatever it takes to make sure they have those same experiences as other children and other schools in the way they learn," said Sabrena Snow, Director of Student and Community Affairs.

Their first goal is $10,000 to bring a permanent music therapy class to the school that will help students like Noah. 

"My son Noah is a student here at Mainspring, and he is autistic as well as nonverbal," Noah's mom, Stephanie Murphy, said. "Noah cannot speak a full sentence but he can sing a song from the beginning to the end. Full verses, all the lyrics. It's just absolutely amazing that music is his outlet and allows him to express himself."

Miles for Mainspring is a seven-day virtual step challenge starting Feb. 14.

Participants are asked to sign up by Jan. 31, and when the time comes, walk 10,000 steps a day for seven days while raising funds for 52 special education students. 

@mainspringacademyjax

Walk 10k steps a day for our special education students! #jacksonville #duval #challenge #specialeducation #autism #downsyndrome #specialneeds

♬ original sound - MainspringAcademyJax

Every $50 raised by participants gets their name entered into a drawing for a chance to win daily prizes or a grand prize of a $1,000 trip to Disney. 

"They love music so much. It's their favorite time of the day. They’re always laughing, a lot of hands-on, and I just think it would benefit them so much to have this program," Murphy said. 

Click here to learn how you can help raise money for this good cause. 

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