Gio’s Garden – Respite, Therapy and Resources for Families with Special Needs Children

Hilary Berning - Gio's Garden On the Unrealistic Timelines of Insurance Companies: "It's a 6 to 9 month process just to get a wheelchair. I really need some way to get my son from point A to point B." Families with special needs children already have some challenges. These families need help and some guidance on where they can get this help. This is where Gio's Garden comes in. Gio’s Garden is a one-of-a-kind therapeutic respite center based in Middleton, Wisconsin, and recently expanded to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Their essential mission: to provide safe, enriching respite care for children with special needs aged 0–7, giving parents the chance to take a break, run errands, or simply breathe. Hilary Berning shares the struggles many of these families face. From finding a place to care for your child temporarily since you can’t just leave your medically complex child with the teenager down the block. Gio’s Garden fills that gap with one-on-one care, specially trained staff, and a joyful, home-like atmosphere. Their houses are filled with arts, crafts, sensory rooms, gym equipment, and caring people who “never like to say no” to a family in need. Listen as Hilary explains the needs and complexities of these children and their families and how Gio's Garden is a place that is doing all they can to help these children and their families. Enjoy! Visit at: https://giosgarden.org/ Sponsors: Live Video chat with our customers here with LiveSwitch: https://join.liveswitch.com/gfj3m6hnmguz Some videos have been recorded with Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=james-kademan Podcast Overview: 00:00 "Local, Unique, Community Focused" 06:03 Supporting Families Through CLTS 08:49 Greek Life Fundraising Show 11:10 "Sanfilippo Syndrome Journey Shared" 13:51 "Growth, Funding, and Strategic Planning" 19:18 Franchise Expansion Plans 20:56 Inclusive Childcare and Respite Plan 25:14 Emergency Presidency Amid Crisis 27:07 "Sun Prairie Location Announcement" 30:07 "Navigating a Life-Changing Diagnosis" 35:42 Sun Prairie Studio Renovation Details 38:07 Wiseman Center Connection Insights 40:48 "Planning Ahead for Kids' Safety" 44:38 "New Podcast Venture Launch" 47:10 "Reinventing With Youthful Engagement" 51:00 Nonprofits: Vital, Challenging, Impactful 52:00 Supporting Local Nonprofits Podcast Transcription: Hilary Berning [00:00:00]: Um, because you have the big nationwide organizations, right? Make-A-Wish, Boys and Girls, like they're all over the nation. They've got nationwide people telling them what to do when providing all these things. And then you have organizations like mine, like there's no one else that does this. We are the only one that does it. We're doing it on our own. We are local. We're serving local people. All the money stays here and goes back to the kids. Hilary Berning [00:00:22]: People can really think that through a little bit where we don't have We are local, we're serving local, and we're doing good. Goal and focus on those nonprofits. James Kademan [00:00:35]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link from drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Hillary Berning of Gio's Garden. So Hillary, how is it going today? Hilary Berning [00:00:58]: I'm good. Thanks for having me. James Kademan [00:01:00]: So let's start with the foundation here. What is Gio's Garden? Hilary Berning [00:01:03]: So Gio's Garden, so we are a respite center. We are located in Middleton, which is our original location, and we recently just opened a new location in Sun Prairie. James Kademan [00:01:11]: Nice. Hilary Berning [00:01:11]: So what we do is we provide therapeutic respite for children with special needs from ages 0 to age 7. So respite means to take a break. So it's really hard for parents of special needs kids to get a break. James Kademan [00:01:23]: Mm-hmm. Hilary Berning [00:01:23]: Because you can't just leave your special needs child with the teenager down the street. So we provide that opportunity for them to come leave their child with us and they can go and have a break. James Kademan [00:01:33]: Nice. So when you say special needs, tell me the gamut there. Hilary Berning [00:01:36]: We will see, um, everyone with, from autism to cerebral palsy to diabetes, to babies who have had strokes in utero to rare genetic disorders. We have kids with seizure disorders, so we kind of really don't say no very often. There's a few higher-grade medical needs that we can't see, like if they would have a tracheostomy or something like that. But otherwise, we don't— our motto is we don't like to say no. James Kademan [00:02:04]: Fair. And what does the care look ...