Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Young.
Hi Jessica, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Rani and I met while helping to found a charter school in Buffalo, where we quickly realized we shared a love for working with children and families. As educators and parents, we wanted to create the kind of safe, welcoming space we wished we had when our own children were younger. We also wanted the freedom to wrap support around the whole family, something that can sometimes be difficult within a large school environment.
Just a year later, that vision became JR’s Sensory Play Garden. Our shared love for plants and nature inspired the garden-themed play center, where children can learn, play, explore, and be themselves while their families feel supported right alongside them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. After a year of traveling back and forth between Buffalo and New Jersey, I made the decision to relocate so Rani and I could truly build this together. Then came finding the right space, digging deep into our own savings to fund the vision, and organically building the village we needed around us.
In the beginning, there were plenty of weekends when it was just the two of us sitting in the Garden, rethinking what worked, what didn’t, and what our community actually needed. We listened to constructive feedback, adjusted our programs, and kept recalibrating. That process taught us that building JR’s wasn’t just about bringing our original vision to life, it was about allowing that vision to grow alongside the families we serve.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At JR’s Sensory Play Garden, Rani and I bring our backgrounds as educators, parents, and community builders together to create meaningful, play-based experiences for children and families. We specialize in responsive programming, sensory play, social-emotional learning, early learning, literacy, and enrichment, creating programs that can grow and adjust based on what our families and community actually need.
I have a special love for early learning and creating environments where young children can build confidence, independence, and curiosity through play. Rani’s passion is literacy and early reading, especially helping children develop confidence as readers. Together, those strengths allow us to support the whole child in a way that feels natural and connected.
What we’re most proud of is the community we’ve built around the Garden. Families don’t just come to us for play, they come for support, connection, resources, and a place where both children and parents feel like they belong.
What sets us apart is that we stay small, intentional, responsive, and hands-on. We’re in the Garden with our families, listening to what they need and developing programs around those needs. We value the process over perfection and believe children should be given the tools, support, and space to discover what they can do. That’s really the heart of the JR’s Way.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
There are so many ways to be part of what we’re building at JR’s. We love collaborating with educators, therapists, local businesses, community organizations, and anyone who shares our commitment to supporting children and families.
People can also support the Garden through donations of supplies and materials, which help us keep our doors open, our programs affordable, and our children learning and creating. Sponsorships are especially meaningful because they allow us to offer free programs, community events, and outreach opportunities to families who may not otherwise have access.
Whether you donate, sponsor a program, collaborate with us, share a resource, or simply tell another family about the Garden, you’re helping our village grow and helping us continue to pour back into our community.
Pricing:
- Open Play 1hr $25
- Saturday Academy 2hrs $40
- Affordable Birthday Packages Starting at $200
- Parents Night Out 2hrs $40
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jrsplaygarden.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrsplaygarden/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578046959477
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jr-s-sensory-play-garden
