What is Trike Town?

A long-time dream of Jowonio School Director Ellen Barnes and the school's therapy staff, Trike Town will be a unique outdoor facility for trike riding, physical therapy, performances, and social learning for young children. Trike riding is an ideal activity for developing a range of gross motor skills, as well as endurance, balance and general coordination, and is particularly helpful for children with special needs.

Jowonio’s Trike Town will include almost 400 feet of paved trike path that will pass by shops on a child-sized " Main Street", go through a village park, under and over a tunnel, past a bog, and beside a barn. Crosswalks and road signs will help build awareness of road safety. At one end of Trike Town, a child-sized stage will be surrounded by an amphitheater providing audience seating for spontaneous and planned performances, and also serving as a perfect slope for sledding in the winter months.

Designed by the architectural firm of A.J. Miller & Associates, and constructed by Lee Construction, Trike Town will be a premier facility benefiting Jowonio students for many years to come. With more attention focused on increasing the fitness level for all, but particularly within the special needs populations, Trike Town will help to foster an interest in cycling as a life-long activity. Trike Town will also promote social skills development, a paramount goal for children on the autism spectrum, by providing plenty of opportunities for imaginative play, turn taking, and being active alongside typical peers.

Click here for a complete Trike Town brochure.

What does Trike Town look like?

View the complete Trike Town Photo Gallery
to see how we got from this:


May 2008 - An unused hillside

to this!


October 2 , 2008 - A wonderful project getting close to completion!

The Trike Parade and Ground-Breaking Event

The official Ground-Breaking for our Trike Town and Amphitheater Project took place on Tuesday, June 3. The festivities began at 9:45 am, when Jowonio students, staff and families presented a colorful Trike Parade in front of the construction area. Wearing Jowonio "hard hats" made especially for this celebration, more than 150 pre-schoolers proudly rode their brightly decorated traditional and adaptive bikes and trikes on an outlined track in the parking lot. While tremendously exciting for the children, the parade was just a prelude to what they will experience when construction is completed. Our children are thrilled to see the bulldozers and backhoes at work, and will be even more delighted when Trike Town officially opens in the fall!

The Ground-Breaking ceremony included remarks by Director of Development Peter Irwin, School Director Ellen Barnes and Occupational Therapist Lisa Neville. Program Manager Ann Sutherland, who has secured much of the grant funding for Trike Town, introduced Meg O'Connell and Libby Soderberg of the Allyn Foundation, Jonathan Snow, Jr., of the John Ben Snow Foundation, and John Eberle of the CNY Community Foundation. These major funders of this unique project, along with others who have helped make Trike Town a dream come true, then hoisted decorated shovels and "broke the ground"!

How is Trike Town being funded?

Thank you to all who have contributed to this initiative to date. There has been a wonderful response from the Jowonio community and local foundations who have been ongoing supporters of our school and mission (see below). More than $100,000 has been raised as of September 30; an additional $40,000 is needed to complete Trike Town.

We are delighted to recognize the following major contributors to the Trike Town project:

The Allyn Foundation*
The John Ben Snow Foundation
The Central New York Community Foundation
The Greene - Milstein Family Foundation
Rotary Club of Dewitt
Performance by Design
Stanley B. Pennock VFW Post 2893
Lockheed-Martin
Goetzmann & Associates, LLC
Louise Lantzy
Candace & John D. Marsellus

In-Kind Contributors:

T.H. Kinsella
Steve Snyder, Industrial Contracting, Inc.

Community Volunteers:

SUNY-ESF Students
Empire State Carpenters Apprenticeship Training Program Students
Jowonio Families & Friends

Thanks also to the families and individuals who have supported the project through the purchase of named benches, plaques and bricks, and general donations.

**In August 2007, the Allyn Foundation awarded a Challenge Grant of $22,000 to the Jowonio Trike Town & Amphitheater Project. This challenge has now been met, thanks to the many generous supporters whose contributions totaled an additional $22,000!

How Can I Help?

A variety of opportunities are available for donors to contribute and receive recognition in Trike Town. Click on the links below to learn how you can help. The staff in the Friends of Jowonio office will be happy to provide additional information about the project and ways to contribute.

Click here for Donor Recognition information, offering naming opportunities for contributions of $50 - $1,500.

Additional Sponsorship Opportunities, starting at $5,000, are outlined further below.

In addition to financial contributions, we will gladly accept in-kind donations of items and services such as trees, sod, topsoil, fencing, and staircase construction.

Ready, Set, Pedal!

Click below to make an online contribution by credit card or PayPal.

After you click “Make A Donation”, you will see the Friends of Jowonio PayPal page. You may then make a secure donation using a major credit card or PayPal account. In the Item box, please type “Donation”. If you wish, you may also type in the name of a specific program or project you wish to support, for example, "Trike Town”, “Scholarships”, Bunny Room”, etc. Enter the dollar amount of your donation in the Unit Price box, click Update Totals, and follow the easy on-screen directions.

In addition to seeking grant funding, Friends of Jowonio is also looking for local businesses that might be interested in sponsoring one of the small buildings that relates to their type of business.

Trike Town Sponsorship Opportunities

TOWN SPONSOR - $30,000: As the overall sponsor, you will be invited to participate in a ground-breaking ceremony, have naming rights to the project if desired, and have prominent recognition at the entranceway to Trike Town.

THESPIAN SPONSOR - $20,000: Sponsor the amphitheater, which includes a stage and terraced seating. You will receive prominent recognition on the stage.

ROAD & SAFETY SPONSOR - $15,000: Sponsor the paved track along with the traffic light, road signs and markings to help children learn the rules of the road. You will be named on a street sign.

TRIKE SPONSOR - $12,000: Your support will purchase the fleet of tricycles, including tandem and specialized adaptive tricycles that will allow all children to ride about town. You will be named on the trike storage building.

GARDEN SPONSOR - $10,000: Sponsor the flowerbeds and landscaping to add to the color and allure of Trike Town. You will be named on a garden bench.

BUILDING SPONSOR - $5000: Sponsor a Town building that matches your type of business or service. The possibilities include a gas station, bank, grocery store, ice-cream shop, doctor’s office, hotel, bike shop. Each building will be brightly colored, distinctively designed and include manipulative elements such as gas pumps, cash registers, and groceries to maximize dramatic play opportunities. Benefits include your name on the structure.

All project sponsors will be named at the town entranceway and in all Trike Town publicity, as well as being recognized and having a photo opportunity at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The names of those providing $10,000 or more in support will be added to the donor tree in the school lobby.

Click here for a Trike Town brochure with printable sponsorship/contribution form, or click below to make an online contribution by credit card or PayPal.

After you click “Make A Donation”, you will see the Friends of Jowonio PayPal page. You may then make a secure donation using a major credit card or PayPal account. In the Item box, please type “Donation”. If you wish, you may also type in the name of a specific program or project you wish to support, for example, "Trike Town”, “Scholarships”, Bunny Room”, etc. Enter the dollar amount of your donation in the Unit Price box, click Update Totals, and follow the easy on-screen directions.

For more information, contact the Friends of Jowonio Office at 315-445-4010, ext. 215, or email pirwin@jowonio.org.