SAN ANTONIO – Gordon Hartman, founder of The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation and driving force behind unique Morgan’s Wonderland theme park and other facilities to help those with special needs, has received a “World Changer” Award from the Aid the Silent, a non-profit organization that advocates for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
The award was presented at the recent Aid the Silent annual gala in San Antonio with 600 in attendance.
“Gordon Hartman is an avid supporter of our deaf children,” said Emma Faye Rudkin, Aid the Silent executive director and founder. “He supports our educators so they can maximize the impact on the young lives of their students. He has funded field trips for deaf teenagers, supported continuing education conferences for deaf teachers and provided state-of-the-art hearing aids. The lives of deaf children helped by Aid the Silent have been changed forever because of Gordon Hartman’s generosity.”
Hartman said recognition from Aid the Silent “means The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation is continuing to have a profound, positive impact on children with special needs. It also symbolizes incredible amounts of hard work by the passionate people I’m privileged to work with at Morgan’s Wonderland and Morgan’s Inspiration Island. Together, with our many supporters across Texas and around the world, we are indeed making a difference for children and adults with special needs.”
In addition to opening Morgan’s Wonderland in 2010, Hartman and wife Maggie unveiled Morgan’s Inspiration Island splash park in 2017. Both non-profit, ultra-accessible™ parks admit individuals with special needs free of charge. Their 26-year-old daughter, Morgan, inspired them to create places of inclusion where those with and without special needs can come together for fun and a better understanding of one another.
Morgan’s Wonderland features more than 25 attractions including wheelchair-accessible rides, playgrounds, gardens, a catch-and-release fishing lake, 18,000-square-foot special-events center, 575-seat amphitheater, picnic area and rest areas throughout the park.
Colorful Morgan’s Inspiration Island offers six tropically-themed elements – five spacious splash pads and the River Boat Adventure ride – as well as revolutionary waterproof wheelchairs. TIME named it to the magazine’s 2018 list of World’s Greatest Places.
Last year, Hartman announced construction of Morgan’s Wonderland Camp, which will offer a summer-camp-type experience year-round for campers with and without special needs on San Antonio’s northern outskirts, and Morgan’s Wonderland Sports, a 3-acre sports complex that will provide recreation, competition and fitness for differently-abled athletes.
For more information, visit www.MorgansWonderland.com, or call (210) 495-5888. Morgan’s Wonderland is located in Northeast San Antonio, a half-mile west of IH 35 at the intersection of Wurzbach Parkway and Thousand Oaks Drive.
Headquartered in Boerne, Texas, Aid the Silent was created to provide information and assistance to those living in today’s society as a deaf or hard-of-hearing individual. For more information, visit www.AidtheSilent.com.
−30−
