Space Play Academy
Space Play
Academy
🚀 Book Now
🌙 Space to Shine — Sunday, September 13, 9 AM–3 PM ✦ A free sensory-friendly play experience with Luna's Light on the Spectrum ✦ Sold out — check for released spots 💛

💛 Community & Non-Profits

Your cause,
our playgroundFree Community Events & Non-Profit Partnerships in Central NJ

We run community events with local non-profits at half our normal rate — and if that's still a stretch, we'll help you find a sponsor to cover the rest. We also give passes away to local schools and causes all year round.

See Our Events Partner With Us
3 Non-profits we partner with
50% Off our rate for non-profit community events
~$4,000 Donated to local schools, causes and charities
~6,000 Local families on our newsletter

Why We Do This

A playground is only as good
as the town around it

Space Play Academy is a small, locally owned business in Hillsborough. The families who walk through our door are our neighbors, and some of them are having a hard year — a diagnosis, a job loss, a new baby and no money for a crib.

The non-profits on this page are already doing something about that. What they usually lack is a room, a Sunday, and a few thousand local parents who will actually see the announcement. Those are the three things we have.

So we make them as easy to get as we can. A community event with a non-profit runs at half our normal rate — and when half is still more than the budget allows, we go looking for a sponsor with you. Our partner network is full of local businesses wanting exactly this kind of visibility.

🏠
The floor, at half price

All seven play zones, set up however the event needs them — lights down, music off, capacity capped.

🤝
A sponsor, if you need one

We'll make introductions from our partner network — local businesses that would rather underwrite a community day than buy an ad.

📣
Our audience

Nearly 6,000 local families on the newsletter, plus social, in-space signage and the Parents Lounge screen.

📦
A drop box by the door

Donations collected every hour we're open, not just on event days.

Who We Work With

The organizations
we're proud to host

Three non-profits serving Central New Jersey families — and three very different kinds of help.

📚

Sweet Reads

501(c)(3) · Branchburg, NJ

Sweet Reads gets books into the hands of children who don't have them — new and gently used, always free. They've donated more than 20,000 books across 177 communities, diversified school collections across New York and New Jersey, and stocked libraries in Ghana, Haiti and Nigeria. Much of the work is run by high-school volunteer clubs, so the program builds young leaders at the same time.

Together

On July 31, 2026 we hosted a book drive with Sweet Reads on our play floor, giving away books donated by Johnson & Johnson. Every family who came took books home, free.

Visit sweetreads.org →
🌙

Luna's Light on the Spectrum

Sensory-friendly community events

Luna's Light on the Spectrum creates welcoming, low-pressure spaces for children on the autism spectrum and their families — events where sensory needs are planned for from the start rather than apologized for at the door, and where no parent has to explain their child to anyone.

Together

Space to Shine — Sunday, September 13, 2026. A sensory-friendly play experience at Space Play Academy, free for the families attending. We adjust the space and cap each session; they bring the families and the community resources.

Sold out — check Eventbrite → See the event details ↓
🤱

The Mama Exchange

501(c)(3) · Central NJ

"Because no mom should do it alone." The Mama Exchange takes donated baby and maternity essentials — diapers, wipes, formula, postpartum supplies, cribs, bassinets, strollers, clothing from newborn through teen — and gets them to families in financial hardship, often within 24–48 hours. They're 100% volunteer-led, and have supported over 1,500 families with more than 5,000 items redistributed.

Together

Members of The Mama Exchange get discounted admission to open play, and we're setting up a donation drop box so you can leave supplies with us on your way in.

Visit themamaexchange.org →

Free For Our Community

Things here that
cost you nothing

No membership, no purchase, no catch. Some of it you can use today.

🎁

Passes for your fundraiser

Raffle basket, silent auction, science fair prize table — ask and we'll send passes. We do it most months. See where they've gone →

🤝

Help finding a sponsor

If cost is what's stopping your event, we'll make introductions from our partner network of family-focused local businesses. The asking costs nothing either way.

📦

Donation drop box

Bring diapers, wipes, formula, postpartum supplies or gently used baby gear any time we're open. Everything goes to The Mama Exchange and back out to a local family, usually within a couple of days.

🤫

The quietest hours of the week

9–11 AM on Saturday and Sunday is our calmest session — all seven zones, far fewer kids, much less noise. If your child needs a gentler room, start there. Plan your visit →

✉️

The community newsletter

About one email a month, and community events go out in it first — usually before they're posted anywhere else. Join nearly 6,000 local families →

📞

Just ask us

Questions about accessibility, a specific sensory need, or how busy a particular morning will be? Call (908) 428-8141 or chat with us — a person answers, and it costs nothing to ask.

Community Events

What we've hosted,
and what's next

Run with a partner organization, and open to any family in the area.

Sold out

Space to Shine — A Free Sensory-Friendly Community Play Experience

All three sessions are full — registration is closed. Spots occasionally open up when someone cancels, so it is worth checking Eventbrite. To hear about the next one first, join our newsletter.

📅 Sunday, September 13, 2026 🕘 9 AM – 3 PM 🎟 Sold out 🤝 Luna's Light on the Spectrum

Three two-hour sessions built for children on the autism spectrum and their families. The space is adjusted for sensory comfort and each session is capped, so children can climb, slide, pretend or simply explore at their own pace — with community resources on hand and free parking outside.

A parent or legal guardian stays with each child. Capacity per session is deliberately small, which is why it filled.

Tell Me About the Next One Check Eventbrite

Already happened

July 31, 2026

📚 Book Drive with Sweet Reads

We hosted Sweet Reads on the play floor and gave away books donated by Johnson & Johnson. Every family went home with books.

Giving Back

Where our passes
have gone

Most of what we give away has no event attached to it at all. A PTO raffle, a school auction, a science fair prize table, a children's hospital fundraiser — someone asks, and we help. Here are some of them; the running total is closer to $4,000.

~$4,000 given so far 13 of them listed here Passes, packs and cash
  • May 2026
    Children's Miracle Network Cash donation, given through Costco
    $500
  • Apr 2026
    Kingwood Township Education Foundation 5-session multi-pack
    $100
  • Apr 2026
    Princeton Montessori School 5-pack multipass
    $100
  • Apr 2026
    Mary Mother of God Church 5-session multi-pack
    $100
  • Mar 2026
    Queen of Peace Grammar School 5-session pack
    $100
  • Mar 2026
    Somerset Children's Center 10-session pack
    $190
  • Mar 2026
    Amsterdam Elementary School 5-pack of passes, for their science fair
    $125
  • Feb 2026
    Hillsborough Elementary School 10-session play pack
    $190
  • Feb 2026
    Robert Hunter Elementary School 5-pack session pass
    $125
  • Jan 2026
    Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center 10-session pack
    $190
  • Jan 2026
    Historic Brook Arts Center 10-visit multi-pass
    $190
  • Dec 2025
    Bound Brook PTO 5 full-day passes
    $175
  • Nov 2025
    Battle Hill PTA 2 Anytime Open Play tickets
    $50

Putting a fundraiser together? Ask us — the answer is usually yes.

For Non-Profits

What we can put
behind your mission

If you serve families with young children anywhere near Hillsborough, this is yours to use.

🏠

The venue, half price

Seven play zones, tables for your table, and staff on the floor — at half our normal event rate for a community event.

🤝

Help finding sponsors

If half is still more than you have, we'll introduce you to local businesses who want the visibility. Often that covers the rest.

📣

Real promotion

The newsletter (~6,000 local families), our social channels, in-space signage and the Parents Lounge screen.

🎁

Passes to give away

Session packs for your raffle, auction or prize table — donated outright, with no event required. Just ask.

📦

Year-round collection

A labeled drop box at our front desk for your drive — books, diapers, coats, whatever you're gathering.

🎟

Access for your families

Discounted admission for the families you serve, arranged quietly so nobody has to ask for it at the counter.

How It Works

Three steps,
no paperwork

1

Tell Us the Idea

Fill in the form below or call (908) 428-8141. Even a rough idea is enough to start — we've shaped events from a one-line email.

2

Sort the Cost

We'll quote you the half-price rate, and if that's still a stretch we start looking for a sponsor together. Then we pick a date and agree how the space should be set up.

3

We Fill the Room

Your event goes out to our newsletter and socials, up on our signage, and onto this page. You show up and do the part only you can do.

Let's Connect

Tell us what you're
trying to do.

Non-profit, PTO, church group, support group, mutual aid — if you're serving local families with young kids, we want to hear from you. So does any family with an idea for something we should host.

(908) 428-8141

315 Roycefield Road, Suite 123
Hillsborough, NJ 08844

Bringing a donation rather than an idea? Just walk it in during opening hours — no need to write first.