The Playground that made me cry

There is a new playground in our community.

The idea behind the playground began many years ago with a dream from a parent of a preschool aged child with cerebral palsy. It was hard for this child to play with her peers at our local parks because of the stairs and uneven surfaces. The dream was shared with Dr. Terri Millard, a wonderful physical therapy professor at the University of North Georgia.

Dr. Millard shared the dream with a group of students pursuing a doctorate degree in physical therapy. The students created an extensive study of all aspects of the playground project including demographics of our community and surrounding area, potential playground designs and even expenses and fundraising ideas. A large binder was filled with all the plans, a map to make the project a reality.

But there was a vast canyon standing between the dream, the plan and the reality. It was a canyon of expenses and a lack of awareness. A group in the community stepped up and said they were interested in funding the project. Hours and hours were spent in meetings to plan elaborate fundraising events. But nothing ever happened. Funds were donated but it was hard to keep up with where the money was from and where it went. And raising around $250,000 was a monumental task for anyone! The County leadership was approached and liked the idea. The Board of Commissioners approved the adding of accessible playground equipment to the existing playground at Yahoola Creek Park. Several of the members of the Board confessed they had never considered the fact that there were kids in our community who were not able to play on “regular” playground equipment. Funding remained the biggest issue.

Everyone who heard the idea for the playground loved the vision and wanted it to happen. People in the community seemed to be very inspired by the idea to build a playground “for all the disabled kids”. But it almost seemed like practically everything was opposing the project, spoiling the plans and preventing them from moving forward. Because of my involvement with ConnectAbility, I became the informal contact point for everyone who had questions or ideas. Honestly, I became exasperated with the project. It would be mentioned to me and I would inwardly cringe because I knew how much time and effort had already been spent with zero return!

After a couple years had gone by and I had a child of my own, I realized for myself the value of community playgrounds! I finally understood that the accessible playground project would never succeed unless the entire community saw it as a playground for ALL kids, not the playground for “disabled kids”. The thought of every parent seeking a great playground for their kids made the task seem much easier. But still several years went by with no changes.

Then Lumpkin County was scrutinized for numerous violations in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The law was passed in 1991 and was designed to make public buildings accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities. Standards were set for doorways, bathrooms, sidewalks, elevators and many other obstacles that people with disabilities face in day to day life outside their homes. Playgrounds were also included. Many people locally complained about the expense of making the changes the Federal Government demanded. But, the changes are not just government bureaucracy and red tape. There are real, living, breathing people in our very own community that are directly impacted by these changes! There are people who cannot attend events in a building with no elevator. Narrow, bumpy and uneven sidewalks cannot be navigated by someone using a wheelchair. And some kids had to sit on the sidelines at the playground in their community park.

Sparked by the ADA issues and the idea of the playground, a group in the 2016 Leadership Lumpkin Class decided to take on the playground project. Honestly, I cringed again when I heard the plan. “Here we go again. Another stab at the playground project,” I thought initially. But these guys were ambitious! (And one of them, Chris Dockery, is a County Commissioner!)

They wanted ConnectAbility to be part of bringing the playground project into reality. Chris had the vision of the County working together with private organizations to make it happen soon. Full disclosure: I must confess that I remained skeptical as I heard the plans unfold. The Leadership Lumpkin team met with the Board of Commissioners and requested that the plans for the playground moved from the 2018 budget to the 2016 budget. Guess what – they approved it! Then, the Leadership team planned to raise $25,000 to build a sidewalk and bridge over a small creek so the playground could be accessed from another parking lots. Guess what – they did it! The funds were raised and the bridge plans are well underway.

I am still in awe of the hundreds of hours of hard work put in by members of the 2016 Leadership Lumpkin class. The sidewalk they have raised funds for will connect the new playground to the rest of the park, allowing even more families and kids to enjoy the equipment. The sidewalk is being designed to highlight the people and organizations who made the project come to life with engraved tiles in each section of the pathway. The bridge is being custom designed and will be known as “The ConnectAbility Bridge”.

The child who originally inspired the playground project is now in middle school and not exactly at the prime age for playgrounds. But many years later, that mom’s dream is now a reality for all kids in our community.

Here are the names of the Leadership Lumpkin Class of 2016 Graduates who helped to make this playground and soon to be bridge a reality. Thank you all on behalf of ALL families in our community, and especially those who have a family member with disabilities.

Ida Brown
Linda D’Angelo
Chris Dockery
Garrett Fry
Matt Stephenson
Jaime Taylor
Bobbi Larson
Denise Roberson
Tammi Johnson Scales
Cheyenne Thornton
Jon Utterback

I have visited the playground four times already in less than a week and it is fantastic! Each time I’ve gone, there have been families playing together and having a great time. I had the gift of both of my sisters being in town over Labor Day weekend and we went to the playground with all our families. My sisters have children with special needs – two of them have physical disabilities and one is diagnosed with autism.

Watching my nephews and nieces play with my own children – all together – was such a wonderful sight. Everyone was able to climb, slide, run, crawl and swing! The swings were a hit with everyone because even the kids who are not physically able to swing on typical playground swings climbed into the bright blue and yellow swings a touched the clouds!

When I first saw a picture of the new playground, tears filled my eyes as I thought back from the years of dreaming about this possibility. From my unique vantage point, I have watched the dream grow from one mom’s wish to the reality of a fantastic place for everyone in our community to play together. My heart swells with gratitude for each person who played a role in this project over the years. Thank you so much.

Now, let’s get out there and play together so we can fully understand the value of a community where people of all abilities are valued, included and empowered!