Check out our new Video on the Playground Project https://vimeo.com/218816040
What is Rotary’s Suncoast Playground Project??????
An inclusive park for all children!!
It has been said many times that playtime is the work of childhood. Playtime teaches children how to make friends, make rules and navigate relationships in society. Children learn about feelings of belonging, acceptance and rejection at an early age.
For children with special needs playing on the playground can present extraordinary challenges not faced by others. Remember your childhood on the playground – sliding down the slide, or seeing who could swing the highest? Children with disabilities that keep them from using playgrounds can miss out on those childhood feelings of acceptance, and opportunities for making friends can be lost.
For more than 2700 children ages 5-15 living in Manatee County there is no public playground that is all inclusive and ADA compatible leaving Manatee County’s special needs children without a place to safely and easily play with other children.
New requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act are making the situation better requiring equipment and playground designs that provide equal opportunity for children with disabilities. The higher costs for inclusive playgrounds has limited local governments from having the ability to build such places for the children; however, parents and organizations like the Rotary Clubs of Manatee County are stepping up to make these playgrounds possible.
Playgrounds should be places where children learn to socialize, achieve that feeling of belonging and create those memories they will cherish forever – those memories of sliding down the slide together with other children and swinging on the swings, always reaching for greater heights.
The seven Rotary Clubs of Manatee County, in conjunction with community support and the support of the County, are working to fund a brand new all-inclusive ADA compliant playground. Manatee County has agreed to collaborate with the Rotary Clubs in the development of an accessible playground. The County has identified a site at G.T. Bray Recreational Center which would be an ideal location – the Bright Outlook Playground and Pavilion. Manatee County will lead the effort not only to provide the space but also to provide property management and maintenance of the playground following installation.
The area will be refurbished and include new features to allow all children to enjoy it. The land will be leveled off and the equipment will have enough ramps to make it easily accessible for children in wheelchairs or on crutches. The ground will be covered in a soft rubber surface that will not get too hot. ADA swings will be added and the structure will be designed to allow a child to go down a slide then access their wheelchair at an easy to get to transfer station.
When it is built the new playground will be the first of its kind in Manatee County. Giving all children the opportunity to enjoy a playground in Manatee County is possible with your help.
To donate for this project please click on the Paypal Button now. In purpose box, please indicate Playground Project.
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