Fields Playground Group for Mila’s Hope and Rowyn’s Dreams Playground
Fields Playground Group is a nonprofit wishing to build an inclusive and fully accessible playground for children with disabilities.
Why It Matters
Play is so important to a child’s development physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. It is especially critical for children that may have deficits in any of these areas. Unfortunately, children with specific needs don’t always have an accessible playground. The proposed playground would be the only one of its kind in the area. The goal is to provide children the opportunity to play together no matter their ability level or age, offering them the freedom to play, explore, create and imagine without limitations.
The Impact
“I have a deep connection to people with special needs as a special education teacher,” wrote project nominator Amanda Phipps, the social media director for Fields Playground Group. “I also have a nephew with autism and a best friend with a child with multiple needs. I am a huge advocate for inclusion and acceptance. As a mother of two I know the importance of a playground like ours, in a rural area like Randolph. It will impact so many within our entire county. Our nonprofit was established by our board president, a grandmother to a child with special needs, just seeking a place to take her grandchild to play safely. However, there wasn’t anywhere nearby, so she knew we needed to build one. Our board secretary also has a daughter with special needs, and she too wished for a place that all her children could play together. Our playground will be named after these two young ladies, Mila and Rowyn."
Teaching children the importance of inclusion and acceptance is a priceless life lesson. I believe that if we instill these beliefs early on it will become organic to our children to accept others for who they are despite ability, gender, race or religion. We can all play together. I believe in our little hometown, we are building more than a playground, we are building our future.
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