The all-inclusive playground has been a dream of the members and friends of Hannah’s Hope for years. All-inclusive means it will be accessible to children and families of all ages and all abilities, yet there is something a little bit more special about the upcoming attraction.
Niki Avina, secretary, Mary Martinez, co-founder, and other friends and family of Hannah’s Hope met with several Portage City officials, including Randy Wilkening, President of the Portage Park Foundation, and Mayor James Snyder to present a check to Sinclair Recreation for the construction of the playground.
Matt Podlin is the sales representation of Sinclair Recreation, a branch within GameTime, who received the $248,700.00 check. They paid in full, the amount collected from years of donations from the community, Avina said, addressing the audience and the people watching on Facebook live inside Mayor Snyder’s office.
The City of Portage will be covering the surfacing costs once the playground has been installed.
“In your honor and memory of Hannah, thank you for all your support,” Avina said. “This has been a dream of ours and we have been fundraising for forever and the fact this has become a reality so fast is amazing.”
Fast is an understatement. The equipment, shipped by Sinclair Recreation, the premium supplier of playground equipment in Michigan and Indiana, will arrive mid-September. Then, on September 27th through the 30th, the members of Hannah’s Hope welcome the entire Portage community and Northwest Indiana region to a community-based construction weekend to help build the Hannah’s Hope playground from the bottom up.
“This is real,” Avina said. “We want to get together as a community to build this playground and have it ready to go so kids can play in October.”
According to Podlin, this playground will be one of the most inclusive playgrounds in the Midwest. With the most innovative and unique mechanisms and activities, such as adaptive switch users, a sensory car wash activity, sensory seats, and a roller table, this playground will be a destination to many.
Hannah’s Hope members have worked with therapists, specialists, and parents to design this playground, and thanks to the efforts put forth, the playground will be used as another (there is an all-inclusive playground in Utah) national demonstration for future, similar endeavors.
“This will be one of the largest inclusive playgrounds east of the Mississippi,” Podlin said. “This will be a destination. A place where families come to vacation, experience the City of Portage, and enjoy the playground. They will play, then do other things in the city, then come back to the playground.”
Podlin, who has been the Hannah’s Hope liaison since the start of this dream, said many playgrounds start off as all-inclusive, but with time and money, builders turn to choosing typical, mainstream pieces that do not include access for all children.
“In terms of mobility and accessibility, this is top of line,” Podlin said.
The playground is 17,500 sq. feet and will sit adjacent to the splash pad in Founders Square Park in Portage.
In addition to the city’s help, the Park Foundation donated $75,000 to the playground, and Castle Subaru of Portage has been an incredible contributor over the last few years as well.
“This is great,” Wilkening said. “We (the Park Foundation) has been around for the last 20 to 25 years, and this is the biggest project we have been associated with.”
Podlin and other Sinclair Recreation members will supervise the construction weekend in late September. The surfacing step takes about a week or two to complete, then the playground will be open and ready for play.
In October, the Park Foundation and Hannah’s Hope will host a fun Halloween costume party at the playground to celebrate the dream come true.
Keep eyes and ears open for times and details of the construction weekend, starting on September 27th.
According to Podlin, who has supervised community building playground sessions all over the Midwest, this type of construction does more than just lower the cost of installation.
“Now it has the City of Portage’s ownership and the people’s. Everyone can take ownership of the playground when the community comes together,” he said.
Hannah’s Hope will continue to fundraise and take donations to maintain the upkeep of the playground. For more information go to http://www.hannahshope.org/.