It is our duty as a prosperous society to serve those in need. As a responsible community, children are often our focus, yet all too often those who have special needs are marginalized. This in turn results in their needs not being met and these children become at risk. Our goal is to provide the children of Winnipeg Beach School, the adjoining daycare, participants at the local recreation facilities and visitors to the provincial campground with a healthy, active and stimulating playground that meets the physical, sensory and cognitive needs of all children. Winnipeg Beach is a small rural town. Our population is just over 1000 permanent residents, with numerous seasonal visitors. Our school consists of 145 students ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 7, and come from four surrounding communities. Our current playground has been deemed unsafe, unusable, and the removal of components has already begun. We are targeting a complete removal by the spring of 2014. With this information, the Parent Advisory Council has begun actively fundraising and pursuing a replacement; but we want more than a simple replacement. We have a plan for a playground that includes an inclusive main structure, a natural play area and an inclusive sensory development area. Where accessible may mean a component or two designed to meet a specific need, inclusive play is an invitation for all children to participate together. It is our commitment to our community and our children, to demonstrate that all children can have a place to fit in, make friends and play as equals. As a small town we often lack the resources that larger communities can afford yet our need is even greater. Our school population has more than 10% identified special needs children, with many more who are undiagnosed. It is often those suffering from sensory and cognitive challenges that are undiagnosed, untreated and left to become at risk. By providing stimulation at differing levels, we will encourage group interaction and acceptance. By providing this to the children we can build our social sustainability and give indefinitely to our future community. Our plan is substantial for a community of our size. We have a targeted budget of $200,000 to gain the aforementioned playground. We have already raised $30,000 within the community, a large feat for a small group of 7 parents who believe in their community. We will provide for our children. We will have a playground. But this is our opportunity to commit to more, to invest in our children and our community, to prove that all children have value and a chance to belong. We are looking to Aviva to support our goals of a sensory area of $75,000.00 which will include outdoor, weather permeable music instruments, an accessible spinner to provide supported core movement and inter-involvement, a dome to provide a quieter place to play and be with friends, and an inclusive pulse table to provide a stable activity for all developmental levels to play interactively together and the cost probative poured foundation for this area. Inclusive play won’t solve everything, but it will build on a progressive trend in society: considering the needs of all children. Please consider supporting our project, we are small, but our impact will be great.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 16:50:28 +0000
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