The well permit has been approved and installation of irrigation has begun. Within the next few weeks sod will be installed and we hope for a swift opening after the sod has had a chance to root. I've added some photos I took today (7/17) in the photo album.
Thanks for all the support and hard work of rotary volunteers who have helped out recently to prep the site for irrigation.
Stay tuned...
Go Mykel!
Although hampered by rain, snow, sleet, wind and of course cold temperatures, lots of progress is being made on the playground. Kudos to Mike with Dondlinger for helping move the construction forward. The construction team hopes for good weather in the upcoming weeks.
I've added some new photos to the gallery.
Come Spring, come!
Dondlinger & Sons Construction has officially broke ground on the Playscape. Site layout is in progress and some retaining walls have been formed and poured. The site is beginning to come together. PG Playgrounds will begin installation of play equipment in the next few days. I've updated the photo gallery and will continue to do so as construction progresses.
Be sure and stop by the Playscape and watch it take shape and as always, forward pictures and stories when you can.
Thanks for looking!
Please take time to read what this playground will mean to Jenny Kreutzer and her family:
When I first heard of this project I was so excited because of all the possibilities it will create for so many people in our community, including myself.
I broke my back when I was 16 while on a church ski trip. I suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury. I spent the remaining semester of my junior year in high school in a Colorado hospital. By the time I left the hospital, I was able to get up on long legged straight braces and walk very short distances, but I decided that I could get more done and be more productive, in a wheelchair. As time moved on I began to throw myself into my life. Instead of dwelling on what had happened to me and questioning why, I decided to live my life. I went back to work at McDonalds and graduated high school with my classmates the following year. I went on to college and lived my life as if there was no disability in my way.
I was fortunate to have a very supportive family and boyfriend behind me the whole way. My boyfriend, LeRoy was skiing right behind me when the accident happen and he has been behind me ever since. LeRoy and I got married after college and moved to Wichita to pursue our career opportunities.
Since living in Wichita, I have been exposed to such amazing opportunities and experiences around my disability that I didn’t have in the smaller town I lived in through high school and college. I learned about an organization Wheelchair Sports and begun getting involved in that organization. I found that I love Wheelchair Tennis and I have discovered so many other activities there are for disabled people in this community: wheelchair hockey, horseback riding, bowling, to name a few!
In 2002 and 2005, we welcomed our daughters, Kelsie and Karlie into the world. I will admit, for the first time since my accident, I wondered how I was going to be able to manage. I wondered about all the things that I would not get to enjoy or share with them because I couldn’t get up and move around very well. But, as time went on, and I realized that most things I want to do with them I can. I can swim with them, play tennis with them, play in the front yard, etc. One of the things that we love to do is to go down the block to our neighborhood park. Our park is grounded with sand and is very basic. It’s got a slide and a couple of swings. We go to the park often, and my girls just understand that there are limitations with what I can do with them at the park. However, there are definitely times when they get frustrated and question why I am different than the other mommies. At one point we were at the park and Kelsie wanted me to help her up the slide. When I told her I couldn’t get through the sand, she said, “I wish I had a stand up mommy.” It’s moments like these that I just have to deal with the situation and teach her to accept it for what it is. I try to emphasize all the positive things about having a mommy in a wheelchair (like getting to sit on my lap and roll around the mall when she’s tired of walking). And I try to explain that I would do anything for her that I could and that I love her as much as a “stand up mommy” would.
Having a place to play and interact with my children in a park setting will help me to share in something with my children that most people take for granted. Even though my kids aren’t disabled, it will impact their lives because they mommy can play with them interactively. I think that is an added benefit of the Boundless Playscape. Obviously the most important reason for having this facility is for the children with disabilities. It will give them the opportunity to interact with able bodied children as well as their parents. It is a win-win. Both able bodied and wheelchair bound individuals will benefit from this.
Thank you for your time and consideration for this life changing project.
KAKE TV featured the Sunrise Boundless Playscape on their 10:00PM broadcast Saturday night. Check it out here!
Nice job Pat!
"The only problem with anything of tomorrow is that at the pace we're going right now, tomorrow would catch up with us before we got it built." - Walt Disney
After four years of arduous work by the Sunrise Rotary Club of West Wichita and the large number of generous financial and in-kind donations the stage is finally set to build the Sunrise Boundless Playscape.
The playground will be located in Sedgwick County Park, west on 21st Street North, adjacent to the Sedgwick County Zoo. Work as already begun by Sedgwick County by installing new restrooms on site. You can visit the site about a 1/4 south of the 21st Street entrance to the park. Look for the big Playscape Sign!
Sometime in early December of this year construction of the playground will begin. Landscape Architect Steve Perry designed the playground and Dondlinger and Sons Construction will be supervising the build. Sedgwick County also has plans to redesign the parking in that area.
What makes this playground so special is that it is designed to give children of ALL abilities the opportunity to play together, side-by-side on a one of a kind playspace. Playground structures will be ramped, swinging will be available for everyone and there will be sand tables with access points for all to enjoy. There will be a sensory area where children (and adults) can enjoy sound play and the textures and smells of shrubs and plants. A puppet theater/playhouse designed by "Santa's Stray" author Polly Basore will be the perfect spot for play-acting and puppet shows. These are just a sampling of all the great play activity the Sunrise Boundless Playscape will provide.
Stay turned for more information and photographs along the way. Please feel free to post comments along the way as we would love to hear from you.
Thanks again for all the generous donations that have made this project possible!
The best way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing - Walt Disney
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