A few minutes later, after Elley, 13, a seventh-grader at Middletown Middle School, cut the ribbon next to her mother, and Pastor Clark Helvey, who oversaw the construction of the project, the playground was filled with children. But for the first time in a local park, children with disabilities and those without, played together on the merry-go-round, swings and slides. Those children in wheelchairs weren’t limited because of their physical restrictions.
“This is life,” said Pastor Lamar Ferrell of Berachah Church. “This is the whole dream; the whole goal realized. To see special needs families get to…”
His eyes filled with tears.
Then he added: “This says that we can’t forget those who can’t typically participate in 99 percent of the playgrounds in our country. There is a need and we are not neglecting that need. Hope is open.”
Jane Ellefsln, of Springboro, brought her son, Lukas, 10, to the playground Sunday and he was one of the first to swing after his wheelchair was locked onto the platform. It was the first time he had ridden on such a swing, and his mother said it was easier because she didn’t have to lift him up.
“This is a much needed thing,” she said.
Phase I, the handicapped accessible side of Elley’s Hope Playground, is a 7,500-square-foot playground equipped with a rubber play surface that interlocks.
The playground is estimated to cost $81,000, and Helvey said the church is $20,000 short of its campaign goal.
Next year, he said, the plan is to build another playground, this one for able-bodied children. The estimated cost is $57,000, he said.
The major sponsors included the Middletown Community Foundation, SunCoke, Atrium Medical Center Foundation, Lithko Contracting, Larry Spivey Concrete, Curry Outdoors, and the Master’s Mission, a golf tournament.
The community foundation gave a $25,000 grant, said Executive Director T. Duane Gordon, who brought his son, Tommy, to the ribbon-cutting. As Tommy, 2, played on the monkey bars, Gordon said: “Every kid deserves to have the opportunity to be happy, smile and have joy in their lives.”
The idea for Elley’s Hope was born four years ago after she had undergone numerous surgeries, her father said. Ferrell called that the “darkest time” in his life and he asked God for guidance.
“Everything was breaking down, everything was going to be lost,” he said. “On that day, God said, ‘Her life will be used to impact others’ lives.’ Today is the fulfillment of that dream.”
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