Grade 5 student inspires Okotoks school community to fundraise for inclusive playground
At the start of the next school year in September, children who use a wheelchair at an Okotoks elementary school should be able to enjoy the playground with their friends.
Grade 5 student Ella Cutting first brought the idea of an inclusive playground to her principal at Dr. Morris Gibson School. Her classmate Cooper Oakes would be out during recess but wasn’t on the playground.
“I just feel so bad that Cooper can’t play," Cutting said, "because I think he would have so much fun and it’s heartbreaking because he can’t play.”
PRESENTATION
Ella created a presentation that was shown to the entire school with her proposal for a playground so children who use wheelchairs could feel included too
“The idea is we’re going to get an inclusive swing so that Dawson, Bentlee and Cooper can play,” said Ella.
Grade three student Gabbi Wildeman saw the presentation and told her parents about the idea for an inclusive playground, where she would be able to play with her classmate Bentley.
“Getting to play with my best friend in the whole wide world at the park and making her feel special and that she can do stuff like we can and she’s just like us,” said Gabbi.
Gabbi’s dad, Blake Wildeman said some parents started fundraising in February. They’ve raised nearly $40,000 from bottle drives, raffles and support from local businesses.
“It’s not just for the school, it's for the community. This is a town facility, you come during non-school hours and you can have fun with your family and not worry about keeping someone on the sidelines,” said Wildeman.
Wildeman said an accessible merry-go-round has been ordered and should be installed this summer. The idea is to have equipment where the wheelchair can be pushed right on, instead of the need for adults to lift the child in.
Ella Cutting and Cooper Oakes
“It is designed so anybody and everybody can play and play together.”
But more money is still needed for a second piece of equipment and the changes needed so wheelchairs can move around the playground.
PARENTS FUNDRAISING
Parents are fundraising because the school does not receive funding from the provincial government or the school division.
The school’s principal said school council raised $100,000 for the current playground built in 2019, over four years. It also received grants and bursaries to cover the total cost of $179,000.
The cost to make the playground accessible is roughly $100,000 with two pieces of equipment.
Helen Oakes, Cooper’s mother has also launched a fundraiser to help. https://ca.gofundme.com/f/ellas-inclusive-playground
“It will be fantastic just to see him having a good time with everybody else rather than just standing on the sidelines.”
Oakes said Ella’s initiative brought her to tears. She said inclusion is important at the school and kids with different needs are integrated with everyone else in their grade.
Oakes has also teamed up with YYC Food Trucks for an event on June 22, where trucks will park in the parking lot of the Crystal Shores Beach House. Part of the proceeds will go towards the playground. Oakes said there will be multiple food truck events through the summer.
She said this has become a community project and will benefit so many children who attend the school in the future, and her family.
“It will be fantastic just to see him having a good time with everybody else rather than just standing on the sidelines,” said Oakes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.