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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.