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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.