Phoenixville Kiwanis Club Continues Campaign For Accessible Playground

PHOENIXVILLE, PA -- The Phoenixville Kiwanis Club and Phoenixville Jaycees are looking to raise $300,000 more for the Reeves Park Playground Initiative, an all-accessible playground for both children and parents with disabilities.

Kiwanis Club representative Genevieve Barker presented the case for the playground to Phoenixville Borough Council at a recent meeting. Barker said that "the momentum of this project has been overwhelming" ever since it nearly won a national contest to gain more funding.

The project progressed to the final round of four projects which competed for a $25,000 grant from Kiwanis International. Barker said that the success of the project - it garnered a total of 4,000 votes - demonstrated support for an all-inclusive playground in the borough.

More than 600 of the 4,000 students currently enrolled in the Phoenixville Area School District are considered "special needs," according to Barker, including those with physical disabilities, sensory challenges, or those on the autism spectrum.

"Our school district continues to grow, and with it a need for an updated playground to encompass a wide variety of abilities is an absolute necessity," Barker said.

The playground would provide the option for a broader range of events, and would also enable parents with diabilities to play with their children. It would be designed for children aged 2-12.

Funding is needed to level the ground, put on a stone gravel base, rubberized top layer, and a fenced perimeter, and install the necessary equipment. More than $21,000 has already raised for the cause, and there are other grants that are pending that will bring them closer to their goal of $300,000.

Barker said the installment goal is October 2017. The club and a group of partner organizations are seeking "partnership and sponsorship" for the project from the borough.

Artistic rendering courtesy Phoenixville Kiwanis Club.