Students with disabilities often have little opportunity to use playgrounds; for those with physical issues, the equipment may simply be inaccessible...while for those with cognitive or autistic problems, the environment may not be safe for them to use.
But the Sycamore Rotary Club is now actively involved in an effort to provide a safe location in town, for use by children with such hurdles to overcome.
Citizens for Inclusive Playgrounds wants to erect the play area on the campus of South Prairie Elementary School; that is the site within the district where most children with such disabilities are assigned, and a safe location designed to let them play and interact with all students is needed.
Rotarian Marijo Schwartz, who is with the Sycamore School District, has been spearheading the effort to bring the playground to town; a goal of $130,000 is needed, and so far over $71,000 of that has been contributed by a combination of public and private donors. Over $57,000 is still required to launch the project; the Sycamore Rotary Club will be seeking a grant from District 6420 to supplement its own donation, and some individual Rotarians are pledging to contribute.
There is no set deadline for the project, but all monies must be collected before work can begin; it's hoped that construction can be completed over the summer. Anyone wishing to contribute should contact the DeKalb County Community Foundation, or Marijo at mschwart@syc427.org