Dr. Morris Gibson School has brought play to another level, with the help of the community.
The new inclusive playground at the school is already making waves, after five years of fundraising efforts paid off.
“Everyone’s very excited,” said Abi Dyson, fundraising committee and school council chairperson at Dr. Morris Gibson. “A lot of people that started off doing the fundraising five years ago, their kids are no longer at the school but they still put in the effort knowing that they wouldn’t see the benefit for their kids, but they’ve done it for everyone. And then the kids coming in now, it’s really quite exciting for them to have this new playground.”
“(The school) wanted to replace the playground because the school has quite an inclusive population, it has quite a few kids with mobility needs, so we wanted to make sure it is inclusive rather than the old one, which really wasn’t.”
Originally brought forward by former school principal Kevin Newman, the playground is meant to be accessible to children of all abilities—from high fliers to wheelchairs.
“We couldn’t have been able to do it without all of the commitment and the fundraising from everyone in the school community and it’s really awesome that we’ve been able to do that,” she said.
The total cost of the playground came to $270,000, but the support from the community, government, and more brought that cost down.
“It’s worth it, because it looks awesome,” said Dyson. “It’s so that everyone, all of the kids, can play with their peers. Kids that grow up with kids with all different kinds of abilities, they have a better understanding of everyone’s needs.
“And the playground is hopefully going to be there for the next 25 years, so it’s going to be a great place for all of the kids at the school, and anyone who wants to use it outside of school hours.”
The fundraising committee raised money through chili cook-offs, the hot lunch program, bake sale fundraisers, movie nights, read-a-thons, and more, said Dyson.
The school also received the Community Enhancement Grant from Alberta Culture and Tourism, valued at $125,000, and a substantial discount from the company that installed the playground, Kidnation Playgrounds.
Community support for the playground came from many directions: the Town of Okotoks donated $10,000 to the project; ATB Financial in Okotoks donated $5,000; and Drake Landing Dental donated $1,000.
Also helping along the final fundraising stretch was the Sheep River Health Trust, which provided funding through the annual Eagle 100.9 Radiothon in June.
“During that time, Dr. Morris Gibson’s fundraising committee came forward and asked if we would be willing to support the last of their funding,” said Andrea Mitchell, executive director of the Trust. “They had raised themselves quite a bit of money, over $150,000, and were looking for that last-gap funding. Through the radiothon, we were able to provide that.
“We were really pleased to be able to help them with that final funding piece to get that completed.”
As an AHS charity, the health trust supports health and wellness in the Foothills, which Mitchell said the playground falls under easily.
“Play is a big piece of wellness for children, to get out in the community and play, and we have all sorts of diversity within our community,” she said. “We want to make sure that those children who need it—and Dr. Morris Gibson does have a large portion of their population of their school aged children that require an inclusive playground—we want to make sure that that’s available to them, as well as the community in general.”
Mitchell said inclusivity is important, and providing an inclusive space for all children to play is a step towards an inclusive community.
“Our differences define us, but I think it’s important that everybody can have the same experiences, regardless if you are a young child or a senior,” she said. “We believe, here at the trust, that regardless of your age, health, disabilities, you absolutely require the same respect as everybody else in the community.
“I believe inclusive playgrounds are one of those things that definitely help define that for our community.”
