The New Matteo’s Dream Playground Caters to Disabled Children
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Liz Lamach had a mission.
Lamach‚ whose 7-year-old son‚ Matteo‚ is blind and wheelchair-bound‚ was the visionary behind Matteo’s Dream Playground‚ a new‚ 16‚000-square-foot playground at Hillcrest Community Park that is fully accessible to disabled children.
The $750‚000 playground‚ complete with castles‚ slides‚ rock walls‚ a tree house and a swaying boat‚ was built in April 2007 by an estimated 2‚000 volunteers.
“The entire playground surface is rubberized‚ offering the highest level of accessibility for wheelchairs‚” says Joan Carrico‚ director of community and recreation services for the city of Concord.
“There are also musical instrument elements so blind children can get stimulus through sound‚” she adds. “You can see the high level of thought that went into this playground.”
Matteo’s Dream Playground has been five years in the making. Chil dren of all ability levels were brought together and asked to dream big about the ultimate playground.
“There was a lot of key input from those who would actually be using it‚” Carrico says.
The city donated the parkland and the rubberized surface‚ and the rest of the funding came from the Lions Club‚ the Lesher Foundation‚ private grants and individual donors.
People from all over the community donated their time and energy and built the playground in eight days.
“We likened it to the olden days when a whole community would come together to raise a barn‚” Carrico says. “It was really heartwarming to see friendships made and the whole community working to make a dream come true.”
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Wes Aldridge
