NORTH SYRACUSE — Last summer, the North Syracuse Early Education Program launched its re-envisioned and renovated playground serving the school’s 240 students, as well as the larger community in Onondaga County.
This inclusive, fully accessible playground was carefully designed around the needs of children with developmental disabilities and those of typically developing children.
The school’s students have spent many happy hours at the playground during the school day and many children and their families have enjoyed it at other times, as it is open to the public after school hours.
Recently, the school began a fundraising campaign to add three shade structures to the beautiful, still-new playground in order to protect kids, caregivers and teachers from harmful UV rays.
“These 16-foot long, barrel-vaulted, two-column design, cantilevered shade structures will be angled to block the rays of the sun as it moves across the play area during the hottest part of the day,” playground project coordinator Cheri Rotelli wrote on GoFundMe. “The cantilever design will allow us to install the structures just off the edge of the poured rubber surface. The surface won’t be disturbed and the children will have no obstacles to free movement and play.”
On April 22, Rotelli had an unexpected but wonderful surprise as the school’s PTO presented her with a $15,000 check toward the shade project. With the PTO’s generous donation, the campaign has reached 80% of its fundraising goal.
A portion of the donation was made possible through the school’s Gertrude Hawk fundraisers and the PTO wants to thank all of the families who supported that campaign. The school continues to raise money through a GoFundMe page for the cause. Visit https://gofund.me/0d705cdd to learn more.
