On April 11, 2009, Rose Chavez, a student at Thornton Creek Elementary passed away due to complications from Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that causes severe seizures. She was just five years old. Over 500 community members attended Rose Chavez's memorial. Afterward, members of the community began to gather with the idea of creating a tribute to her life in the form of a playground improvement project that would better include children with special needs.

In the spring of 2009, community members interested in the project attended a series of meetings and participated in email discussions. Many also attended a series of Tuesday night "open" meetings to discuss and decide upon how the playground memorial was to take shape. In October 2009, a Steering Committee was formed to drive the concept from its initial conception to completion. Members of the Steering Committee have been meeting regularly since that time to achieve this goal.

Thornton Creek Elementary School has a large and spacious playground that all Seattle children can use before and after school and on weekends. However, the current playground equipment does not allow children with special needs appropriate access to play equipment, nor does it suit their developmental and cognitive abilities. In the Northeast area of Seattle alone, it is estimated there are over 500 children with special needs that would be able to benefit from the Rose Chavez "Everybody Plays" Memorial Playground project. There are many playgrounds around Seattle, but few that serve a population of children with special needs.

The goal is to add an additional play space for students with special needs to the exiting playground area at Thornton Creek Elementary School. In that way, all children in Seattle would be able to access play equipment that engages their interests, stimulates their minds, and encourages fun play--a playground where children with special needs can experience the joy of outdoor play just like their peers. The children will be able to independently explore sight, sound, and motion panels, completely accessible to them with regard to height and location on the playground. The playground improvement project will increase social interaction for children with special needs and help to more fully integrate them with their peers.

Community consensus also agreed upon a ceramic arts tile project to honor Rose, to beautify the playground, and to provide further sensory stimulation to children who play on the playground premises. There will be several tile making workshops open to the community during the months of April and May to raise additional funds for the project.

Over the course of the fall of 2009, the Thornton Creek Elementary Community in conjunction with support from NE schools, community centers, and businesses applied for a City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Grant. In October, a Steering Committee was established for the purposes of design, planning, management, and oversight of the total project. At this time, committees for fundraising, volunteer and community outreach, tile making, and the ribbon cutting ceremony were also established. During the months of November and December 2009, the Steering Committee met regularly to complete the design and grant writing processes.

The first town hall meeting was held on December 14, 2009 in the Mary Cooper Library. Over 100 people attended the event.

In January 2010, The Steering Committee completed and submitted the City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Grant. Additionally members continued to build relationships with residents, community centers, Northeast cluster schools, and local businesses. A second Town Hall meeting was help at Thornton Creek Elementary School on January 14, 2010 to gather further community input on design and location.

On March 1st, 2010 we received the wonderful news that we had been awarded grant to the amount of $20,000. Now the fun part - building the playground!

Spring 2011 Update!

As spring arrives the progress on the playground is really beginning to pick up. We have poured the concrete for the seat wall and the early parts of the central sound structure. It is really starting to take shape. We have received bids from a variety of equipment companies and have a clear frontrunner. Unfortunately, their product is a little bit out of our price range right now.

There are several ways you can help us reach our goals:

• Attend the Thornton Creek School Auction on April 30
• Nosh with us at the Glassybaby Gala on May 15
• Get down and dirty at one of our Work Parties

Click here to see the plans!