August 31st, 2019, was a day that many people from all over had been looking forward to (I know I was!) Inspired by a dream for a place where kids of all abilities could play together, promoting inclusivity and eliminating stigmas. Sometimes life throws us curve balls. Realities that aren't necessarily 'bad'...but they're not easy, and often not the reality we had envisioned for ourselves. I'm sure we've all been there to one level or another. Following this project for the past 3+ years has been nothing short of a testament to the beauty that can develop after those storms. So I'm going to attempt to paint the picture that I see when I think about the Place to Play Park.
Beau was born in February of 2008 to Andrew and Amanda Weichers (read the full story here), and in 2009 was diagnosed with a congenital brain abnormality known as Partial Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (P-ACC), as well as epilepsy and developmental delays; and in 2018, a rare genetic mutation was also found, known as ZBTB18.* As a result, Beau's Beautiful Blessings was started as a means of supporting other parents who were dealing with similar developmental disorders to help with medically necessary medications not covered by insurance, special needs camp scholarships, therapy dogs, etc.** Then, after seeing a news story about an all inclusive park in Oregon, the dream of A Place 2 Play Park was born. A park that made it possible for all kids, with and without disabilities, could play together...and so the planning began. That being said, it's not easy raising funds for small, unknown, charities. So after working long hours with little return, on Thursday, August 18th 2016, Amanda Weichers, Beau's mom, and one of the starters of Beau's Beautiful Blessings, woke up and realized that she was going to have to figure out how to tell her friend, and partnering board member of BBB, that she was pulling the plug on the park idea. It was becoming too much for a self-employed mom of two, whose oldest was developmentally delayed, to continue to try raise enough funds for a $1,000,000+ all inclusive park. While she'd been invited to a 100+ Women Who Care fundraising event set for that night, she considered not even going as she was already overwhelmed and feeling defeated, but as a last ditch effort, she showed up. That night, over 100 women listened as was given the opportunity to share her story; and while she was struggling to believe in her own dream, those 100+ women DID believe in her dream, and that night, Beau's Beautiful Blessings walked away with a $12,000 donation. From that event, their little charity gained just enough momentum to get their snowball rolling and just two years later, they surpassed their one million dollar goal and broke ground on September 29th, 2018.
It was so cool to watch kids, of all abilities, playing together and able to enjoy all that the park had to offer. I can't even put into words how proud I am of Amanda and Sarah, as well as everyone else involved in helping to make this park happen. Thank you.
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