“My son Teddy, who is currently 7, was born with the most common type of dwarfism,” says Erin Gooch. “He has tons of medical issues, physical, and speech delays as well.”
Introducing Teddy and his mom, Erin.
“Early on, we would go to playgrounds, that is where you take your kids for playdates, and quickly I learned ‘oh wow he cannot do things with his peers;’ and he wanted to play with his peers, but couldn’t reach things it was unsafe,” says Gooch. “We would leave the playground in tears. I was in tears of exhaustion because this was supposed to be fun.”
After spending his summer days at the park in tears, Erin and Teddy went on a playdate with their little people community at Zachary’s Playground in Lake St. Louis.
“It was amazing, Teddy was…I couldn't get him off the playground, and he says, ‘mom that was my best day ever!’ And I said, ‘tell me tell why was it the best day ever?’ He said, ‘I got to play with my friends, and you did not have to help me! And you got to talk to the other moms.’ He even noticed I was not able to talk to other moms on playdates. I said, ‘noted buddy I will work on getting one closer to our neighborhood.’”
It did not take long for this mom to get to work! Erin picked up the phone and called Unlimited Play.
“My son Zachary was born with a severe disability, and the one thing I thought I could get back was a chance to play,” says Natalie Mackay, Founder and Executive Director of Unlimited Play. “We opened Zachary's playground in 2007, and I thought we were done, but today we have opened over 90 projects in the nation and now stretched to Canada.”
Natalie Mackay founded the nonprofit 20 years ago. With over 90 projects she is now setting out on a new journey with Erin - transforming Queeny Park to Teddy & Friends Inclusive Playground.
The playground will include shorter steps for safety, accessible surfacing, wheelchair accessibility to the top, fencing, zip lines, calming corners, more enclosed areas for safety.
The park will be game board themed with nods to Candyland, Chutes n’ Ladders, and Teddy's favorite game of all, Chess! However, this mother and son duo need your help! In order to make Teddy and Friends Playground come to life, they need to raise 2.4 million dollars.
So, now is the perfect time to help Teddy, and all kids, because everyone deserves the chance to play!
“Thank you for helping me build my playground,” says Teddy.
Learn how to donate by visiting https://unlimitedplay.org/playground/teddy-friends-inclusive-playground/.
THIS ARTICLE INVOLVES COMMERCIAL CONTENT SPONSORED BY UNLIMITED PLAY. THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FEATURED APPEAR AS PAID ADVERTISING. FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL US AT SMSL@KSDK.COM.
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