A place where all kids can play

One organizer said he expects the playground to become a destination for children from other areas.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — Work continues today on The VIP — Valley’s Inclusive Playground — at Perkins Park, which organizers say will be the first playground in the Mahoning Valley to provide all children with an opportunity to play, even those who have not had that chance in the past.

One of those is Mindy McGann of Warren, 10, who has cerebral palsy and whose last opportunity to enjoy a swing set was when she was an infant, said her mom, Kim McGann.

Last fall, Kim went looking for a handicap-accessible playground for Mindy and determined that the nearest one was in Stow, about an hour west.

She felt that needed to change.

“I thought the kids deserved this,” she said Friday morning.

WFMJ-TV did a story on her desire to see a new playground in the Valley, and she called Warren Mayor Michael O’Brien about it, too.

Soon, Chuck Joseph, president of the board of the organization Main Street Warren called her and told her that he was also interested in the idea and made her aware that the organization Putting Downs First had the same idea and had begun fundraising for it.

Along the way, a generous donor provided a sizable amount of the $200,000 needed for the project, Joseph said.

On Friday morning, about 100 volunteers began unloading the playground equipment and installing it on a 72-by-65-foot conrete pad near the Downtown Warren Amphitheatre. A smaller playground is located next to the new one, but it is also being enlarged.

The installation may be complete by today, organizers said.

Paulette Eisenbraun of Southington, a member of Putting Downs First, has twins with Down syndrome. She originally imagined the playground would be built in Leavittsburg, but that location didn’t pan out, she said.

The Valley’s Inclusive Playground will enable all children to play in a location in which they won’t get hurt, will be challenged and can play with other children, Eisenbraun said.

The facility will feature wide ramps and equipment disabled children can. Among them are drums and learning-and-skill panels and a wheelchair swing featuring a harness.

“The kids in the wheelchair can do the same things as the other kids do,” Eisenbraun said.

Joseph said that because there are so few inclusive playgrounds in the area, Perkins Park is likely to become a destination for children from far and wide. The playground will be dedicated Sept. 19.