Building a Magical Bridge for All Children
From: Bay Area Parent - 02/2015 - page 18
By: Janine DeFao

It seemed like a simple enough task. Olenka Villarreal set out to find a
playground in their hometown of Palo Alto where her daughter, Ava, could
swing.

Ava was born with developmental and cognitive challenges, and Villarreal had
learned that swinging could help her child by stimulating inner ear balance
and creating body awareness. But Ava didn't have the upper-body strength to
hold onto swing chains, and the 5-year-old was too big for any baby bucket
swing. Nowhere in Palo Alto's 34 parks was there a swing for Ava.

In fact, there was not a single park for children with special needs.

The search for a simple swing turned into Villarreal's quest to build what
aims to be the nation's most innovative and inclusive playground, for
children and families of all abilities and disabilities. Nearly six years and
$4 million later, Magical Bridge Playground is scheduled to open in
mid-February in Palo Alto's Mitchell Park. 

Read the entire article at:
http://bap-siliconvalley.digitalparenthood.com/Vizion5/viewer.aspx?shareKey=NxFBsO#issueID=72&pageID=19

Link:
Magical Bridge Playground
http://www.magicalbridge.org/