The Rimrock Learning Center is pushing closer to its goal of building an inclusive playground but needs more help to get across the finish line.
Watch the video below:
A fundraiser was held Monday night at Meadowlark Brewing in Billings.
“At this time, our students who aren’t mobile or who have visual impairments or other impairments, they are sitting here watching their peers play instead of interacting with their peers,” said Nicole Madden, who teaches special education. “It’s definitely heartbreaking to see, but we are hoping to reach our goal of building a new playground this summer.”
SMILE for RLC has been leading the charge to to raise the money for the playground. More than $200,000—around half of the goal—had been raised as of Monday.
The goal is to build a playground similar to the one at Rose Park Elementary,
Elly Wood’s son, Chance, attends Rimrock Learning Center
“Chance was born with cerebral palsy, so a lot of his limitations include his mobility and balance, so a typical playground isn’t always safe for him.”
While Chance gets around well despite that, it’s not nearly as easy for other students.
“Having handlebars on everything and different adaptations for different kids with disabilities.” Wood says.
Not only are they missing out on fun and companionship, but also an important part of the learning process.
“A lot of our students here have communication deficits. And one of the biggest things to help communication is play and learning those social skills and when you have a playground that students can't access, it’s hard for them to learn turn taking, conversation requesting, so that is one thing that we have seen hinder the progress of our students,” says Alex Brady, a speech therapist at Rimrock Learning Center.
If you would like to support the effort to build the new inclusive playground for Rimrock Learning Center, click here.
