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Wlaf1450
CARYVILLE, TN – Brandon Johnson, Chairman of the Caryville Cares Playground Project, has announced the grand opening of our area’s first inclusive playground. The ceremony will take place on Fri., April 26, at noon. The community is invited.
“This is an incredible accomplishment for the children of Campbell County,” said Johnson. “Our team started this project roughly two years ago and has been able to unite the community around the idea of making our home safer, kinder, and more inclusive through this park. We hit many unexpected roadblocks and setbacks through building this park, but we were determined not to let anything stop us from making sure no child is ever left out again.”
While the national average of individuals living with a disability is roughly nine percent, Campbell County has a rate of nearly 20 percent, well over double the national average. Even though such a huge number of people live in the community with a disability, not a single playground had been built to accommodate those individuals. That is why the Caryville Cares team, a group of young professionals, joined together to make their dream of inclusive play a reality.
Over the past two years, the team has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through grants, fundraisers, government partnerships, and private donations. Some of the highlights of their fundraising efforts include Dancing with the Stars, a kickoff dinner and auction, a murder mystery dinner, roadblocks, pool tournaments, and more. “We were willing to try just about any fundraising idea to raise the money for this project, and none of this would have ever been possible without the incredible generosity of every person who donated,” said Johnson.
(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 4/17/2024-6AM)