By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
RUSSELL — A Christmas Galleria is seeking to raise funds for a new accessible play park in Russell.
The community already has raised about $40,000 toward the $1 million project, which will replace equipment that has aged out in Memorial Park next to the fairgrounds. With fencing and accessories, the project will need closer to $1.5 million.
The Arc of the Central Plains, which also lent support to a similar project in Hays, is mentoring the Russell group, said Kathy McAdoo, Arc executive director and Russell resident.
McAdoo said she hopes community members will take the time to research the project. Accessible equipment and surfacing are more expensive than standard playground equipment.
Although mulch is Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, most people who use walkers and wheelchairs can't navigate through it, which means parks that use mulch as ground cover are not accessible, McAdoo said.
The Russell Park will have similar equipment and surfacing to the ARC Park in Hays with different colors and themes, McAdoo said. The Russell group is working with the same companies as Hays.
The new equipment will include accessible swings, zip line, we-g0-round, play structures with ramps, sensory equipment, musical equipment and a quiet place for children who become overstimulated.
McAdoo said Russell residents have been watching the development of the ARC Park in Hays and decided when it was time to replace the equipment at Memorial Park, they wanted to replace it with accessible equipment.
"Not only are there kids and adults there who will be thrilled to have it," she said, " but also people in the neighboring communities around Russell. They also get a fair amount of I-70 traffic and a number of ball tournaments that come through Russell. It's kind of a natural thing."
McAdoo said accessible parks allow all kids to play side by side—something they may not be able to do at school.
"Here they are all playing, and there are no barriers and they can just be themselves," she said.
Volunteers hope to have the project completed within two years, McAdoo said.
The project is still in its infancy, McAdoo said. However, all funds raised in Russell will stay in Russell.
The Christmas Galleria in Russell is an attempt to replicate the Festival of Trees in Hays that has raised funds for the Hays ARC Park.
The Galleria is offering 45 items, including decorated Christmas trees, wreaths, holiday tabletop displays and outdoor decor. Almost all of the materials for the decorations were donated and the same volunteers who created the pieces for the Hays Festival of Trees created pieces for the Russell Galleria.
"This is a unique fundraiser for Russell," McAdoo said. "This is the first time anything like this has been done. We are hoping to add something to the holiday season in Russell—another fun activity, another way to connect the community and bring people out to see what other folks have created.
"Russell is a very giving community."
The
online auction is live now and will run through 5 p.m. Monday. A link to the auction will be on the home page of the
Russell Play Park website at www.russellplaypark.com. Donors also can give directly at any time by visiting that site.
The auction items can be viewed during normal business hours noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at the Deines Cultural Center in downtown Russell.
You can also follow the park project on Facebook.