Mardy McGarry has been a special education and early childhood teacher for 29 years, currently teaching at Lincoln Elementary School in Port Washington, Wisconsin. It was her dream to create a one of a kind playground where every child can play and learn side by side. Mardy’s focus throughout her career has always been to bring both special needs and peer children together to learn, play, understand each other and build lasting relationships. It was until she met Sue Mayer, a parent of one of her students, that the project began to take shape. Sue is the Director of the Wisconsin Chapter of NACD (www.nacd.org) an organization that empowers parents to work with their children and help them reach their full potential. She and her husband Jeff were blessed with three children, two with learning disabilities. Sue has worked with all three of her children through home programs to help them focus on their strengths and abilities and address the underlying neurodevelopmental issues.
“My children have taught me so much and have challenged me to always think outside the box and imagine the possibilities.”
Mardy and Sue decided if not now, when? With a jump start from the Port Washington Kiwanis Club in early 2007 Possibility Playground was off and running. Leathers & Associates, based in Ithaca, New York, was chosen to build the project because of its child-and-community designed and built approach. The company had experience in engineering universally accessible play environments.Land was given by the City of Port Washington, in Upper Lake Park on the bluff above Lake Michigan, providing a scenic place for children to play. And the build date was set, September 17-21, 2008.
First step was Design Day, held in May 2007. Children from Ozaukee County schools met with the designer to collaborate on the design. By the Fall of 2007, the project had been issued its 501(c)3 tax-exempt status and had met its fund-raising goal of $80,000, well on its way to the final cost of $450,000 with one year to go to build day.