The Village Playground

New Baden, IL

Currently Fundraising

85% of $508,233.60

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About The Village Playground

Driving into New Baden, you find yourself traveling past the family homes and decades-old businesses, where pedestrians on their morning walk wave at passing commuters heading toward the city to start their workday. A line forms early at Berkemann’s Bakery, and parents sweep through The Red Porch for their morning coffee after school drop-off. Generation after generation, people choose to raise their families in New Baden because of the supportive hearts and caring nature of the residents. It is a community where we celebrate each other’s successes and lift each other up in times of sadness or need. But reaching the community park at the heart of New Baden, you pass by a playground which is beginning to rust, difficult to access, and uninviting. While the New Baden community is open and welcoming, we are lacking a playground that exemplifies that spirit.

Recognizing that not all disabilities can be seen, our mission is to build a playground that reflects the heart of this community: uplifting, exciting, and supportive of individuals of all ability levels. We acknowledge that this is a difficult task for a community of only 3,300 people, and we are driven by the passion to provide an equal opportunity to every child who wishes to play freely. The CDC cites that 17% of children have an identified developmental disability, which is nearly 1 in 6. And this statistic does not consider the number of parents or other caregivers who may avoid taking children to use playground facilities due to their own physical limitations and mobility.

Play not only allows for a time for enjoyment, but promotes social-emotional communication skills, problem solving, and self-regulation which carries over into a child’s day to day activities.

We have designed a playground which utilizes different forms of play to stimulate varied developmental needs. While many of the components of this playground allow for direct interactive play, there are also structures to promote parallel play amongst children with different physical capabilities. Quieter areas allow children who are feeling overstimulated to decompress and self-regulate without having to leave the playground. There is something for every child, just as it should be. We hope that other like-minded individuals will join us in our journey to make this dream a reality.

Leading these efforts is New Baden Park Boosters, a group of residents dedicated to improving parks in their community. Click here to visit their Facebook page for updates on progress of the playground and upcoming fundraising events.

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