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 The Sarasota Herald Tribune recently reported on a noteworthy donation
by six area Rotary Clubs to assist special needs children to enjoy a playground built especially for them even during the heat of the Florida summer.
Students, staff, friends, and families of Sarasota's Oak Park School, which serves exceptional students, some with hearing or visual impairments, gathered at Oak Park School's playground under a new canopy.
They were there to dedicate the school's latest donation from area Rotary Clubs, additional playground equipment including the sunshade canopy erected recently over part of the Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible playground area.
Special equipment at the Oak Park School playground allows students to use wheelchairs or other heavy equipment to feel the freedom of swinging in the wind and the thrill of descending the curved slide as well as a shaded area
for learning situations. "The temperatures can rise very high out here in the summer and students use the playground all day long to increase sensory skills or practice Braille. The playground is an integral part of our curriculum,"
said Oak Park Assistant Principal Phyllis Frederic. "Having the canopy out here is wonderful."
Several speakers at the dedication ceremony expressed their appreciation of the way area groups pull together to benefit the community as a whole. This donation of funds and labor by the six Rotary Clubs is just one more example
of the community-oriented spirit of so many Sarasota - Bradenton area residents and organizations. It is one more reason why so many people choose to live and work in the Sarasota Florida area.
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