Tyler Area Ambucs, the City of Tyler, Child's Play Inc., and numerous national, state, and local donors came together to provide an all-inclusive, accessible playground for ALL children! It wasn't just a mindless energy burn. Many have called play the work of childhood. Play teaches children how to make friends, make rules and navigate relationships. But for kids whose disabilities keep them from using playgrounds, those opportunities can be lost. New federal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act are changing the landscape for public playgrounds, requiring them to include equipment, materials and designs that provide children with disabilities the same play opportunities as typical children. Last year, the federal government made access to play areas a civil right under the Americans with Disabilities Act. "Play areas are not just places where kids have fun," says Eve Hill, a civil rights lawyer with the Justice Department, which enforces the ADA. "They are places where kids learn to interact with the world, and with each other." That places playgrounds in the same category as other civil rights touchstones. "Recreation was one of the places where the civil rights movement started, with desegregating pools and desegregating lunch counters and movie theaters. These were not unimportant," she says. But as of March 15, 2012, federal law requires that public play areas include wheelchair-friendly surfaces and equipment that help kids with physical challenges move around. So if a town does build or renovate a playground, it must meet specific accessibility standards. And, localities must provide their residents with "program accessibility," which means there are equal play opportunities for everyone in the community. http://www.npr.org/2013/08/27/213827534/for-kids-with-special-needs-more-places-to-play
We at Tyler Area Ambucs are excited to join together with the community of Tyler for this exciting project! We hope that you will partner with us in this journey with financial support, community awareness, volunteering on community build day, and more! is a non-profit service organization consisting of a diverse group of men and women who are dedicated to creating mobility and independence for people with disabilities. Members fulfill our organization’s mission by:
Performing various forms of community service. Providing AmTryke® therapeutic tricycles to individuals unable to operate a traditional bike. Awarding scholarships to therapists. To learn more about National Ambucs visit www.ambucs.org. For more information on Tyler Area Ambucs visit www.tylerambucs.org or www.facebook.com/tylerareaambucs
Child's Play, Inc., an outdoor recreation, park and playground company provides solutions to churches, day care centers, schools, and municipal parks. Since 1996, we've offered the finest commercial playground and park equipment available today combined with timely, high quality playground installations performed by our own crews anywhere in North Texas and Oklahoma. Child's Play utilizes safe, age-appropriate designs to stretch the minds and bodies of children with varying abilities and needs throughout the entire play environment. We offer a wide spectrum of attractive color combinations and a large variety of affordable components. To learn more about all that Child's Play has to offer visit http://www.childsplayinc.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Childs-Play-Inc/217019601663748
