Fundraising for Pearland's first inclusive park is only $30,000 away from goal
PEARLAND, Texas -- Pearland's first inclusive park, a space for children of all abilities and developmental stages to enjoy, is only $30,000 away from the fundraising goal put forth by the city and Forever Parks Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
The video above is from a previous story.
Pearland City Council, during its Oct. 25 regular meeting, passed a required resolution as a part of the state grant program for the city to receive $750,000 in grant money that had been allocated to Pearland in July by the Texas Legislature for the playground.
"This is going to be, I believe, a regional park," state Rep. Ed Thompson, R-Pearland, said. "I believe a lot of people will come to Pearland because of it."
SEE ALSO: Local nonprofit close to donation goal for Pearland's first all-inclusive playground
The fundraising efforts, which began in May, received a huge boost in July when Thompson played a big role in securing the $750,000 grant from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for the playground.
Forever Parks Foundation has collected $180,000 of the remaining $210,000 that was needed to reach the $960,000 goal.
Joel Hardy, Pearland grants-special projects administrator, along with Carry Capers, Pearland Parks and Recreation director, and Kevin Carter, Pearland Parks and Recreation assistant director, will be working with Forever Parks Foundation and the TPWD on the project, Capers told Community Impact Newspaper via email.
The inclusive playground will be located at the Sports Complex at Shadow Creek Ranch, at 13050 Shadow Creek Parkway, Pearland. The equipment is scheduled to be installed and available for use by spring 2022, according to agenda documents.
"We are an inclusive city," Pearland Mayor Kelvin Cole said. "We want to be an inclusive city. We want to welcome anyone and everyone to call Pearland home, and that also means people of different abilities. This park is going to complete some of that inclusivity, and I am very proud to be a part of that."
