Day 35

For many years, an old tennis court at Cedar Springs Academy (CSA), the school for the sensory multi-disabled, had lain dormant. Its cracked and weathered asphalt was unsafe for students to use, and there was no money in the school budget to fix it. In 2020, Sarah Davis, who was then the Principal of CSA, approached the Foundation to see if we could help to resurface and repurpose the area. The dream was to make the old tennis court into a safe place for students to run, jump, play and exercise. We called the program Freedom to Play and began searching for funding to make the dream a reality.

Four partners—Barbara Stone Foundation, Costco Wholesale, Foundation for the Carolinas Longleaf Fund, and Wholespire--answered the call and provided $18,385 in grant funding. After the tennis court was repaved and the fence was reinstalled, lines were painted on the surface to create: a walking track, a Four-square game, a Hopscotch game, and a half basketball court. Adaptive basketball, volleyball and tetherball equipment was purchased to be used in the new free play area. A grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony was held in October 2022. Thanks to our wonderful partners, current and future CSA students will have the freedom to play for many years to come.

The first picture is a collage of four photos. In one a child plays hopscotch and in another is a colorful sign (with stripes of red, blue, green, and yellow with Free Play Zone written across it). In another picture, students and teachers play four square and in the last picture, a student uses a wheelchair while shooting a basketball.  The second picture say “Thank You Sponsors” at the top with the Barbara Stone Foundation, Costco Wholesale, The Longleaf Fund, and Wholespire logos beneath.  At the bottom are the SCSDB Foundation and 175 Days of Giving logos.

#scsdb #engageempowerequip #daysofgiving #demisemideptcentennial #day34