100+ Women Who Care Donate to the Sensory Garden Playground!
The 100+ Women Who Care DuPage chapter awarded its August donations to the Play for All Playground & Garden Foundation in support of the Sensory Garden Playground’s, 5 to 12-year-old playground project. Additionally, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation matched up to $5,000 of those gifts, making the total gifts over $16,000 to the Play for All Playground & Garden Foundation. The check was presented on-site at the playground on Monday, August 30.
100+ Women Who Care DuPage is a group of local women who support local charities and who care about the people who live here. Their mission is to reach out and make a difference in our own communities through collective giving. Their membership is about 120 women but they are always welcoming new members and others who are interested in contributing in this simple yet impactful way. Each woman contributes $100 four times a year ($40,000 + annually) to help local charities. To consider a charity or organization, the group must be in DuPage County.
“What an impressive group; your project and mission are wonderful,” said Sally Wiarda, 100+ Women representative.
The 5 to 12-year-old playground will offer exciting new accessible play options for older children, including Climbers, Slides, Horse Race Track with Timer, Bouncer, Bridges and Ramps.
This project, once fully funded, will come on the heels of the completed treehouse which opened in 2020. Prior to that fundraising allowed for the opening of a 2 to 5-year-old playground, central gathering area, sound garden, fragrance garden, art sculptures and perimeter fencing. Each year, the playground enjoys thousands of visitors.
The Sensory Garden Playground is a combination of sensory-integrated playground equipment and amenities designed with children on the autism spectrum in mind as well as those with physical disabilities. The mission is to create barrier-free and universally accessible outdoor place spaces.
To learn more about 100+ Women Who Care DuPage, visit 100wwc.weebly.com.
Picture left to right: Margie Wilhelmi (Play for All Playground & Garden Foundation Board), Jill Jakubowski (100+ Women), Beth Stremel (100+ Women), Marilyn McCawley (100+ Women ), Lorrie Brand (100+ Women), Michael Benard (Play for All Playground & Garden Foundation President), and Sally Wiarda (100+ Women).