Ashaun's Wish For All Inclusive Playground Comes True
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- An 8-year-old boy is seeing his dream of a playground that he could enjoy, come true in Aurora. On Monday, there was a groundbreaking at the all-inclusive playground at Red Tailed Hawk Park.
CBS4 first introduced Ashaun in November 2018. He loves to play and his bright smile is one of the first things anyone would notice.
Ashaun also has special needs, and he is unable to walk or talk. Finding a facility where he can play like any other child has been difficult. That all changed Monday morning.
City leaders teamed up with Make-A-Wish Foundation for the project. They broke ground on the all-inclusive playground, which drew the largest crowd for that type of event.
The brand new park is on an 8,000 square-foot site. It will feature swings, spinners, slides, music, and a sensory garden with gathering spaces. The goal is to provide kids and families the ability to play side-by-side in a space together.
The total project cost is about $1.2 million with more than $700,000 collected in about a year's time from grants and donations.
Ashaun's family says they are incredibly grateful for the gift, and that it couldn't have come to help uplift them at a more crucial time.
"It's kind of bittersweet because I don't know if all of you know but... we lost Ashaun's sister on Thursday... Angel, and it's going to be really hard to come here and not let her have a chance to play. But I hope that all of you come play and bring your kids and tell everybody to bring their kids so they can celebrate and enjoy it and think of her and all the other kids that haven't had the opportunity," said Jamie. "And I hope this isn't the last park."
All of the children Jamie has adopted have special needs.
The park is expected to be completed by this summer.