Thanks to a grant from the Everychild Foundation, children with crippling conditions will soon have an innovative new playground that provides a safe place to play, exercise and develop. Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital Foundation (LAOHF) was selected by the Everychild Foundation as its sole 2006 grantee and will be awarded $925,000 to support the construction of a universally accessible playground. It will be designed to accommodate children with wheelchairs, leg braces, crutches and other barriers that have previously left those special needs children on the sidelines. Sensory-rich equipment will create a fun environment where children with disabilities can interact with their able-bodied friends and siblings.

Dr. James V. Luck Jr., M.D., president, CEO and medical director for Orthopaedic Hospital and board member of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, and Mary Schmitz, Ph.D., president of LAOHF, accepted the grant on behalf of the hospital from the Everychild Foundation. Everychild Foundation is comprised of a group of Westside women devoted to making a meaningful difference for children in need. It targets one nonprofit organization each year and funds a project that helps children facing disease, abuse, neglect, poverty or disability.

The playground will be built on Orthopaedic Hospital’s downtown campus, but will be open to the community, Schmitz said. There is a tremendous need for a place where children of all abilities can interact, and this playground will be used by more children in a single year than any other universally accessible playground in the nation.

It will be really heartwarming to see the pure delight on the faces of children who are able to play and just be kids, regardless of their physical abilities.

The grant for the construction of this playground will benefit pediatric patients, their siblings and children from the entire community for years to come. It will be a secure recreational environment where children with disabilities can play like other children and will serve as a model for other similar projects, said Jacqueline Caster, president and founder of the Everychild Foundation.

Since it was founded in 1999, the Everychild Foundation has awarded more than $3.5 million to fund innovative projects for children, including mobile dental clinics, new libraries and a much-needed child abuse center. Selection of an organization to receive the funding is done by a majority vote of the Everychild Foundation membership. With funding for grants that comes directly from the members, who each contribute $5,000 a year, the foundation is able to create valuable resources in the communities of Los Angeles.