An all inclusive playground brings people with all abilities together in memory of Kenadi

In Spearfish, an all inclusive playground was built in memory of Kenadi, a little girl who...
In Spearfish, an all inclusive playground was built in memory of Kenadi, a little girl who lived with a brain injury. (KOTA)
Published: Aug. 24, 2019 at 11:25 PM CDT
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Imagine a playground where people of all ages and abilities could play together.

One Spearfish family makes it possible in memory of their daughter.

The Spearfish community celebrated the dedication of Kenadi's playground at Jorgensen Park, a little girl who lived with a brain injury that caused many physical delays.

"It brings a lot of emotion because all inclusive playgrounds were not around when she was here, and that's really what spawned the idea is after her passing in March of 2014, we discovered all inclusive playgrounds, it was revoluntionary to us with the idea to actually have playgrounds that accommodated children of all abilities," said Kelly Weis-Schultz, mom of Kenadi.

Although she couldn't speak, everyone knew Kenadi's happy place was at the park.

"She loved playgrounds and she had her own way of expressing her joy, and we called it a little grawl that she had and it was, she would love it, she would go out there and she'd be enjoying it the whole time with the big smile that she had," said Randy Deibert, grandpa of Kenadi.

All inclusive playgrounds look beyond simply wheelchair access and include sensory-rich activities and inclusive swing sets.

"It's so important because Kenadi loved being at the park, and we realized how hard it was to get her there, having something like this would just mean the world to her," said Lori Deibert, grandma of Kenadi.

From conception to creation in only eight months, this playground is just the beginning.

The foundation's next plan includes an indoor all inclusive playground using 120 acres of land.

With 120 acres, we can really dream big and that's what we do with the Kenadi Jean Weis Foundation, and so we already have all of these ideas brewing, if you look at our land plan, there's a lot of possibilities," Kelly Weis-Schultz said.