Making a Difference: Dream playground for opens following two-year fundraising by former third grade

GREENE COUNTY — Kids know who to dream big and sometimes those dreams are so big they seem out of reach.

Earlier this year, News Center 7′s James Brown told you about third graders in Greene County who wanted to make a difference and build something to help their classmate.

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Those third graders are now fifth graders at Bellcreek Intermediate School where one of their dreams come true.

Today is the day the fifth graders have been waiting for.

The dream started for Andrea and the others on the playground when they were third graders in Jill Culler’s classroom.

“Them recognizing, first and foremost there was a problem. That one of their friends couldn’t play on the playground the same way all the other friends could. And they wanted to do something about it,” Culler said.

>> PREVIOUS STORY: Making a Difference: Third-graders turn a problem into a $400,000 solution

They wanted a playground their classmate, Trent, could enjoy too. They raised money and then pitched the idea to the Bellbrook Lions Club.

Gregg Sparks with the Lion’s Club said, “It grew from a $70,000 project to a 365 new playground and 2,200 community hours to make it happen,” He continued “The kids reaction? That’s the biggest part for me,”

Zy’Aire, a fifth grader said, “We’re the first class to be at Eagle Land 2 because we built it.” He continued by saying, “We’re 100 percent proud because we did this for Trent and he’s so happy,”

The smile on Trent’s face is proof. The hard work was worth it.

Jenny Lake, one of the parents said about when she told her daughter, Livy. “She was so excited when I told her this morning she was going to play on it for the first time.”

“It’s inspiring to see these kids come together and advocate for their friends, see a need, meet a need. It’s just inspiring,” Lake said.

The Lion’s Club received more donations than expected, so they might add to the playground. The teacher said her current students are talking about another project, possibly a sensory space for students at Bellcreek Intermediate.

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