By Aila Boyd aboyd@ourvalley.org
The Addy Grace Foundation held a ribbon cutting ceremony last Saturday to celebrate the opening of the Addy Grace All-Abilities Playground.
The playground is located at the Botetourt Family YMCA in Daleville.
Photo by Michelle Eberly
“We’re excited to be able to bring this playground to the community,” James Garner said, adding that the sponsors were instrumental in making the playground a reality.
The foundation is a 501(C3) non-profit that was founded by James and Jennifer Garner several years back with the focus of raising awareness of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Their daughter, Addy Grace, has SMA and has no use of her muscles.
The playground is open to the general public during the hours of operation of the YMCA. A YMCA membership is not required to visit the playground.
Before the Addy Grace All-Abilities Playground, the nearest all-abilities playground to Botetourt County was in Harrisonburg.
The idea for the playground first came to the Garners after a trip the family took to Virginia Beach. While there, they came across an all-abilities playground and decided that one was needed closer to home.
Construction on the 10,000-square foot playground started on February 4, with construction provided by Salem-based G&H Contracting and design and equipment by Maryland-based Landscape Structures.
