Five-year-old Elizabeth’s parents knew their daughter’s wish. Due to her life-threatening medical condition, Elizabeth was unable to verbally communicate her wish to volunteers from the Make-A-Wish Foundation^® of the Hudson Valley, but she and her family explained it in a variety of ways. Elizabeth wanted a swing set and play system because there was no playground in her community that met her special needs. Volunteer Lisa began calling around and enlisted the help of Universal Play Systems. Company representatives met with Elizabeth, her family and wish granters to design a safe but thrilling system for the excited girl. In a fun twist, wish granters learned that Elizabeth also enjoys butterflies and birds. To spruce up the play set, volunteers decided to have a perennial garden planted next to it to attract Elizabeth’s favorite creatures.

Word of Elizabeth’s exciting wish spread, and community members began lining up to help. Two fire departments combined resources and brought in more than 30 employees and their spouses to provide free labor for installation of the play system. Local nurseries donated garden-design services and planting materials, and a rental center offered the equipment for digging. Additionally, a construction foreman donated his time to build the play system on the wish day, and local restaurants chipped in food for the hard-working group.

After the flurry of activity, Elizabeth’s completed play system and garden took root in the family’s back yard. It consisted of a swing set with two swings (one for children with disabilities), a slide with high sides, a sitting area with four special panels, and plenty of safety rails for the girl’s wheelchair. The four panels in the sitting area each have a different activity, with a musical panel, a bubble mirror, an animal matching game and a window. From the top of the playset, the girl who loves the outdoors can watch her garden.

Wish granters report Elizabeth loves her new play system. When it was completed, Mom Kari happily commented that now her daughter can have a friend over for the first time. Volunteer Lisa called it “the best wish I have done ever” and added that Elizabeth “never stopped smiling that day”.