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<\/a><\/p>\nJLLI serves as a training ground for women, giving members the skills and resources they need to promote and create positive change in their communities. The women of JLLI can propose local projects to the organization, fundraise, and see the projects come to fruition.<\/p>\n
JLLI hosts Project Playground, which ensures that children have safe, fun, and positive environments in which to socialize. The organization has constructed six playgrounds to date but the most recent playground is unique.<\/p>\n
June marked the opening of the Haypath Inclusive Playground at Haypath Park in Old Bethpage. It is one of the few public parks in the U.S. to feature special equipment that is conducive to inclusion.<\/p>\n
The idea for Project Playground came after a JLLI member saw a void in the community: \u201cOne of our members was in the community and she noticed that there was a playground missing. She said, \u2018We have resources. We fundraise. I think it would be a great thing for us to donate a playground to a community of need!\u2019 It started with one of our members proposing the project to the group and we\u2019ve done it on a bi-annual basis since.\u201d<\/p>\n
The playground offers stimulation for children of various physical and developmental capabilities. All of the JLLI-donated and installed equipment, toys, and activity stations at the Haypath Inclusive Playground stand low enough for wheelchair access.<\/p>\n
Fibar covers the playground surface. This bark-like material dissipates impact, so it\u2019s great for kids at play. For youth with limited mobility, it is firm enough to act as a stable surface for wheelchairs and walkers.<\/p>\n
The park also offers a different dynamic to play: \u201cBecause it\u2019s a sensory playground, it allows kids to interact physically by running, jumping, and swinging and with their senses because children can sit in front of these different pieces of playground equipment and interact with them. For children with sensory issues or even for children on the autism spectrum, sometimes going to a traditional playground and playing with other children can be very intimidating or impossible. Here is an opportunity for all kids to get into a safe space, where their parents can feel safe bringing them, and they can engage in a way they wouldn\u2019t be able to at a traditional playground,\u201d explains Delay.<\/p>\n
JLLI raised $30,000 to pay for the playground, including a donation from Yardi<\/a> and contributions by the Town of Oyster Bay.<\/p>\n “From 7:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon, we got out here. We got sweaty, got our hands dirty. We built a playground,” said Delay.<\/p>\n While JLLI\u2019s summer programs spark the imaginations of children, this year\u2019s fall program will positively change the lives of at-risk women. First Step is an annual project that helps women transition from domestic violence shelters and rehabilitation centers into the workplace. JLLI offers counseling and job training, including resume development, mock interviews, clothing, and accessories for their job search.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst Step is a great program for us,\u201d says Delay. \u201cIn Long Island, like most of the country, we\u2019re facing a crisis-level opioid and heroin epidemic. What we\u2019re seeing is not just the impact on these women, but also on the families in our community. We\u2019re really hoping to reach out to women in that position and give them a safe space to figure out what\u2019s next in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n To support a Junior League in your area, visit AJLI.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>With fundraising under their belt, the women and their guests constructed the park in one, nine-hour period on a summer morning.<\/p>\n