01/08/2026
I know it's been a long long time and we have tried very hard to make this dream happen. Unforunately, we've had some pretty big family challenges that have taken up a lot of our attention over the past few years and have a lack of support from our county and community. We have decided that this dream is not possible right now. However, fear not. Your donations and hard earned money have NOT been in vain NOR have they gone to fund ANYTHING other than a more inclusive and accessible world.
With your donations over the past few years we have been able to donate food to the Powhatan Food Pantry, provide toiletries to the Powhatan Free Clinic, purchase and plant and tend a robost vegetable and herb garden at the Powhatan Free Clinic, and start an accessible CrossFit program in Powhatan Virginia. I know, none of those things are building a playground. but they all have contributed to a more accessible and inclusive world through health and movement and fitness, which is what we set out to do.
All the funds have remained in a seperate bank account for the nonprofit, Growing Inclusivity. We have met several times over the past year with Powhatan Parks and Recreational department and we know they see the vision of more accessible play places in Powhatan, but also the challenges of funding and county support.
We have decided to donate the remaining funds to Powhatan Parks and Rec department for any future updates to current parks or any future parks they may build so they can be as accessible as possible. We will be on the Parks and Rec specialty committee overseeing updates and any additional builds to ensure they are at minimum ADA compliant, but hopefully much more so.
This is the email from the Director of the Parks and Rec department herself regarding our donation to them:
Regarding the donation process, it is straightforward:
Please make your check payable to Powhatan County—ATTN: Parks & Rec Playgrounds and drop it off at the Treasurer’s Office in the County Administration Building during regular business hours.
Our Finance Department will then create an account within our grants fund specifically designated for accessible playground equipment and improvements.
This money will remain in a dedicated account specifically for these purposes, not just for like new basketball nets in the gym or anything.
We thank you so much for being on this journey with us and the big dreams we had. We are striving every day for a more accessible and inclusive world and we are grateful you saw our vision and helped us make steps towards that, even if it looks differently than we hoped.
We thank Independence Golf Course for being willing to give us the land to make this happen, the Timmons Group of engineers who worked so hard to help these dreams come to life, and who were patient enough with us when we realized they may not happen right now. Thank you for your support and love and kind words along this journey. We see you, and appreciate you, and please know and trust your donations were not in vain.
