The Kiwanis Club of Lafayette is very excited about our latest Service Project. It is the single largest project that we have undertaken in our club’s 65-year history of serving the youth of our area. Thanks to the countless generous contributions of individuals and businesses, and the generous support of our local parish government we will soon be breaking ground on a new playground area that we have named Parc Independence. It is so named because it will be Lafayette’s first “handi-capable” play area – a place where children of all abilities will be able to play together. Located within Girard Park, we are hoping that this will be only the first such playground for our community.

Parc Independence is designed specifically to accommodate children that have physical and mental disabilities and to eliminate separation due to limitations, thereby allowing all children to play together.  Some features of the playground include extra-wide entrances and ramps to provide access for wheelchairs and other personal equipment, specially-designed swing sets to accommodate wheelchairs, limited entrance and exit points to assist parent and guardians in watching over their children, and many more features typically not considered in park design.  Because even the smallest design elements can create the largest obstacles for many children with disabilities, careful attention has been paid towards making the Park ADA-compliant.  Our intent is to eliminate barriers and create a place where all children can play together – regardless of limitations.

Total project cost is expected to be in excess of $250,000. Our club has committed over $80,000 for this project with the remainder provided by other individuals and entities.  This is in addition to the countless hours spent coordinating and managing this project since its initial conception.  The 6-week construction process is expected to begin in December 2009.

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