Playground Ribbon Cutting at Helen Keller Elementary

Helen Keller Elementary, a Royal Oak Elementary School, will be celebrating a new playground with a ribbon cutting scheduled for Monday, April 12, 2010 at 11:30 AM. The new playground is a barrier-free structure that will allow all of Helen Keller's students to be able to enjoy recess better. As a former middle school, Helen Keller inherited two baseball diamonds, a huge field and a couple of pieces of dated playground equipment, none of which was accessible to their physically handicapped population. While space is abundant to run and play ball games, the playground equipment was lacking imagination and there is not enough of it to support the student body.

Helen Keller's new barrier-free playground is two years in the making. For two years in a row, the PTA has organized a “Silent Auction” for the school. Staff and community members supported the Silent Auction by offering popular goods and services that were bid upon. All proceeds from these “Silent Auctions” were dedicated solely to the new playground. In 2008, Toyoda Gosei “adopted” Helen Keller Elementary and brought with them a wonderful Japanese Club the employees offered to students as well as a $10,000 grant for the school to put toward building a barrier-free playground structures.

Phase I is schedule to be installed over the week of April 12th, while
Phase II will go in Fall 2010.

The ribbon cutting ceremony is opened to the public and will involve the students and staff at Helen Keller, executives from Toyoda Gosei
North America and members of the PTA.

Please call 248-542-6500 for more information. If raining, the ceremony will be moved to Tuesday, April 13 at 11:30 PM. Helen Keller Elementary is located at 1505 N. Campbell, Royal Oak, MI 48067.