Playground for Physically Disabled Children Scheduled for Summer Completion

Before Madison Claire Millington died at the age of 2 in 2004, her mother, Dana, was frustrated by Madison’s inability to enjoy any of Woodbury’s playgrounds.

Madison was born with spinal muscular atrophy—a genetic disease that destroys the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement—and she was restricted to a stroller.

“We couldn’t take Madison and our other two children together to go to any of the playgrounds in Woodbury,” Dana Millington said, “because she was stuck in a special stroller and I wasn’t able to get her access to the structure.”

Shortly after Madison’s death, Dana heard about a California organization, Shane’s Inspiration, founded by parents who had lost their son to spinal muscular atrophy. The organization raised money to build playgrounds where children with physical and developmental disabilities could play alongside their “typically able” peers.

Dana wanted to build a similar playground in Woodbury, and the Madison Claire Foundation was born.

Dana has been fundraising for a playground for almost five years. The city of Woodbury has committed to providing a site for the playground at the Bielenberg Sports Center. Members of the Air National Guard CE squadron have agreed to install the equipment in summer 2012.

And, last week, an anonymous $100,000 donation brought the project within $250,000 of its $700,000 total cost.

Plans for the playground include a complex network of ramps that make every level of the structure wheelchair accessible, a slide designed to prevent static for children with cochlear implants and a ground-level music drum.

“There are 31,000 children in Minnesota with physical or developmental disabilities, over 3,000 in Washington County alone,” Dana Millington said. “But then there’s a whole other aspect—we’re creating a place where these kids can play with their able-bodied friends where now they don’t have a place.”

She said the playground is also being designed to be accessible to all families.

“For our military families, there are a lot of young parents coming back injured from war who are now disabled, and this will present them a place to interact with their children,” she said.

The structure would be the dedicated to children with disabilities at the Bielenberg Sports Center. has already begin. The baseball field will be specially designed to .

To donate to the playground, visit the Madison Claire Foundation's website.