Veterans Memorial Park in Tupelo has unveiled two new wheelchair-accessible swings after a Mississippi child banded community members together to raise thousands of dollars.
The new inclusive play swings were opened to residents in December, with 12-year-old Caleb Rodgers and his family in attendance at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
According to his mother, Jennie Rodgers, Caleb got the idea to raise money for the Tupelo park after his father built him a wheelchair-accessible swing in 2022.
“Caleb has always thought about other people,” Rodgers said on Good Things with Rebecca Turner. “He said, ‘I want to use my money for other kids to enjoy a swing like my swing.'”
Rodgers explained that Caleb, who was born with cerebral palsy, had originally wanted to use his life savings to raise enough money for a new wheelchair-accessible swing to be constructed at the park.
Instead, the Rodgers and community members worked with Tupelo Parks and Recreation to collect over $22,000 for the Tupelo Memorial Park to have two inclusive play swings for residents of all ages to use.
“The community just really came together and we raised enough money not just for one, but for two,” Rodgers said. “Each one of those swings, if I’m not mistaken, was over $6,000. When it does come to public safety, there was a lot involved in making sure everything was following exactly the way it needed to be.”
