Fifteen years ago, Harper’s Playground was born from a simple yet powerful dream: to create radically inclusive, nature-rich playgrounds where people of all ages and abilities can play together. Now, as we launch a whole year of events in honor of our 15th anniversary, I am filled with gratitude for every person who has been part of this journey – supporters like you, who believe in the power of play to change the world.
As I think back about all of the people, resources, and ideas that had to come together at just the right moments to make that first playground (and everything since then) happen, the month of March stands out. Maybe it’s a little bit o’ that St. Paddy’s Day luck. Maybe it’s the power of 3’s (after all, March is the third month of the year). Maybe it’s just because my birthday happens to be March 1st.
Whatever it is, when it comes to Harper’s Playground, three of the most wonderful gifts I’ve ever received arrived in March:
1. When Harper’s Playground was first getting started, before we became an official organization of any kind, we had to gain local support. On March 1st, 2010, the Arbor Lodge Neighborhood Association came through for us with a public letter that not only offered that support, but made our first project – the original Harper’s Playground – a priority for the whole neighborhood.
2. One year later, on March 1st, 2011, we were given the gift of a professionally guided collaborative design process (the technical term is charrette) that would normally have cost tens of thousands of dollars. With the community backing us and the plans in hand to move forward, this is where Harper’s Playground started to become a reality that went beyond our wildest dreams.
3. Ten years ago today, on March 6th, 2015, after five years of operating as a recognized organization in the state of Oregon, we received our federal designation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit from the IRS, – allowing your gifts to be eligible for tax deductions, too. This was that all-important step we needed to take to keep building even more Harper’s Playgrounds beyond that first magical creation.
We wouldn’t be here today without those gifts. And Harper’s Playground wouldn’t be what it is today without you. So let’s celebrate!
Here are the three biggest ways to get in on the anniversary action:
1. Join us for a volunteer clean-up event, including one where it all began for at Harper’s Playground in Portland’s Arbor Lodge Park on June 1st. Sign up here!
2. Enjoy our most recently completed playground for our annual free Day of Play at the Chelsea Anderson Memorial Play Station (CHAMPS) in Vancouver’s Marshall Park on June 28th.
3. Celebrate in playfully-dressy style at our Summer(ish) Soirée at Portland’s AVENUE on September 27th. Tickets will be available later this year.
We’ll have special anniversary activities at all three events, honoring everyone and everything – and every gift – it took to realize our shared vision of a more inclusive, joyful, playful world.
Thank you for being part of Harper’s Playground. I hope to see you soon!
With immense gratitude,
G Cody QJ Goldberg
P.S. Over the last fifteen years, what began as my family’s urgent personal mission to make sure our daughter simply had somewhere to play has transformed into an international movement. This year, with more than a dozen playgrounds already completed (one as far away as Japan!), we have new playgrounds, workshops, and partnerships underway from Bothell, Washington to Selma, Alabama. We are also providing consultation and design resources to projects and communities that span the globe. Together, we are changing the world. To make a special March gift in support of this work, you can donate here.