Inclusion Park project leaders react to READI allocation

An architectural drawing of the planned Greensburg/Decatur County Inclusion Park. (Provided Photo)

GREENSBURG, IN — On Thursday, Governor Eric Holcomb announced the quality of place projects and programs that are beginning to move forward across the state. The Greensburg/Decatur County Inclusion Park was showcased as a project that the state wanted to support by allocating $250,000 towards the local project.

“We are very excited today to learn that the State of Indiana picked our project to showcase to the rest of the state. With the grant money that we received, it moves us closer to making our project a reality,” Inclusion Park Director Brendan Bridges said.

The inclusion-focused park, which will be developed in Rebekah Park on the east side of Greensburg, will be a universally designed, sensory-rich environment enabling children of all abilities to interact and play.

The Inclusion Park will include equipment made for children of all ages and abilities, supporting physical, social, and emotional development. It will also accommodate adult participation as well, making it fun, and welcoming for residents and visiting families alike.

With construction slated to begin this fall, a special focus will be placed on physical accommodations, such as meeting ADA accessibility requirements; engagement of the senses so kids can explore the space’ and integration with other Rebekah Park features to support inclusion for all kids utilizing its spaces.

“We want all individuals to work together and bring a sense of inclusion to our community,” Bridges said.

With this donation, more than $530,000 has been raised for the inclusion park. Bridges said that the park funding is more than 75% completed and the committee is waiting on construction and installation cost.

“We are still waiting on construction cost but feel that we will have the final project cost by the end of the week. We want to thank the community for all their continued support, we are almost to the finish line,” he said.

The Greensburg/Decatur County Inclusion Park Committee would like to thank the State of Indiana, and the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) for their grant
initiative.

If you would like to continue to support the Greensburg/Decatur County Inclusion Park, you can mail donations to Decatur County Community Foundation, 101 E Main St., Suite 1, Greensburg, In 47240. You can also donate online at dccfound.org, and please make sure you type in “Decatur County Inclusion Park Fund.”

(Greensburg/Decatur County Inclusion Park press release)