Shane's Inspiration is a California-based

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that works toward creating accessible playgrounds and supporting inclusive play, through projects in the United States and abroad.

Origins

Shane's Inspiration was founded in 1998, by television producer Scott A. Williams and his wife Catherine Curry-Williams, and their friend Tiffany Harris, in memory of Scott and Catherine's son Shane, who died in infancy from the effects of

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

. They were inspired in part by the work of Amy Jaffe Barzach, founder of Boundless Playgrounds a few years earlier. The flagship Shane's Inspiration playground in

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Amer ...

opened in the autumn of 2000.

Projects and programs

Since the first playground was established, more than fifty community playgrounds have followed, large and small, with involvement from Shane's Inspiration which may include help with design, sourcing materials, grant writing, working with local governments, or other steps in the process. Among their completed projects are Aidan's Place in Westwood, Brandon's Village in

Calabasas Calabasas may refer to: * Calabasas, Arizona, former populated place in what is now Rio Rico, Arizona * Calabasas, California, city in Los Angeles County, California See also * Calabaza Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish langua ...

, Chanticleer Park in

Live Oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

, SEBA Park in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, Winwood's Enchanted Playground in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, Fernangeles Park in

Sun Valley, California Sun Valley is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California in the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood is known for its younger population. There are three recreation centers in Sun Valley, one of which is a historic site. The neighborhood ...

, and inclusive playgrounds in

Cuenca, Ecuador Cuenca, officially Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca, is an Ecuadorian city, head of the Cuenca Canton, canton of the same name and capital of the Azuay Province, province of Azuay, as well as its largest and most populated city. It is crossed by t ...

and

Bangalore, India Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. In addition to the building of physical playgrounds, Shane's Inspiration has developed curricula and social programming to sustain inclusive play at the sites it develops. Shane's Inspiration has also collaborated with Too Small to Fail and equipment manufacturer Landscape Structures Inc., to create playground signage in English and Spanish that encourages conversations between parents and children. Fundraising activities for Shane's Inspiration include the annual "Walk and Roll" event in Griffith Park.Danny LoPriore
"Yonkers' Scott Williams Writes NCIS, Builds Playgrounds"
''Yonkers Daily Voice'' (October 1, 2012).

References

External links

{{commonscat, Shane's Inspiration
Shane's Inspiration's website.
Disability organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in California