Touchwood Park in partnership with ArtsForward held an Art Exhibit & Luncheon on April 3, 2024, to help raise funds for the upcoming Accessible Playground in the Town of Neepawa. The said Art Exhibit displayed the artworks of Touchwood Art students with the support of their Art Teacher, Gerry Oliver.“Today is a fundraiser for the playground at Touchwood and it has incorporated the artwork of my Touchwood Art class. So it’s an opportunity for the public to see our Art. I think this is probably a year’s worth of Art and as well as enjoy some wonderful cooking.” said Oliver.

ArtsForward Administrator Yvonne Sisley explained what this fundraiser is all about and how they came up with the idea. “It’s actually the fundraiser for the Accessible Playground that Touchwood Park has spearheaded to bring to Neepawa. The Accessible playground itself is absolutely amazing. There’s wheelchair swings, a communication board with English and Tagalog on it. Just the whole set up of the playground, it makes it inclusive for everybody whether its children or adults for that playground. So we thought what a great idea to help do a fundraiser and get the word out about the accessible playground that they are doing. I was working over at Touchwoods for a brief time and it’s something that I’m very passionate about. I think the organization is amazing for what they do for Neepawa. The individuals are absolutely amazing and have my heart. So I think anything we can do to get the word out.”, said Sisley.  

With these kinds of projects, we are hopeful that the community will be able to see more inclusive and age-friendly infrastructures to remove barriers to accessibility that some of our community members are facing.