'It is just awesome': Mason's Place celebrates first year with donation for future phase

For its first birthday, Tuscaloosa’s only all-inclusive playground received a $10,000 gift meant to benefit children of all ages.

The financial contribution came Thursday from The Hank Poore Foundation as part of the one-year anniversary celebration of “Mason’s Place,” the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority’s playground designed for children of all abilities.

This contribution will go toward the playground’s planned $1.34 million Phase II.

“It is just awesome that this foundation is giving to the playground,” said Becky Booker, PARA's public relations and marketing manager.

Inspired by Hank Poore, a Tuscaloosa resident with cerebral palsy, The Hank Poore Foundation is an organization formed by a small group of family and friends in 2020 to provide community, connection and support to people with disabilities, according to the foundation’s website.

Previously: Kids, community celebrate opening of all-inclusive playground at Sokol Park

More: Donation will help add equipment to Tuscaloosa's all-inclusive playground

“(The foundation) was born out of a desire to provide others with the opportunities and experiences that Hank has had, and is built on the ideals of inclusion, engagement, education, and unity,” the foundation said. “These ideals have played significant roles in Hank’s life, both as he has lived them out and as others have embodied them.”

When Mason’s Place, named for Barry Mason, the fundraising chair for the PARA Foundation and former board chairman, opened one year ago in Sokol Park, it began with what officials described as the known as the $1.1 million University Phase, which featured playground equipment fashioned after University of Alabama landmarks Denny Chimes and the Quad, as well as Bryant-Denny Stadium.

It also included a custom pavilion featuring restrooms that conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act. These restrooms offer adult-sized changing tables, something organizers said was meant to ensure that a variety of families can enjoy the park.

The project is a cooperative venture between local governments including the city of Tuscaloosa, the city of Northport and the Tuscaloosa County Commission, as money raised from private donors. The project's budget is $4 million.

The Nick's Kids Foundation, the charity foundation of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban and his wife, Terry Saban, contributed an initial $200,000 to the project and is one of many private donors to the project.

"I feel so happy, so elated, that we are coming together with PARA and the individual community leaders to create something that everyone can enjoy, children and adults of all abilities," Ms. Terry said at the September 2020 groundbreaking ceremony for the playground.

"Nick and I believe that playgrounds should be for all children including those with special needs,” she said. “The PARA All-Inclusive Playground will be a fun-filled attraction that will enrich the lives of so many families in our community. Nick's Kids is proud to make the leadership donation to jump-start this fundraising initiative.

“The PARA All-Inclusive Playground will be a destination for every child in Alabama."

For Phase II, which still needs about $200,000 to reach its funding goal, Booker said, the design calls for woodland-themed playground, with custom pieces designed to resemble the wooded areas of Tuscaloosa.

It will also include an additional pavilion, a second wheelchair swing, more sensory electronic games and slides, among other amenities.

Earlier this year, members of the Tuscaloosa Exchange Club presented a $30,000 check to the PARA Foundation at Indian Hills Country Club to bolster the second phase’s construction.

"One of the pillars of service for the Exchange Club includes children. So, we look around to help out things in the community that supports children," said Glen Smith, the club's treasurer, in January.

And there still remains opportunities to help with the completion of Phase II or the future construction of the planned Phase III.

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According to PARA, contribution levels include:

• Champions: $250,000 and above. Contributions at this level will come with permanent signage acknowledging naming rights at the site, a name on a contribution marker, the donor’s listing on the PARA Foundation website with a link to the donating business or foundation, and recognition in a media release.

• Visionaries: $100,000 and above. Contributions at this level will come with a name on a contribution marker, the donor’s listing on the PARA Foundation website with a link to donating business or foundation, and recognition in a media release.

• Innovators: $50,000 and above. Contributions at this level will come with a name on a contribution marker, the donor’s listing on the PARA Foundation website with a link to the donating business or foundation.

• Believers: $25,000 and above. Contributions at this level will include a name on a contribution marker and the donor’s listing on the PARA Foundation website with a link to the donating business or foundation

• Creators: $10,000 and above. Contributions at this level will include a name on a contribution marker.

• Dreamers: $5,000 and above. Contributions at this level will include a name on a contribution marker.

• Friends: $1,000 and above. Contributions at this level will include a name on a contribution marker.

Donations can be mailed to PARA Foundation, P.O. Box 2496, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403 or via tcpara.org/donate.

For more information on the playground or how to contribute, contact Caroline Lasseter, director of outreach for the PARA Foundation, at classeter@tcpara.org or 205-792-8900, or project manager and playground designer Adrian Cleckler at acleckler@tcpara.org.

Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa's all-inclusive playground celebrates first year of smiles