For many summers, the Bowling family set up a lemonade stand in Berthoud, serving cups of lemonade with a smile. Every cup is served in hopes of raising enough funds for an inclusive park and now, the time has arrived.
The Bowlings, in partnership with Can’d Aid, a nonprofit organization, have raised more than $1 million for the Berthoud Adaptive Park Project and expect to break ground in April.
Lauren and Richard Bowling began advocating for more inclusive spaces for their son, Miles, who has lived with cerebral palsy. This led him to be in a wheelchair and prevented him from fully partaking in activities at most parks.
The Bowling family began setting up a lemonade stand every summer, inspiring the community to come together towards a common goal of building the first inclusive park across the Front Range.
“They raised $11,000 the first year and realized there’s a lot of community support so they started dreaming bigger,” said Can’d Aid Director Diana Hicks.
As funds started to trickle in, the town of Berthoud’s Board of Trustees voted to donate $650,000 towards the project and the park’s developer donated another $200,000, bringing the total donations to more than $1 million.
The park will be equipped with auditory features and be fully wheelchair accessible.
“Every single bit of it is fully inclusive so it's not just for wheelchairs. Even if grandparents or parents have mobility challenges, they’ll be able to get on the playground and engage with the kids,” Hicks said.
Beyond the slides, the project leaders plan to include a permanent lemonade stand at the park to encourage young children to fundraise for other community projects.
“The idea behind it is to introduce kids to this entrepreneurial spirit and giving back,” Hicks said.
Can’d Aid and the Bowling family expect to break ground in April and begin building the park in the summer.
