By Taylor Boyd
Laughter and cheers filled the air Monday at Meadow View Elementary School as students, educators, and Lions Club members cut the ribbon on a new inclusive playground. For the first time, children of all abilities can play, learn, and grow together on equipment designed with accessibility in mind.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Amy Blake-Lewis said, “Meadow View has long been a place where students with disabilities are not only supported but celebrated. This inclusive playground reflects that spirit. It represents our shared commitment to ensuring that all students have access to the same opportunities for connection, joy, and discovery.”
Blake-Lewis said the playground also stands as a symbol of what can happen when educators, families, community organizations, and leaders work together.
“It is a place where students will laugh, play, build friendships, and feel included for years to come,” she said.
The playground features three distinct areas. One includes a variety of swings, seesaws, an American Sign Language guide, a tic-tac-toe game, and other equipment. Another has sensory cubes and xylophone-like flowers that students can play to create noise. A third includes a spinning roundabout and a wheelchair-accessible boat that rocks back and forth with movement.
The Lions Club International donated $190,062.19 to the project.
Blake-Lewis noted that former Meadow View Principal Renée Scott laid the groundwork for the playground.
“Although she is unable to be with us today, we are deeply grateful for her role in getting this project started,” she said.
Henry County School Board chairman Teddy Martin II, of the Reed Creek District, said the playground was possible thanks to support from the Martinsville-Henry County Lions Club, Lions of Virginia District 24-C, the Lions of Virginia Foundation, Lions Clubs International Foundation, and the community.
“The school board has made this a point of emphasis for inclusive playgrounds as well as accessibility generally by putting a few million dollars into whether it be playgrounds, elevators, or other items to try to make this more accessible. We wouldn’t be able to provide additional support without partnerships such as these,” Martin said.
Champ Hardie, of the Ridgeway District, said physical activity is important for students’ overall health.
“It’s wonderful to see that handicapped students, and all the other students, will be able to participate in physical fitness and build themselves up, and so on. I am so glad to see this done,” he said.
Babette Newman, first vice district governor of the 24-C Lions Club, said she believes the students will be amazed by the playground.
“It’s wonderful to see what a community can do when they come together,” she said.
Newman said what impressed her most was that the Lions Clubs International Foundation approved the project and provided matching funds.
“This project was approved by an international board of directors from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, and they found that this project was truly wonderful,” she said.
Former Lions Club President Jim Clark said 90 percent of the approximately $190,000 raised came from residents of Martinsville-Henry County.
“I had never solicited money in 47 years as a lion other than $25 donations to Radio Days. We had some very, very gracious and caring people who donated heavily, and it was a pleasure to go out and talk to them and ask them for money,” he said.
Retired special education teacher and former Lions Club President Lori Floyd, who spent 31 years with the Henry County school division, said she saw the struggles children faced on the previous playgrounds.
“I didn’t think we’d get here, y’all. It has absolutely been worthwhile, and I know that these babies are absolutely going to love this playground and enjoy their time here even more,” she said.
With the new equipment, Floyd said students in special education, regardless of their disability, can now play alongside all their peers.
“So I just couldn’t be happier,” she said.
Lions Club President Woods Carter said he is amazed a project this size could be undertaken and accomplished by the club.
“I’ve been in the club for 25 years, but this is the biggest project I can remember that’s been undertaken and successfully completed. I’m just overwhelmed, really,” Carter said.
