LYNN — Lynn Vocational Technical Institute (LVTI) students braved a frigid Friday to underscore their determination to raise money to pay for a playground all children can enjoy.
Led by SkillsUSA advisor Jason McCuish, more than 200 students walked from Neptune Boulevard to Lynn Common and back to celebrate the almost $30,000 in fund-raising commitments they have already received.
Inclusive playgrounds are designed to provide a safe place where children of all abilities can play together, and are developmentally appropriate for children with and without disabilities.
The students’ goal is to get the playground built at the Friend Street school by May. A preliminary price tag for the project is $300,000.
“This is for kids, including ones in wheelchairs and with social and emotional needs,” said SkillsUSA advisor and Tech English teacher Claire Price.
SkillsUSA is a national organization fostering competitive innovation and the LVTI chapter has won several competitions. McCuish and Price said chapter members harnessed their talents this year to inspire fellow students to aid in the playground fund-raising drive.
They also sought help from groups in other Lynn public schools, including Project Yes, Breed Middle School all stars, English High School girls’ basketball team, Classical High School honor society, Pickering Middle School honor society, Lynn Teachers Union and the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts.
SkillsUSA member and LVTI junior Nyssa Lewis said students will bolster their money-raising efforts by reaching out to attract corporate sponsors for the inclusive playground.
“It’s so important kids have fun and meet other kids,” she said.
LVTI students, faculty and invited guests crammed into the school fieldhouse on Friday, the last day of school before the holiday vacation, to rally around the fund-raising campaign.
“We come together today with a purpose and a vision to be agents of change,” said LVTI senior and SkillsUSA member Brian Lopez.
LVTI Principal Carissa Karakaedos called the fund-raising drive “the Tech way” of taking on challenges and said the initiative reflects the school’s “sense of togetherness and community.”
“This playground is a huge undertaking. There is no doubt Lynn Tech will come through,” she said.
