Sertoma Club reinvigorates effort to build all-abilities playground

The timeline has been extended for the Sioux Falls Noon Sertoma Club’s efforts to incorporate all-abilities playground equipment at Sertoma Park.

The effort began with years of putting money away in hopes of contributing something big to the community, according to Sertoma Club representative Scott Newman.

“Being the fact that we built that park — it’s got our name on it —  it’s fitting that we would go ahead and put some money back into it to help upgrade it and keep it the crown jewel of the park system in Sioux Falls,” Newman said.

Discussions with the city led to the plans to include all-abilities equipment into the park system. The equipment is meant to provide a safe and inclusive play experience for all ages and abilities.

Similar initiatives by neighboring South Dakota clubs also served as inspiration for the project. Starting this effort at Sertoma Park — 4300 S. Oxbow Ave. — made the most sense as a way to collaborate with the city, Newman said.

“We just felt that there was a huge need for that in the city,” he said. “A lot of disabled people come to the city for all their doctoring and things like that, but they don’t really have any place to kill any time or do anything that’s specifically for them. We think there’s a huge void in the city park system for an area like this.”

When the project began in 2022, the group hoped to be finished within a three-year time frame. So far, member donations and fundraising have generated roughly 40 percent of the final goal of $500,000.

The group hopes to replace two sections of aging equipment at Sertoma with new play options geared for all ages and abilities.

Attempting to bring momentum back into the project, the club has brought in a new marketing company that specializes in these types of parks. The hope is to bring in new donors, revamp the park’s design and ultimately gain more visibility for the project.

“We want to do it right,” Newman said. “So that’s the biggest thing. Even though we had a three-year plan, our goal is to raise the money and do it right — do it justice. Hopefully, we can get it going sooner rather than later.”

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Sioux Falls also will add an accessible playground this summer downtown as Jacobson Plaza, which is under construction at Falls Park West. The equipment is designed for those of all abilities.