PERRY HALL, MD — Angel Park, an inclusive playground in Perry Hall, has reopened to visitors after a two-month closure for renovations.
For a decade, Angel Park has welcomed visitors of all ages and abilities. A central feature of the park's inclusivity is its surface, which was fully redone during the closure.
"It is safe and children that have limitations that are in wheelchairs or braces to be able to have them roll alongside or run alongside their friends and play on the playground and not have any limitations, that's what the surface does for all the children," said Kelli Szczybor, co-founder of Angel Park.
The new surface also features thicker padding in high-risk areas to protect children who fall. The renovation allowed the park to serve visitors like Joe, the first person to use the wheelchair swing when the park opened a decade ago, who continues to return.
The closure also gave organizers the opportunity to make additional improvements throughout the park.
"Then while that was being done, we were able to fix some of the pieces inside the equipment that needed to be refurbished, provide new fresh paint on a lot of the things, and change a few things that weren't as exciting in the playground. We were able to update those," Szczybor said.
Szczybor started the project in memory of her son Ryan, who passed away from leukemia.
"And then in doing that meeting others in the community that also were grieving and just building something that everybody can take ownership together as a community, we raised the money together as a community, we built it as a community, we take care of it as a community," Szczybor said.
Now, her niece and granddaughter are among those who get to enjoy the park she helped build.
"It's very like there's no mean things about it, it's all nice and everybody's nice to each other and just have fun," said Bryn Hacke, Szczybor's niece.
The resurfacing was made possible with funding from the county and donations of time and money from the community.
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