Firefighters, college students, sailors and other community members pitched in on Monday morning to bring Jeannie’s Place at Planet Playground to life, bringing the long-awaited accessible playground one step closer to reality. 

“It’s just amazing to see this many people come out in support,” said Jason Null, the father of Jeannie Null, who inspired the playground. “We’re a little behind but we’re hoping with the volunteers we can get back up to speed and on schedule again.”

The goal is to complete the project and hold a ribbon cutting by Sunday evening.

City workers finalized dirt work on the site while volunteers prepared platforms and boxes for the playground. Elements of the playground will include a steel slide, which children with cochlear implants can enjoy, and wheelchair-user friendly swings and a merry-go-round.

The newest provisional class of Junior Auxiliary took on the effort of recruiting and coordinating volunteers and Bonnie Holloman, with JA, fielded emails and calls in the weeks leading up to the project.

“Through social media outlets and just word-of-mouth, we’ve touched the community and reached out to them,” Holloman said. “Through (those), people sent in and just told us, ‘We want to help. What can we do?'”

Holloman said JA members broke volunteers down into shifts and types of volunteers, including volunteers previously trained to use a saw or impact drill and volunteers wanting to donate food or water.

“We still need more, especially the afternoons and night shifts as well as the weekend,” Holloman said. “I would say probably 1,500 (people) and up (reached out). And that’s just from me… other members have heard from even more than that. People not even in the community are involved and ready to go.”

Holloman said the community could email jeanniesplacevolunteer@gmail.com to learn how they can help.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions for many people – whether it’s been having the outreach of the first project seeing it from 20 years how it’s evolved – as well as the children of all abilities aspect of this,” Holloman said. “This is an all inclusive playground that children with special needs will be able to be a part of.”

Students from Meridian Community College arrived early Monday morning to begin the effort, coordinating sawhorses, work tables and more. 

For Shannon Bedwell, an electrical technology program student, the volunteer effort taught him and his classmates about real-life projects.

“It makes everybody work as a team; it makes us learn to work together instead of being so independent,” Bedwell said. 

More than that, building a playground for other children felt like a way for Bedwell to express his gratitude, he said. 

“As far as coming out here it’s just a good way to give back to the community,” Bedwell said. “The community does so much for us, it’s good to be able to give back to them.”