Friday’s occasional breaks of sunshine through cloudy skies and no rain were welcomed by workers at the building site of Meridian’s first all-inclusive playground, Jeannie’s Place at Planet Playground.

The week of the build has been hampered by heavy rains — some accompanied by thunder, lightning and light wind. Nonetheless, volunteers have worked non-stop.

“We’ve made tremendous progress every day thanks to the many people who have come out to volunteer — businesses, churches, schools, individuals and everything in between,” city of Meridian employee and project coordinator Julie Norman said.

“We’re getting a playground, but we’re doing some community building as well, which has been very positive,” Norman said.

Julie Null, the mother of the playground’s namesake, echoed Norman’s observations on the unity fostered this week through the playground build.

“We’ve had so many people to come out — some wearing raincoats and rain boots — to work together to build something for everyone to enjoy,” Null said. “They have truly been committed, whatever we need they are there doing it. And we appreciate them.”

Fourteen-year-old Jeannie is also excited about the progression of the playground project.

“She is so excited and thrilled about everything,” Null said. “She hasn’t been out to the site in a couple of days, so she’s looking forward to going out there to see everything.”

The long-awaited project, not only a first for Meridian but also the largest all-inclusive playground in the state, was prompted by Null when a then elementary school-age Jeannie was unable to participate in a fundraiser prize of a ride in a Hummer to a local playground.

Jeannie, who is developmentally delayed, is unable to swing or slide at the playground like other children.

“I’ve wanted this (playground) to be something not just for Jeannie, but for all children in Meridian and throughout Mississippi,” Null said.

Seed money for the project was provided by the City of Meridian and Lauderdale County, with additional funding provided through fundraisers, grants, private and corporate donations. It wasn’t long before the community got involved in the project through financial contributions and unkind services. The Meridian Junior Auxiliary Provisional Class raised money to buy a merry-go-round.

Lamar School students Jake Davidson and William Lamar raised $145,000 (to date) to help renovate the playground and the Downtown Optimist Club pledge to match donations of $100 or more by the end of 2018, up to $10,000. Southern Pipe, the company where Jeannie’s father is employed, donated $25,000 to the project.

Unlike other playgrounds in the state with inclusive features that are large, Jeannie’s Place at Planet Playground is all-inclusive where the entire playground is accessible in its design and the main structure is ramped and accessible.

The playground will feature a wheelchair-assessable merry-go-round that is flush with the ground and the wheelchair can be rolled into it.

Other features include swings, including a swing specifically for people in wheelchairs called the Liberty Swing; several slides, including a stainless steel slide specifically for people with cochlear implants (a surgically implanted device that provides a sense of sound to individuals with severe to profound hearing loss); and other popular playground equipment. The ramps will allow two wheelchairs on them simultaneously.

Due to the week’s rain and extreme weather conditions, the build for the playground is behind schedule, prompting a few adjustments.

“So many of the things we have on site — our materials, trailers and tools — are borrowed from several businesses. So we want to get as much work as we possibly can out of this build week,” Norman said.

The project coordinator said she hopes Saturday and Sunday’s work not only will allow for “catch up” time on the project, but also will bring out more volunteers.

“We’ve had really, really good volunteer turnout days, even with the rain. It looks like the rain is going to hold off until late afternoon Saturday, so we’re really looking forward to an even larger turnout,” Norman said.

Sunday at 5 p.m. marks the end of the build, which started Monday.

“We’re going to access where we are, and if we need to do another build weekend or something more, we’ll do that,” the project coordinator said. Sunday’s scheduled ribbon cutting will probably be more of a build week celebration of the community, Norman said.

“There’s hamburgers and hotdogs, cupcakes and cookies, face painting and balloon artists, and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are going to be here, as well as one of the Minions,” she said. “We hope some features of the playground will be accessible.”

And to commemorate the occasion, tiles of children’s handprints will be available for purchase.

“We’re going to celebrate what our community has done this week, which has been tremendous,” Norman said.