A Place to Play

There’s a new place for kids to play in Kennewick, Washington. It’s called Kason’s Korner. It’s named for Kason Creed, the boy who inspired it.

TEAM EFFORT Kason and his parents (Andrea, at left, and Miles, in hat) pose for a group shot on November 7, 2023, with the people who made Kason’s Korner a reality. Nick Farline is at far right.

Nine-year-old Kason has cerebral palsy. The condition affects his ability to walk, so he uses a wheelchair. One day, he and his grandmother stopped at a playground in a town more than a hundred miles from his home, where he’d had a doctor’s appointment. Kason was excited because the playground had swings that he could easily use. “I loved it,” he told TIME for Kids.

There wasn’t a playground with the same kind of equipment closer to Kason’s home. He imagined a park in his community where kids of all abilities could play together. So he started Kason’s Kause, a campaign to create inclusive playgrounds.

Using His Voice

In 2022, Kason and his grandmother went to city council meetings in nearby cities. At each, Kason spoke to local leaders about the need for inclusive playgrounds.

“I was nervous at my first meeting, then I got better at the second one, and by the third one, I was absolutely fine,” Kason says. “I have a motto: ‘From my heart to my brain to my mouth.’” His words flowed naturally, no note cards required.

HE INSPIRES Kason speaks from his heart during the opening-day event at Kason’s Korner.

“He knocked it out of the park” every time, says Kason’s grandmother Pam Bieren.

Kason’s courage impressed Nick Farline, who works for Kennewick’s parks and recreation department. He heard Kason speak at a Kennewick City Council meeting. “He’s got something here,” Farline remembers thinking. “We need to listen and take it seriously.”

Farline held meetings to study the city’s playgrounds, including the Playground of Dreams, in Columbia Park. Kason was invited to attend and share ideas on how to improve the playground. “It was super eye-opening,” Farline says. When it came time to name the park’s new play area, Farline adds, the solution was obvious: “We should dedicate this to Kason.”

Play for All

Kason’s Korner officially opened at the Playground of Dreams on November 7. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Kason did the honors. (“These are gigantic scissors!” he remembers thinking.) The playground includes a We-Go-Round, a merry-go-round that can fit wheelchairs; a We-saw, which is an accessible see-saw; and a play center that kids can explore through touch and sound.

JOYRIDE Kason and friends enjoy a ride on the We-saw at Kason’s Korner on opening day.

What’s more, the playground’s surface is covered with a material called Playground Grass, instead of bark chips. “Most kids can’t move their wheelchairs through bark chips,” Kason says.

Farline says the city plans to create even more inclusive play spaces. The work Kason started, he adds, “is going to affect thousands of people in the community for—we hope—decades.”

If there’s something you’d like to improve in your community, Kason has advice: “If you want to do it that badly, you need to just go for it.”

Inspired?

Next month, we’ll feature kids who are boosting literacy. Could you be one of them? Click here for ideas on how you can make reading and education more accessible for all in your community.