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Effort underway to bring $1 million inclusive playground to Ellicottville

About a year ago, a group of moms in Ellicottville decided their town playground needed an upgrade.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — About a year ago, a group of moms in Ellicottville decided their town playground needed an upgrade. 

"Our current playground is very dated, some features are considered dangerous, and also it is not inclusive whatsoever," Molly Timkey told 2 On Your Side. 

With that, they decided to set out to raise a million dollars to bring an exciting new playground to their community. 

"A child in a wheelchair cannot access our playground easily, and we want to be able to provide a place for all children to play no matter their ability," Timkey said. "So our goal is to raise the funds to build a new, one of a kind beautiful, inclusive playground to replace our current existing playground." 

The design is set, and it celebrates what Ellicottville is best known for: its mountains and ski resorts.  

"We know it's a tourism area," Timkey said. "Both of our ski resorts, Holimont and Holiday Valley, have an adaptive ski resort at them, so families can bring their children to those ski areas, and allow them to ski with their families. They have these fun activities to do in the wintertime, and we want to be able to provide something to them for the summer time as well." 

The group is collaborating with a non-profit called Unlimited Play on some of the features, and Little Tikes will come in to build it. 

They're ramping up fundraising now through their website, and they hope to have the playground up next year. 

"We know its a relatively short timeline to be able to do something this big, but between our team and we're hoping that we can really bring everyone together to help meet those goals," Timkey said. "If it doesn't happen by 2025, 2026 will be our year."

To stay up to date on the Ellicottville Playground Project,  visit their website, Facebook, or Instagram page. 

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