Check out the time lapsed video of this large 3 day community build plaground project

“Grief is exhausting. You don’t want to wake up from it,” admits Lynn Cummings. Her grandson Jacob Myles Cummings Nasto passed away in 2008. Jake’s rare heart condition, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, kept him in the hospital for operations and away from his favorite place: the playground.

“Jake’s disability made it difficult for him to play on the playground, but he loved it there. He’d light up when other kids were around. Seeing them have fun was his motivation,” she recalls. 

Jake received his physical therapy on the local playground, which is typical for special needs children.

After Jake passed away, his parents Joseph Nasto and Kate Cummings were devastated. “My daughter [Kate] was never happy. But when we received a gift to do something in memory of Jake, she knew what to do: build a playground. This idea gave us life,” Lynn explains.

That’s how Build Jake’s Playground (BJP), their nonprofit organization dedicated to building all-access playgrounds, took its first steps.

 During the fundraising and planning process, they worked with Michael Wiley, their General Recreation sales consultant. “Michael listened to our vision,” Lynn says, “When we asked what we could do, both he and Landscape Structures fought for that vision. When Kate reviewed the design, her face lit up. She was so excited!” 

They also were invited to visit Landscape Structures Inc. (LSI) in Delano, Minnesota. Lynn recalls, “It was wise to bring us there. There’s no replacement for face-to-face relationships. We became immersed in LSI’s values which perfectly aligned with ours,” BJP wanted to work with a company that was green and well researched in accessible, inclusive designs.

General Recreation and BJP organized and oversaw the community-build in September. Hundreds of volunteers from the region and neighboring states came daily to help build Jake’s playground. “For two full weeks, both Andy Cush [from General Recreation] and Michael were always on-site to guide and help us," says Lynn.

 On October 15, “Jake’s Place” officially opened at Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. As the first fully accessible playground in Camden County, it's a boon to the some 12,000 children with disabilities living in Camden County.

During the construction, Lynn admits that she didn’t feel like herself. “I didn’t understand why I didn’t feel exhilaration. The morning of opening day, though, I heard noises coming from the playground. I looked up and my heart just burst open. Children from our local school for disabilities were playing. When I saw them, it was the most amazing feeling of accomplishment in the world.”

What’s next for Build Jake’s Playground? The organization hopes to build a Miracle League Field, a handicap-accessible baseball field. “But building these parks is not enough,” explains Lynn. “Education is a huge component of what we must do, to help others understand that they don’t have to be uncomfortable or afraid of people with special needs.” 

For more information about how we help with playground design and development, contact General Recreation, Inc. at 800-726-4792 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   To see other playground projetcs we have completed Click Here

When children without disabilities visit a typical playground, they see what’s possible. When viewed through the eyes of a child with a disability, he or she sees what isn’t possible on that same playground.

“Our eyes must be opened to see a world that often fails to accommodate the disabled,” says Chris Kaag, Founder and Executive Director of the Wyomissing-based IM ABLE Foundation. IM ABLE promotes physical and mental activities and funds adaptive equipment grants for children with disabilities. Chris believes that playgrounds should be places where children can have the childhood he enjoyed before a degenerative nerve condition robbed him of his mobility in his early 20s. Fifteen years later, the former Marine credits his disability with opening his eyes to that world.

When Chris met Modesto Fiume, president of Reading-based Opportunity House, Modesto was working on a new playground to add to another play area for five to 12-year olds. Twelve years earlier, General Recreation had helped the organization build a playground for pre-school aged children.  “The Backyard” playground rounds out an expanding campus that includes a homeless shelter, technology center, community garden, picnic area, and gym.

“When Chris proposed the concept to make the playground inclusive and adaptive, it made sense,” explains Modesto. “Based on studies done in our area, there are more than 200,000 children with various physical or learning disabilities. 80 percent of the children are not active.”  “We wanted to reach them, as well as able-bodied children who didn’t have a safe place to play,” adds Chris.

“The Backyard” playground was installed on June 23 with the financial and physical efforts of IM ABLE Foundation, Gilmore/Henne Community Fund, Berks Youth in Action and Opportunity House. 

Berks Youth in Action (BYIA), a group of high school students from three local schools raised $65,000 for the playground through special events like dances and corporate sponsorships. “We got involved when we approached IM ABLE and decided to partner with them. Never did we think we’d be so successful and able to build such an amazing playground,” says Betsy Finneran, a BYIA coordinator.

Christine Anderton, Executive Director of the Gilmore/Henne Community Fund, whose mission is to maintain, and now create, safe, clean playgrounds for children, coordinated the one-day Community Build that included more than 400 volunteers.  “Typically, we revitalize existing playgrounds, however we were really excited to work on a new playground, particularly because of the accessibility focus of it,” she explains.

During the Community-Build day, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne, who co-founded the Gilmore/Henne Community Fund with fellow recently retired NFL player and former Wilson High School star John Gilmore, returned to Berks County to help.

“That day was remarkable. We were really impressed with the way the Gilmore/Henne Community Fund organized it,” remembers Chris.  The project's adaptive design is the first of its kind in Berks County. Complete with ramps, wheelchair-accessible structures, and inclusive sensory play events, the playground was designed by Andy Cush of General Recreation.  "The kids won't notice [the design]," said Chris, "But the kids with disabilities will.

“Picking the site location on campus was important,” explains Modesto. “Andy helped us decide to place it in an existing parking lot. It was flat so no steps or elevation change was needed to make it accessible. Andy knew what would and wouldn’t work in the design. He made everything run smoothly.”   “Andy had everyone’s best interests at heart and was willing to do whatever it took. We loved working with him,” adds Christine.

On July 28, the various partners and community celebrated the Backyard’s ribbon cutting ceremony, along with an IM ABLE “Get Up and Move Day.” With the tagline, “No excuses. Just move,” this special event was geared for physically and mentally disabled children in Berks County.

“This is a great example of non-profits coming together to improve the community. Great things happen! Our impact is stronger working together than individually,” says Modesto.

To learn more about this collaboration, contact General Recreation at 800.726.4793 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

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To see other Playground Projects we have completed Click Here