Gracie Harper
The city of Clemson has officially opened its first wheelchair-accessible swing at Ashley Dearing Park
On Sept. 26, the city of Clemson held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its first wheelchair-accessible swing at Ashley Dearing Park.
This swing is the first of its kind in the city of Clemson and the third in Pickens County.
The initiative was created by the Youth Leadership Academy, a charter middle school in Pickens, South Carolina. The school collaborated with law enforcement and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety to organize the Hot Pursuit 5K and 1 Mile Catch-a-Cop Race. These events altogether raised about $50,000.
Nathan Swords, who oversees special projects at YLA, discussed at the ceremony that the lack of inclusion in recreation became apparent when he experienced difficulties finding a vendor. In fact, there was only one vendor in the entire United States that manufactured wheelchair-accessible swings. The original cost was initially around $75,000, but YLA was able to find a Canadian company, Jean Bett Inc., which had a distributor in Florida and offered a much more feasible price.
Before the ribbon cutting, Pickens County Sheriff Tommy Blankenship spoke to the crowd.
“This isn’t just steel and concrete. It’s not only an implement to bring joy,” Blankenship said. “But it’s about hope. The hope that there are children that will feel involved and engaged now. But even more so, the hope for the future.”
He also spoke directly to the students of YLA, stating that the true meaning of leadership is not about power, positions or recognition. Instead, “true leadership is all about losing yourself in the service of others.”
“I want to tell you, students of the Youth Leadership Academy, you need not wonder, you’ve participated in something larger than yourselves,” Blankenship continued.
Robert Halfacre, the mayor of Clemson, emphasized the importance of taking action to supplement intention and how the students of YLA didn’t just talk about making recreation more inclusive. Rather, the students “went out and did something.”
“That swing is a promise that every child, regardless of ability, has a place to play, to laugh and to feel the pure joy of swinging. This is a big deal for the city and the whole county,” Halfacre said.
Halfacre also spoke about Ashley Dearing, a boy who passed away at the age of 13 in 1983, for whom the park is named.
“He was a servant leader, a young individual, that brought people out to this park,” Halfacre said. He connected Dearing’s brave leadership to the students of YLA. “I’m looking to the crowd in the back, and the leaders, future leaders. What you can do and what a difference. This is a tremendous event that we’re having today. But think about also what Ashley Dearing did for our park many years ago.”
Lizzie Thompson, the first person to ride the swing, grinned as the swing lifted and the crowd cheered.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Kelli Grace Altop, the second person to ride the swing, said that accessibility in play and recreation is “very, very important” for the broader disabled community.
“We all matter, we all have places,” Altop said. “It’s highly important that we have inclusion, and it’s so important that we include everyone, not just some people.”
Altop also mentioned how much the swing meant for her and her family. “It means the world to me. It’s a huge dream come true. We’re so thankful for it.”