The Voice of the Wildcats

The Paw Print

The Voice of the Wildcats

The Paw Print

The Voice of the Wildcats

The Paw Print

Coming Soon: Magic Bridge Playgrounds

Magic Bridge Playground is coming to Redwood City.
The Magic Bridge park in Redwood City remains under development.
Cedrik von Briel
The Magic Bridge park in Redwood City remains under development.

A Magic Bridge Playground for all abilities is opening in Redwood City around March 2020 and will need student volunteers.

Magic Bridge is a nonprofit organization that creates playgrounds accessible to everyone. They are looking for student volunteers to help at the already-existing Palo Alto location as well as at future parks. Their Palo Alto playground receives over 25,000 visitors a month, and the new Redwood City location, which will be twice the size, is expected to attract even more.

“The goal of Magic Bridge Playgrounds Foundation is to build playgrounds that meet the needs of absolutely every single person in the community,” founder and Executive Director Jill Asher said. “[These people include] the very young, very old, everything in between, those with disabilities, and those without. We believe that absolutely every single person in your community deserves and needs a place to play at every stage of life.”

A man looks at the Magic Bridge park in progress.

Currently, Magic Bridge is seeking a variety of volunteers.

“We have a Teen Kindness Ambassador Program where teens can volunteer for now at Magical Bridge Palo Alto,” Asher explained. “Once we open Redwood City, we’re definitely going to need Kindness Ambassadors, and they get community service hours.” 

The Volunteers at Magic Bridge Playgrounds, also known as Kindness Ambassadors, help the organization with activities that take place at the park.

“Mostly I do Facebook live videos, but that’s kind of my specialty,” described Woodside senior Colin Wilfrid, a Kindness Ambassador and Playground Reporter who records footage for the organization. “Other people float around and do face painting [and] give a simple greeting. They also do activities.”

Kindness Ambassadors also make sure that all of the visitors are included.

“[Kindness Ambassadors] just make sure that the kids are having a good time [and that] everyone is included,” said Grace Jau, a Kindness Ambassador and Woodside junior. “[Kindness Ambassadors] play with the kids and make sure everyone’s having a good time and that everything is safe.”

The organization plans to construct additional parks in Morgan Hill and Sunnyvale, and construction will begin at the end of 2019. Construction for parks in Santa Clara and Mountain View will begin in 2020.

“We are also redoing all of … the elementary school playgrounds in Palo Alto,” Asher explained. “We’re going to be working on school yard solutions. Then, we plan to announce projects internationally and outside the Bay Area in 2020.”

As for the importance of having Magic Bridge Parks, Wilfrid said, “I think [the visitors will] come to realize that all kids are created equal, whether they have disabilities or not.”

 

Students can sign up to volunteer at Magic Bridge Foundation’s website.

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About the Contributors
Claire Manuel, Online Editor
Claire Manuel is a senior, third-year journalist, and is Online Editor for The Paw Print. She is interested in writing about current events and arts and entertainment. She plays for the Woodside tennis and lacrosse teams, is involved in leadership, is co-secretary of the Octagon Club, and is an SOS freshman transition leader.
Cedrik von Briel, Managing Editor
Cedrik von Briel is a senior, fourth-year journalist and the Managing Editor for The Paw Print. He enjoys writing about news, nature, and local interest stuff and hopes to inform readers about current issues and events through his writing, and maybe spark their interest on the topic. In his free time, He enjoys taking photos, reading the news, being outside, biking to school, and birds.

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