Walt Disney gives Milwaukee kids greater access to play with recreation grant

The City of Milwaukee has been selected to receive a $30,000 play space grant from the Walt Disney Company in support of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and Disney’s combined goal of providing one million kids and families with greater access to play.

As part of the national Meet Me at the Park program, park and recreation agencies across the country were invited to share their best ideas on increasing access to play spaces for children and families in their communities. Agencies with the most innovative and impactful project ideas were chosen to receive $30,000 grants to build their projects.

MKE Plays, a program to revitalize parks in the city, will use the $30,000 grant to work with the local Hmong community to create designs for the Foundation Park at 3700 W. McKinley Avenue playground surfacing that incorporates traditional Hmong symbols and patterns.

“Empowering local residents is a core tenet of this program,” said Alderman Michael J. Murphy, who created MKE Plays in 2015. “Partnering with the Hmong community in this manner will be a prime example of community-involved design.”

The $30,000 gift means MKE Plays has raised more than $1.69 million from private sources and leveraged an additional $1.31 million in public funding, totaling more than $3 million of investment in Milwaukee parks, according to Ald. Murphy.

“NRPA is proud to collaborate with The Walt Disney Company to help more children and families experience the benefits of play,” said Kellie May, NRPA director of health and wellness. “By increasing access to play spaces, this program will also provide unique activities tailored to the local community that support healthy lifestyles.”