SPRING HILL, Fla. — Hernando County leaders say they are modifying a playground so it's accessible to all children. It's all thanks to a brave little girl and her mom.

Danielle Zukoski’s 5-year-old daughter Iris uses a walker. They were at Anderson Snow Park in Spring Hill on February 10 when Zukoski was filming Iris, excited to head to a handicap accessible swing, to show to her husband. 

That’s when Iris got stuck in the sand. The entire playground at Anderson Snow is covered with sand.

It prompted Zukoski to take action, and now Hernando County leaders are taking notice. 

“We’re going to have our playground rep take a look at doing a schematic drawing up of what a futuristic playground park could look like,” said Hernando County Parks and Recreation Manager Harry Johnson. 

Possible changes

Zukoski met with them Monday to share her concerns. They talked about reducing the size of the playground and placing a rubber or grass-like surface on one portion of it to start.

They also are considering putting in new equipment built specifically for children with special needs.

“This could be a 6-months-to-a-year project for us. But we’re going to move on it and we’re going to move on it as quickly as we can,” Johnson said. 

The issue is money. With the county facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit, Johnson says funds are limited. 

How to fund the changes

That’s why they’re partnering with a non-profit organization, Friends of Hernando County Parks and Rec, to help raise funds and get the community involved.

“We’re not the most wealthy county in the world, but I’ll tell you what we have some great love here, we have some great people that can absolutely get this park to where it needs to be,” said Jimmy McKittrick with Friends of Hernando County Parks and Rec.

Zukoski said she’s pleased with the outcome of the meeting and is eager to see the community be part of the renovation. She hopes it will encourage more families with children with special needs to visit. 

“A lot of families that typically wouldn’t come to the park, they can see everything that’s going to happen, that they’re children will be able to be involved with everything,” Zukoski said. 

Johnson also said Anderson Snow is one of three parks in the county that still has the sand surface. 

Zukoski is also raising funds for make change to the park through an online campaign on GoFundMe. To learn more about the effort or to make a donation, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/makeitaccessible.

This Gofundme.com site is not managed by Spectrum Bay News 9. For more information on how the site works and the rules visit  http://www.gofundme.com/safety.