Since 2008, when her oldest daughter was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at six months, Victoria Strong fought to keep Gwendolyn safe, alive, and happy.
“There was such a fight for everything—every dollar, every insurance [claim], even just going to the hospital,” she says; so much that she had to be “10 steps ahead just to get through the day.”
That fight manifested itself into advocacy and the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. A nonprofit dedicated to “transforming lives and building a kinder and more inclusive future through advocacy, research, and support.” It has helped fund global SMA research that’s led to FDA-approved treatments, helped get SMA added to newborn screening, and provided support grants to help SMA families attain greater independence.
But perhaps the project the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation is most known for is Gwendolyn’s Playground, which will be Santa Barbara’s first and the region’s largest all-ability playground within the Dwight Murphy Field.
The playground’s features are designed specifically for special user needs, including swings designed to accommodate wheelchairs or other mobility aids, a decompression space, and slides accessible via ramp. Renovations at Dwight Murphy Field will also include an updated multi-sport field, walking paths, and picnic fields, funded in part by the City Council.
Fundraising for the park has been a nine-year passion for Strong, who was bowled over by the support from the city and community. “Whenever you approach a big system change, you have to go into it knowing it’s going to take time and you have to do the work,” she says. But for this project, she’s been able to put down her boxing gloves.
“I went into this assuming I'd have to fight, to prove that it’s important,” she said. “That hasn’t been the case at all,” Strong says.
“It’s really gratifying as a Parks & Recreation Director to be able to work with an organization like the [Gwendolyn Strong] Foundation to develop park improvements that benefit the entire community,” says Jill Zachary, Parks and Recreations Director.
The playground will allow every child in our region to just be a kid: to play and have fun with their peers. Families with young children who endured the pandemic’s early isolated months know how vital public parks are to any community, especially one like ours, where outdoor play can happen nearly 365 days a year.
Strong’s work isn’t only about building an inclusive playground, it’s also about educating our community. “This playground will create a generational shift,” Strong says. Her goal now–with $6 million raised to fund the playground—is to establish an endowment fund for long-term maintenance and create programs that support children and children at heart.
Strong and her husband would attend school with Gwendolyn and interact with classmates regularly. Since she was non-verbal, Gwendolyn communicated via eye rolls and blinking. “For me, that’s what programming will be all about,” Strong says. “It’s modeling. It’s showing the kids, adults, and community how to [interact with disabled peoples]. Kids are naturally inclusive. They may say things adults get embarrassed about because it comes out very raw, but their hearts are in the right place. If given permission, kids will try anything new and are so accepting.”
Strong wants Gwendolyn’s Playground to become the epicenter for that model—for a child’s inquisitive spirit to come alive in a space that offers disabled and able-bodied children events and programming to come together and play, laugh, and learn. “There’s so much we can do with our public spaces,” Strong says.
Another initiative is The Kindness Cafe, a custom coffee trailer that will reside in the playground and employ adults and teens with disabilities. Coffee, smoothies, and snacks will profit additional inclusive programming efforts. The cafe will act not just as a pit stop for curbing hunger pains, but also a place for social change because, as Strong says, “It will be an opportunity to see disabled people in the workplace. And that normalizes that disabled people have value.”
Breaking ground for the playground is just the beginning. A true advocate and courageous mother, Strong is only getting started.
This playground will create a generational shift.