Written by Amanda Coers – Phil Harris with Harris Broadband presented a $5,000 check at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 7th, to Early High School students Zane Hobson and Brianna Brown to help build a sound garden in McDonald Park to encourage music-inspired creative play for all ages.
“Harris Broadband is proud to participate with Daron and Jamie Waldon, owners of JDTC, in assisting in the development of Early’s McDonald Park,” Harris said during a brief presentation near the site where the sound garden will be installed. “It’s not just helpful for the children, it’s also helpful for the town’s growth.”
JDTC is the company currently helping Harris Broadband expand their services into the city of Early with a state-of-the-art fiber optic system. Harris credited Hobson and Brown for their hard work to see the project accomplished.
“These two young adults are great examples of what a superior education system coupled with outstanding parents and a result driven city leadership can produce in our community,” he said. “Harris Broadband is committed to serving the towns that we offer service in, every year we find a project that we feel will help make a positive change.”
Hobson and Brown are Early’s 2018 Texas Midwest Community Network (TMCN) team members. The teens have chosen the addition to the park as their annual project. The team chose a sound garden in order to better serve the creative play needs for differently-abled children, especially children with sensory issues who may not enjoy traditional playground equipment.
“We want to help all children, including children with disabilities, the chance to play together,” Breanna Brown explained. “Sound does a lot for a lot of different people. It uses all parts of the brain, it requires focus and it helps a lot of children.”
Normally, playgrounds are designed for active kids who are able to jump, run, and climb, sometimes leaving children with different play abilities unable to join in the fun. Outdoor musical instruments are an alternative solution allowing children with a disability to participate with those who are able-bodied. Music therapy has proven to be effective in helping children with autism and Asperger’s syndrome and those who have diminished social skills to participate in play with their peers.
Equipment for the sound garden should arrive on September 4th, and is expected to be assembled the first weekend in September.
“We’ve already had several different groups offer to help, the Early Key Club, the boy scouts, Kiwanis, and we’re excited to see all of this happening,” Denise Hudson with the Early Convention and Visitors Bureau said. “The kids have done an amazing job.”
To date, over $38,000 has been raised to help install the play equipment at the park.
