WINDSOR, ONT. -- The Farrow Riverside Miracle Park is getting a $354,000 boost from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities.

In February, the City of Windsor, in partnership with the Riverside Minor Baseball Association applied for a Jumpstart Accessibility Grant in hopes of securing financial support for some of the inclusive elements being installed at the Miracle Park within the Riverside Baseball Park.

Local officials have since learned that the application has been approved, and Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is providing $354,000.

“Through Jumpstart’s Inclusive Play Project, the Charity is always looking for opportunities to help improve accessibility and inclusivity for kids across Canada,” said Scott Fraser, president of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. “The Miracle Park Project embodies Jumpstart’s pursuit of inclusive play, with added features and improvements sure to expand the park’s impact beyond Windsor and the surrounding community for years to come.”

The Riverside Minor Baseball Association has raised over $2 million in private funding to help bring the dream of the Farrow Riverside Miracle Park to fruition and are further committed to contributing an additional $200,000 to this project.

This spring, the city made upgrades totalling $1.5 million to the existing on-site washroom facility with a complete remodel that included fully accessible washrooms and change rooms, and the city will spend another $150,000 wth Jumpstart to complete more work in the park.

“Partnerships, like the kind offered by Jumpstart and the Riverside Minor Baseball Association help to bring the community together to re-imagine our recreation spaces for the next generation of children and youth. For parents in Riverside, Miracle Park is providing safe and accessible play structures with new sporting facilities to become available in early 2021,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

The Jumpstart Accessibility Grant will help pay for:

  • New pour in place rubber surfacing on the Miracle Diamond
  • A new multi-use wellness track around the park
  • 3 fully accessible baseball themed workout stations
  • New bleachers with shade sails at the Miracle Diamond
  • New accessible dugouts with player’s benches
  • 4 covered accessible picnic tables
  • 3 years of Miracle League Association membership fees

“The creation of the Park and Sport Field will be transformational and not just for the kids involved. We are changing the fabric of the community. We will be learning to see these players as kids with different abilities,” said co-chairs Rick Farrow and Bill Kell.

The Riverside Baseball Park is Windsor’s accessible and inclusive destination park with a fully accessible playground and the Farrow Riverside Miracle Park and Baseball Diamond that is expected to have a grand opening in spring 2021.