‘I can’t wait to see it in action’: Groundbreaking for Everyone’s Playground OBX set for June, after years of community fundraising

A rendering of one of the two planned universally designed playgrounds at Kitty Hawk Elementary School (Image courtesy Cunningham Recreation and Everyone’s Playground OBX)

By Corinne Saunders

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KITTY HAWK — A milestone was officially celebrated earlier this month as plans were set for a $900,000 fully accessible playground—the region’s first—to be built at Kitty Hawk Elementary School (KHES) in Kitty Hawk.

The relief and joy were apparent as several people involved in the effort exchanged hugs at the December Dare County Schools Board of Education meeting following the board’s formal acceptance of the financial gift for the playground.

Macey Chovaz, Caitlin Spruill, Kellie Flock and Dr. Lisa Colvin (l-r in front) exchange hugs at the Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, Dare County Schools Board of Education meeting following the board’s formal acceptance of the financial gift for the playground. Spruill, assistant superintendent for Dare County Schools, introduced the agenda item at the meeting. Chovaz and Flock are parents involved in fundraising efforts and Colvin is Kitty Hawk Elementary School principal. (Screenshot of Dare County Schools meeting livestream)

“It makes me happy just thinking about it, and I can’t wait to see it in action,” Dr. Lisa Colvin, KHES principal, told Outer Banks Insider in a September phone interview about the playground.

“It’s been humbling just how many people have gotten on board,” Colvin said.

Everyone’s Playground on Dec. 8 offered the donation to the school board of $276,811.56 for equipment and $560,662.22 for installation and surfacing—a total of $837,473.78, according to the board’s agenda.

“As we enter this season of gratitude, the Everyone’s Playground OBX Steering Committee is humbled and excited to see its seven-year vision finally take shape—a universally designed, inclusive playground that will be the first of its kind in Dare County and the surrounding region,” according to a press release recently sent to area media outlets.

Organizers anticipate receiving an additional $60,000 before the playground’s June 2026 groundbreaking, bringing the community’s total investment close to $900,000, according to the release.

“The front and back playgrounds at Kitty Hawk Elementary School, which are used by students during the school day, also serve the broader community and visitors after hours, on weekends, and over the summer—making the location a perfect fit,” the release said.

An inclusive vision

Universal design focuses on equitable, flexible, simple and intuitive use.

“Universal design is design that is usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design,” according to Ron Mace, the North Carolina architect who coined the term.

Closed captioning, voice-activated controls, adjustable text sizes and motion-sensor doors are among examples of universal design that people use in daily life, according to the release.

“Investing in universally designed playgrounds isn’t just about accessibility—it’s about equity, community and long-term impact,” Macey Chovaz, a parent and committee member, said in the release. “When we prioritize inclusive spaces, we build a society where everyone, regardless of ability, can experience joy, connection and belonging.”

Committee members, working with the Charlotte-based Cunningham Recreation, studied an Everyone’s Playground in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and set two nonnegotiable elements: Poured-in-place, smooth, level rubber surfacing to ensure access and inclusive playground equipment, according to the release.

Inclusive equipment includes “wide ramps, adaptive swings, sensory-friendly features and creative layouts that encourage everyone to play together,” the release said.

The playground idea began because two kindergarten friends, one of whom was using a wheelchair, were unable to play together on the school playground because of barriers such as thick mulch and steps to most of the playground equipment, according to the release.

Kellie Flock, the mother of one of these children, became a founder and driver of the efforts to establish the playground. She told the school board during its Sept. 15 meeting that her daughter has cerebral palsy.

“This started as a project in 2018-2019, prior to COVID, due to my daughter and another friend starting kindergarten and wanting to play together on the playground and not being able to due to accessibility,” Flock told the board.

She noted that a more accessible playground will not only benefit children, but also the area’s aging population, including grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.

“Costs have gone up, but we are making huge strides,” Flock said during the September meeting.

“Too often accessibility features are seen as extras, not essentials,” Flock said in the release. “Many said, ‘Can’t we just cut the surfacing?’ The answer is no. If people can’t reach the equipment, we’ve missed the point entirely.”

The smooth surface will reduce tripping hazards and allow wheelchairs, strollers, walkers and people with unsteady gaits to move freely, according to the release. It will also ensure mulch won’t get into little ones’ mouths, eyes or shoes.

Renderings show the two planned universally designed playground areas at Kitty Hawk Elementary School, above and below. (Images courtesy Cunningham Recreation and Everyone’s Playground)

Colvin said that the playground was planned with “a lot of thought” and input from special education teachers. The adaptive swings, for example, are not going to be placed on the end of the swing set but in the middle “so that they’re with the other children.”

She was the assistant principal at KHES when the playground efforts began, and while she said the parents have truly led the efforts, she is pleased to be on board. She also expressed willingness to help other community members plan inclusive playgrounds in other locations.

“It’s an idea that I just wanted to throw myself into, and it didn’t really matter which school—but Kitty Hawk’s where I am…and that’s where their parents were that started it; and I’m happy to help anybody else plan it,” Colvin said.

The project began with the KHES Parent Teacher Organization as its fiscal partner, and then, “as needs grew, the Surf Pediatric Foundation stepped in to manage larger fundraising efforts, and a fund at the Outer Banks Community Foundation was also established and will ensure lasting support,” the release said.

Most recently, the project inspired the creation of Everyone’s Outer Banks, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to continuing inclusive, universally designed projects across the region, the release said.

“This project is just the beginning,” according to the release. “The goal is to ensure that everyone who lives in or visits this community can enjoy it to the fullest extent, regardless of their differences.”

Flock in the release shared her desire to see other inclusive playgrounds built on the heels of the one at KHES.

“Our hope is that this will inspire others to do the same,” Flock said. “This isn’t about one child or one school—it’s about identifying something that can and should be improved upon and taking the initiative to do it.”

The journey to $900,000

During the 2022–23 school year, Dare County Schools allocated $90,000 to each elementary school for playground updates through the capital outlay budget, according to school district spokesperson Hannah Nash.

“Kitty Hawk Elementary chose to reserve its $90,000 allocation to go towards the Everyone’s Playground project,” Nash said in an email to Outer Banks Insider.

That district allocation, along with a $30,000 donation from corporate Walmart, became the initial project funding, according to a presentation Colvin shared with the Town of Southern Shores in January 2023.

Colvin had applied for and received a grant from the local Walmart in 2019 for a “core board” that became an Eagle Scout project for the school’s playground. Colvin had seen the communication board on the internet and wanted to bring it to the school, she said.

“Children who are largely nonverbal, they point to pictures with the word underneath to communicate,” she explained.

This project, finished in 2021, drew the attention of corporate Walmart, Colvin said, and a representative called her and said they were “impressed with your vision to include children” and wanted to donate $30,000.

The project reached its halfway point with grants from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, the Outer Banks Community Foundation, the Southern Bank Foundation and the Surf Pediatric Foundation, according to the release.

Then the steering committee expanded to include Scott Brown, Jane Webster, Marie Neilson, Amy Dougherty, Sarah Spencer, David Shufflebarger, Suzanne Sartori, Tess Judge, Chovaz and Flock, the release said.

“Their efforts—sharing the vision with individuals, families and organizations—combined with the community’s generosity, have brought the project within reach,” according to the release.

Kellie Flock (standing at podium) and Scott Brown (right) share the vision and a project update on Everyone’s Playground OBX during the Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, Dare County Schools Board of Education meeting. (Screenshot of Dare County Schools meeting livestream)

Brown, who had prior experience leading capital campaigns, started co-chairing the fundraising committee over two years ago. Originally, he planned to offer the group advice in a one-time meeting.

But as he was dropping off his son at KHES after that initial meeting, he had to stop at the crosswalk so Flock’s daughter, who was “kind of the initial inspiration for the project…could cross with her purple walker…and so the hair kind of stood up on my arms a little bit,” he recalled. “It was like, ‘OK, God, I think I get it.’ I think I was supposed to help build a playground.”

Both kids will be at the middle school by the time the playground is constructed. But the impact will be lasting, he said.

“Every time I drive by that school, it’s going to be a gratifying feeling, how many hundreds of kids will benefit from this over the years,” Brown said.

As of the issuance of the press release last week, an estimated $25,000–$50,000 is still needed to fully complete the playground.

Current fundraising efforts are focused on the installation of a sidewalk connecting the two playgrounds and new fencing that will go around the front playground, Brown said.

He praised the determination of the parents involved in the project from the beginning.

“Truly, I think most people just would have given up,” he opined.

“So if there’s any kind of additional angle to this story, it is just the beauty of what can happen when people have a vision that they believe in so deeply that they’re willing to stick with it—no matter how long it takes and no matter how steep the climb,” Brown said.

For more information about the playground project, visit www.everyonesplaygroundobx.com.

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