Independent Living Sudbury Manitoulin dreams of accessible park

A non-profit group called Independent Living Sudbury Manitoulin hopes that online voting will help it to secure funding for an accessible park in Sudbury's downtown.

The group wants to purchase an empty lot next to its offices and transform it intoan accessible space for people to gatherfor everything from lunches to concerts. The space could alsoinclude a stage for musicand cultural events.

"Right now it is just a dream," said RobDiMeglio, executive director of Independent Living Sudbury Manitoulin. "It's a community space, dreaming of a community space in downtown Sudbury."

The group is hoping to secure some funding for the accessible park through a contest run by the insurance company Aviva. The Aviva Community Fund uses online voting to choose community projects to fund.

Independent LivingSudburyManitoulin has applied for funding in the category of $50,000 to $100,000 level.

The property being eyed for the park is forsale for $120,000, Di Meglio said. Building a park in the empty lot would require about another $100,000.

The group will be looking togovernment andprivate organizations to fund the rest of the project, Di Meglio said.

If the park is built, it would be maintained by staff and members of Independent Living.

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Other projects

A number of groupsin the northeast are looking for funding for various projects through the AvivaCommunity Fund:

• Splash Park for Espanola
• Timiskaming Tumblers
• Bridging the Gap (Sudbury)
• Students in Media (Sudbury)
• The DJ Hancock Memorial Splash Pad(Sudbury)
• The North Bay Concrete Skate Park
• Cheemaun/Chi Mahng: A Journey By Canoe
• Northern Women's Connection (Sault Ste Marie)