Victoria Strong, center, with event committee co-chairs Karie Ide and Kelly Almeroth at the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation’s fundraiser for Gwendolyn’s Playground. 
Performers Brooks Firestone, Anja Firestone, Jasmina Bozilovic, Rose Marie Munoz, Kristiana Munoz and Estrella Munoz. 
Kenneth Kahn and Eva Van Prooyen. 
Emily Schwabecher, left, Pamela Powers and Stephanie Olson of Citizens Business Bank. 
Supporters John Petote, left, Eric Kanowsky and Andrew Winchester. 
Event guests Anna Pryko, left, and Anna Warkentin. 
Fundraising committee members, from left, Laurie Lowe, Ivana Firestone, Victoria Strong and Karie Ide. 
Guests enjoy silent auction bidding poolside at Hidden Oaks Ranch. 
Andrew Firestone directs an active paddle raise.
The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization that is working to build the first inclusive playground in Santa Barbara County, hosted its first fundraising event on Friday at Hidden Oaks Ranch.
More than 200 people attended the event, which sold out in eight hours, to support efforts to raise money to build Gwendolyn’s Playground.
“We are so thrilled by the enthusiastic response of the community to bring much-needed inclusive play to our city,” said Victoria Strong, executive director of the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. “We have an opportunity to not only provide play for the four in one of us living with a disability who are currently left on the sidelines, but also to reimagine and elevate public play spaces to be more for everyone, fostering empathy and understanding in the next generation.”
Gwendolyn Strong, the late daughter of Victoria and Bill Strong, is the inspiration behind Gwendolyn's Playground. Born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Gwendolyn was physically disabled and medically fragile, but that did not affect her sense of fun. Despite ADA-compliant playgrounds throughout the area, not one allowed Gwendolyn to play alongside her friends or participate fully in public spaces with her peers, according to her parents.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reported that most children with SMA Type-I die within the first two years. Gwendolyn passed away in 2015 at age 7.
After 10 years of advocacy, support for SMA families and raising $3 million for research that led to a treatment and a groundbreaking potential cure for SMA, the Strong family set their sights on spearheading the first truly inclusive playground in the region in Gwendolyn's memory.
The event committee included co-chairs Kelly Almeroth and Karie Ide, Victoria Strong, Cleo Martinez, Cristina Bentley, Ivana Firestone, Jenny Deakyne, Jillian Pirozzi, Marina Delio, Ronda Fallon, Sarah Genaurdi, Sarah Paskin and Sylvie Rich.
The Presenting Sponsor was BMW Santa Barbara. Other top sponsors included Bella Vista Designs, Hidden Oaks Ranch, Duo Catering, Bright Event Rentals, Stept Creative Production, BlueStar Parking, Artiste Wine, Kacie Jean Photography, The Wild Posy and others. Flowers were by Toast and Coco Rose, donated by Florabundance.
A gourmet sandwich luncheon was served by Duo Catering under oak trees with a poolside raffle. It truly was a family affair for Andrew and Ivana Firestone; he acted as the emcee and auctioneer, and she served on the event committee. Their 9-year-old daughter, Anja Firestone, sang “Where We Belong” and “Come On and Dance” (song to her friend Estrella Munoz), and young Brooks Firestone played keyboard.
In partnership with the City of Santa Barbara and Parks & Recreation, Gwendolyn’s Playground is an integral component of the redevelopment project at Dwight Murphy Field that also includes a multisport field and baseball field. Innovative, imaginative and sensory-rich, Gwendolyn's Playground will go far beyond ADA standards by removing physical and social barriers.
It will incorporate the needs of children and adults with a multitude of differences, from physical disabilities to autism and sensory impairments, while providing dynamic movement opportunities for everyone to challenge themselves in a variety of collaborative experiences.
Click here for more information, or call 805.203.0334, email info@nevergiveup.org or contact the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation at 27 W. Anapamu St., Suite 177, Santa Barbara 93101.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Rochelle Rose can be reached at rrose@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.