How does a young girl’s dream come true? The answer for eight year old Santii Patel is when her community rallies behind the dream to make it happen.
Santi is a third grader at Lakeshore Elementary School in Greece. In the summer of 2019 Santii was at the community playground with her mom Becca and little brother Nikolai. She noticed a young girl in a wheelchair that was at the playground. Santii felt bad that girl was not able to use the swing like she can. “I wanted her to have fun like I was. I wanted her to feel the wind on her face and blowing her hair while she was swinging. I asked my mom if we could buy her a handicap swing,” Santii said. Santii’s mom Becca said OK how will we do this, and Santii responded, “Let’s sell cocoa, everyone loves cocoa!” So Santii made cocoa and the next day set up a stand at her home. Becca said, “She sold a cup to me and to her father and to a neighbor. She made $5 that first try. I was hoping that maybe she would make around $100 and she could donate it to a worthy cause.”
The next day at school Santii told the school resource officer about what she was doing. The officer put out an email blast to the Greece Police, Fire Department and Ambulance as well as to teachers and friends about what Santii was working to achieve. “We had such a huge response, the police cars, fire trucks and ambulance workers as well as friends and neighbors all came out to support her,” Becca said. She also sold lemonade and is collecting cans in her fundraising efforts.
Next to get involved with Santii’s dream was Rob Tortorella, Founder of Endless Highway. According to the Endless Highway website, “Endless Highway is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring children and young adults with physical disabilities have opportunities to participate in adaptive and inclusive sports, recreation, and arts. With the generous support of donors and community partners, we help youth and families leverage their talents and interests in the pursuit of inclusivity, independence, and success.”
Totorella said, “I heard about Santii’s Dream through a mutual friend who called me and told me about her raising money for a wheelchair adaptable swing. Consulting with Caralie Fennessey, our Operations and Communications Director, we talked about what type of playground equipment would best meet the needs of what Santii is wanting to do. Caralie is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist with a graduate degree in Integrative Design from RIT. She combines her experience in recreation therapy and understanding of adaptive design to create solutions for unique needs related to disability.”
Through their Build to Include partnership, they decided on the We-Go-Round®. The We-Go-Round®, by Landscape Structure, is a unique merry-go-round structure featuring ground-level entry and wide openings for child and adult wheelchair navigation with seating, standing, and parking areas inside. Rooftop shade, center handholds, a built-in speed control mechanism, and easily wipeable surface materials provide additional safety for all participants. Once on board, everyone faces the center of the system, so that smiles, conversations, and laughter can easily be shared while in orbit. The piece is not only accessible to those with and without disabilities, it is designed to inspire children, adults, and families of all abilities to play together. It will be the first one build in Monroe County.
In January of 2020, Rob Tortorella, Greece Police Officers, School Principal James Palermo, local TV news, and many others surprised Santii during class with the announcement that Build to Include would be joining her fundraising efforts. About the surprise Santii said, “I had stage fright. When I saw everyone come into the classroom and they called my name I thought I was in trouble. They gave me a microphone and I couldn’t even talk. When Rob told me what they were there for, it made me so, so happy.”
That wasn’t the only surprise Santii experienced since she started to pursue her dream of accessible playground equipment. In December of 2020 Santii was visited on Skype by Kelly Clarkson during her show. Kelly received a letter from Santii’s mom regarding her mission. Kelly surprised Santii with $5,000 and a video visit from JoJo Siwa, an American dancer, singer, actress and YouTube personality. Santii is a huge fan of JoJo. About the surprise video visit from JoJo Santii said, “I was really excited to see her and she told me she was a fan of mine and to “Keep living the dream like a candy queen.” I was so happy that they are helping me to get the We-Go-Round so all the kids can play together.”
The Town of Greece will also be playing a part in Santii’s Dream. With Greece Town Supervisor Bill Reilich, along with the Director of Parks and Recreation, Peter O’Brien, closely involved in the project, the Town of Greece will be a leader in providing an inclusive and accessible playground experience for all. The Town will provide the outdoor space for for the We-Go-Round® at their Town Hall Campus and help with the fundraising. Target date for ground breaking is early July 2021.
The fundraising goal to build the We-Go-Round® on the Greece Town Campus playground is $50,000.
To help with the community fundraising campaign visit Santii’s Facebook page Santii’s Smiles. If you have cans to contribute, message Santii and arrangements will be made. www.facebook.com/santiipatel
To donate through Endless Highway go to their donation page http://endless-highway.org/donate/
When checking out, select “Build to Include: An Endless Highway Inclusive Playground Initiative” as the donation type.
Donations are also accepted on the Town of Greece Parks and Recreation Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/greeceparksandrecreation
