Welcome to Magical Bridge!
We're excited to have you join our email list to stay up-to-date on our projects and the many programs happening on the playgrounds! Below you'll find our 2023 IMPACT REPORT outlining our accomplishments, developments, and events throughout the year. You'll also find some highlights from our previous newsletter. Enjoy and welcome!
Newsletter Highlights
Our Kindness Ambassadors hosted events for all ages and abilities throughout the year. In Palo Alto, visitors met service dogs from Canine Companions. Artist Maia Scott, who is blind, led crafts alongside her own service dog. We enjoyed beautiful orchestral music by local youth from Bridges in Music. Jay Gluckman, founder of Innovation for Youth and long-time Magical Bridge collaborator, hosted STEAM Activities with volunteer help from the Stanford Hills Chapter of the National Charity League. Visitors created their own mini versions of inclusive playground equipment. Kindness Ambassadors in Palo Alto hosted our first-ever Magical Tennis Camp for Neurodiverse Participants. We thank our head coach, high school student Sairisheeth Venkat, assistant coaches Joelle Kim and Joshua Kou — and Victoria Helmer for five days of tennis fun! Please email Harriet if you are interested in joining (or teaching) our next camp.
The Magical Day Program
The Magical Day Program – an innovative, community-based day program for teens and adults with disabilities, developed by the Foundation, was back this year. We thank generous sponsors Fenwick, Ability Path, and the Palo Alto Children's Theater — and our special guest artists Lori and RJ for providing music each Monday. Five student participants spent four weeks exploring the Bay Area and learning life skills like cooking and shopping. Look for the dog treats the participants helped package at Ada's Cafe. Next year, in partnership with Ability Path, we hope to offer this program to more worthy participants and we need your help to make this happen. Please consider donating to Magical Bridge to support this effort.
Magical Bridge Playground Events
You'll find community events and activities at each of the Magical Bridge Playgrounds. Follow Magical Bridge on Facebook or Instagram for the latest, our upcoming events page, or the Parks and Recreation pages for each city: Redwood City, Sunnyvale, and Morgan Hill.
El Carmelo Elementary School
Magical Bridge Playground at El Carmelo School opened on October 18. This is our second school playground, after Addison Elementary in Palo Alto which opened in 2020. We are busy designing playgrounds and companion programming for schools across the country so that everyone can benefit from recess.