Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars is a fundraising effort to restore the Universal Universe playground in Sacramento’s Southside Park. Replacing worn equipment with fun, all inclusive play structures and adding new programs and activities will allow kids of all abilities to play together, make friends and reach for the stars.
Now that our first goal is reached, where we installed the We-Go-Round, we will continue to fund additional playground projects to ensure every kid has an inclusive place to play, learn and grow.
Our current goal is to further add accessible playground equipment for all to enjoy, learn, play on and make new friends. This includes adding a Sensory Play Center, Serenity Spot and a Communication Symbol Panel.
For children and others with low vision, we are in the planning stages of adding braille that will highlight our planets.
Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars is a tribute to Jonnie Laver. As a young child, Jonnie loved the outdoors and playing with friends. After complications from meningitis, Jonnie became reliant on a wheelchair for mobility, and his family devoted their time to finding opportunities for Jonnie to play and thrive.
Over the years, Jonnie’s parents, Marc and Linda, and his younger sister Carolyn, became advocates for adding accessible play features in new and future playgrounds. In 2005, Jonnie and his family were asked by the City of Sacramento to help cut the ribbon at the opening of Southside Park’s Universal Universe playground, one of the first all-access playgrounds in Northern California.
Having a place where kids of all abilities could play was a first for many children and families in the Sacramento area, and the Universal Universe playground became a favorite of Jonnie’s. For the next 13 years, Jonnie spent countless hours enjoying the playground, and the Laver family saw firsthand the many benefits of inclusive play for kids. They also saw the wear and tear that years of usage had on Jonnie’s favorite playground.
Following Jonnie’s passing in 2019, the Laver family wanted to to give back to the community. That’s when they set the wheels in motion to restore Universal Universe’s playground to its previous glory by launching Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars.
Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars, a fundraising effort to restore Universal Universe’s All Access Playground, is excited about the support we have from our partners. The following is a list of our original supporters.
The City of Sacramento supports the playground and understands the benefit it provides to young children and their families. They have been receptive and appreciative of our fundraising efforts to acquire the We-Go-Round and have committed to pay for installation costs when it arrives. A partnership between the City and Jonnie and Friends means families and kids throughout Sacramento will benefit!
Gifts to Share, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization, supports the City of Sacramento’s park, recreation, cultural, educational, and neighborhood improvement programs and facilities, and those of its partners. They will oversee account management during our fundraising efforts.
Special Thanks to:
Home Depot; Target; SMUD; Aerospace Museum of California; Fifth Generation Inc; Chargin’s Bar and Grill; Outfront Media; Lazer Media; Audacy Sacramento; Excitant Media; Flyers Energy LLC; the Dylan McNeil Foundation; Sacramento Fire Department; Sacramento Police Department; the Southside Park Neighborhood Association.
Since 2020, over 140 small and large donors have helped us reach our goals. Without their help, we wouldn’t be able to do it.
Opened in 2005, Southside Park’s Universal Universe playground located in Sacramento was one of Northern California’s first fully accessible playgrounds. Featuring accessible play structures, padded surfaces, access ramps and handrails, kids of all abilities and their parents were able to enjoy safe and fun-filled play days. The playground’s colorful, space-themed rides and solar system artwork provide a bright, happy, and magical area for kids of all abilities to feel included.
Designated play areas provide kids from ages 2-12 with age appropriate features to explore and enjoy. In addition to standard playground structures, like climbing apparatuses and swings, it features central seating, therapeutic gardens and innovate art sculptures.
Moreover, it has also become a place for parents to meet, interact and develop their own support and information network as their kids play.
Today, the playground continues to be a fun place to play, yet with years of constant use, it now requires upkeep and repair. It needs the same community spirit and commitment that originally built the playground. It needs Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars – A Fundraising Effort to Restore Universal Universe’s All Access Playground.
The Universal Universe playground in Southside Park is located at 2115 6th Street in Sacramento, CA.
Learn more at:
After the overwhelming success of Phase One, where we installed the We-Go-Round, Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars continues collaborating with the City of Sacramento and its many partners to add even more fun and needed sensory play equipment to the playground.
Sensory Play Center / Cost: $40,900
The multiple panels encourage children to interact and explore textures, sounds and shapes and create an exciting multi-sensory play experience. This feature also engages peripheral vision and visual tracking and visual stimulation.
Communication Symbol Panel / Cost: $2,500
This feature helps non-verbal, speech-challenged, and early learning children communicate with friends and caregivers. The symbols are universally understandable and easy to use and will add more inclusion and fun to playground.
Serenity Spot / Cost: $24,200
The Serenity Spot provides a place to learn, socialize, sit, relax, play and engage. All this and more, as sometimes a child, caregiver or parent needs a comfortable place to step away and still be part of the play space. This feature will help children with autism be calm and allow the expression of stimming behaviors. Everyone is welcome to be themselves here.
Currently in the planning stages, this feature will allow those with low vision to explore the universe and navigate the playground. It may be the first-ever in a playground setting in California. We are also planning to add a rich sensory garden. Adding new plants with cool textures and smells for all to enjoy.
Building on Southside Park’s existing popularity and usage in the community, we envision offering additional programming that will help solidify and increase the community’s interest and engagement. With additional funding, and through a partnership with community groups and area businesses, we will increase activities and programs for children, teachers and families. Current programs being considered include:
In addition to seeking funding for equipment, Jonnie and Friends will also use future funds to cover costs to improve the look of the playground and garner volunteer support through groups like Southside Park Neighborhood Association. Volunteers can assist the City of Sacramento’s Park Department crew by helping provide clean-up, conduct regular power washing of equipment, weed, and assist with continual oversite to ensure the equipment is operating smoothly.
Funds will be used to cover costs of items below and volunteers will assist with labor.
(1-5 Year Plan)
Continue to bring new life and added accessibility to Sacramento’s only fully accessible public park and playground.
Generate resources and capital for new equipment and play structures.
Incorporate and organize interesting programming and inclusive events that kids with all abilities, families and the general community can enjoy.
Partner with schools to teach the importance of inclusion.
Attract and enlist volunteers to assist the City of Sacramento Parks Department with the general upkeep of the park.
Promote long-term vision and support for Sacramento’s “Gifts to Share” Program.
In late 2019, we started an endeavor to help the City of Sacramento refurbish an existing playground, The Universal Universe Playground at Southside Park! We raised private funds and partnered with the City of Sacramento to replace an abandoned merry go round with the We-Go-Round. A We-Go-Round is a fully accessible ride designed with fun and safety in mind.
Over 50K was raised from our community, friends and generous companies and grants, and more resources are available from first campaign to help start our new vision to add even more great and innovative universal play features.
In November of 2021, we installed the only wheelchair accessible merry go round in our region! The city replaced the rubber surface and added cool new sensory music instruments — which is not common in parks.
The City Recreation Department has also begun new monthly inclusive play days. In collaboration with MOSAC, the Sacramento Children’s Museum, and the Aerospace Museum of California, there are enriching music shows, art and crafts events, all creating new visions for kids and families to unite at this wonderful playground. Space Ship Park, as it is known by many, is creating new opportunities for all kids of all abilities, giving them the opportunity to dream big like our galaxy and meet new friends.
In the City of Sacramento alone, there are a total of 11,611 children and young people with disabilities. There are 5,868 children with disabilities ages infant to nine years old and another 5,743 children and teens ages 10 to 19 who have disabilities. These children all benefit from having a fully accessible, maintained park where they can play, dream, and meet new friends. As a community member, your support through funding and volunteer efforts, can ensure that our city continues to assist individuals of all abilities by giving them the foundation they need to feel included.
One in 5 people in the U.S. have a disability, but most playgrounds don’t have the equipment to accommodate them. Some have physical disabilities while the majority have cognitive, developmental and sensory issues. An inclusive playground provides a place where children and adults of all abilities can participate, learn and grow.
An inclusive playground includes everyone! It is designed to provide a safe place where children of all abilities can play together. It takes away the barriers to exclusion, both physical and social, providing a “sensory-rich” experience for kids of all abilities.
An inclusive playground gives children, regardless of their abilities, a safe place to interact, learn from each other and have fun. Inclusive play gives children, of all abilities, an opportunity to learn how to make friends and take steps in learning how to live with others, understand differences, and accept them.
Jonnie and Friends has a goal of adding new sensory-rich equipment, structures, experiences and programs to the Universal Universe playground, making it a place where all kids and adults alike, can learn, grow and have fun!
Please help us to continue to improve the Universal Universe playground and give kids of all abilities the joy of being included. Your support, of any kind, can help Jonnie and Friends reach their goal of ensuring no child, regardless of their ability, is left out of the fun.
We’re looking for volunteers! If you’d like to add your name to the list of individuals who can help us keep Universal Universe a safe, clean and fun place for families across Sacramento, add your name to our list!
Help us Reach for the Stars! Donate today, in any amount, to our partner Gifts to Share, Inc., a 501 c3 nonprofit, by following the instructions below:
We’d love to hear from you! If you have questions or need more information about our fundraising efforts, reach out to us!
Marc Laver, Founder
Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars
Ph: 916-812-1020
Email: Marc@JonniesDreamPlayground.com