Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars is a fundraising effort to revitalize the Universal Universe playground in Sacramento’s Southside Park. Adding fun, inclusive play structures and new programs and activities will allow kids of all abilities to play together, make friends, and reach for the stars.
After overwhelming success raising funds for a We-Go-Round, Serenity Spot, and a Communication Symbol Panel, Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars continues to fund additional playground projects to ensure every kid has an inclusive place to play, learn, and grow!
Our current goal is to add a Sensory Play Center, featuring Interactive tactile, visual, and musical panels to support all children’s development! This feature will engage peripheral vision, visual tracking, and visual stimulation, and create an exciting multisensory play experience and social play opportunities.
To increase the playground’s accessibility to children who are blind or have low vision, we are in the planning stages of adding braille that will highlight the playground’s planets. Another future project is a sensory-rich garden, which will include a variety of plants with engaging textures and aromas for all to enjoy.
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 relied 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 use 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. Today, Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars continues its promise to add more fun and needed play structures to the playground!
Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars, a fundraising effort to revitalize 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. 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 oversee our accounts and manage the funds we raise.
Since 2020, over 200 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 feature age-appropriate features to explore and enjoy. In addition to standard playground structures, like climbing apparatuses and swings, it features central seating, calming gardens, and innovative art sculptures.
Moreover, it has also become a place for parents to meet, share information, and build a supportive community as their kids play.
Today, the playground continues to be a fun place to play, and we partner with the City to provide private resources to make improvements. Universal Universe 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 Revitalize 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 overwhelming success raising funds for a We-Go-Round, Serenity Spot, and a Communication Symbol Panel, Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars is collaborating with the City of Sacramento and its many partners to add more fun and needed sensory play equipment to the playground.
Sensory Play Center / Cost: $40,900
Adding an exciting multi-sensory experience at the Universal Universe playground, the Play Center’s multiple panels will encourage children to interact and explore textures, sounds and shapes. This visually stimulating feature will also engage peripheral vision and visual tracking, promote social interaction, and encourage more visitors to this special playground.
Donate today to help us celebrate neurodiversity and inclusion at Southside Park – Installing a Sensory Play Center will help make the playground even more universally delightful!
Currently in the planning stages, braille plaques will allow those with low vision to explore the universe and navigate the playground. A rich sensory garden with raised planter beds will feature new plants with cool textures and delightful aromas for all to enjoy.
Building on Southside Park’s existing popularity, we’re offering additional programming that increases the community’s interest and engagement, uniting more kids and families at this wonderful playground. Through funding from donors and partnerships with community groups and area businesses, we’re increasing activities for children, teachers, and families. Current and upcoming programs include:
We also promote inclusive play activities with the Warmline Family Resource Center and UCP of Sacramento and Northern California. By highlighting the events these and other community non-profits host at the playground, we can bring more kids with developmental disabilities to enjoy Universal Universe!
In addition to funding equipment, Jonnie and Friends also covers costs to improve the look of the playground and garner volunteer support. Through Work Days we host in collaboration with the Southside Park Neighborhood Association, volunteers assist the City of Sacramento’s Park crew with weeding, litter removal, power washing of equipment, and ensuring the equipment is operating smoothly.
(1-5 Year Plan)
Continue to bring new life and added accessibility to Sacramento’s largest 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 fully accessible ride designed with fun and safety in mind.
Installed in March 2025, the Serenity Spot provides a place to step back from the sensory excitement of the playground while still being part of the play space. This feature is a great spot for those feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated, and gives children with autism and anyone with sensory sensitivities a calming spot to stim and relax.
Designed for children who are non verbal, have speech challenges, or are early learning, this feature helps kids communicate with friends and caregivers. Getting installed Spring 2025, the Panel displays visual symbols that are easy to understand and add more inclusion and fun to the playground.
Space Ship Park, as it is known by many, is creating new opportunities for kids of all abilities, giving every child the opportunity to dream as big as 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. A fully accessible, well-maintained playground gives kids of all abilities the opportunity to play, dream, and meet new friends. Universal Universe playground is the largest fully accessible playground in Sacramento, and it needs our support. By donating and volunteering, you are helping kids of all abilities experience the joy of being included!
While most playgrounds don’t have equipment someone with a disability can enjoy, one in every 5 people in the U.S. has a disability. Some have physical limitations while the majority have cognitive, developmental, and sensory issues. An inclusive playground provides a place where children, parents, and caregivers of all abilities can participate.
An inclusive playground includes everyone! It is designed to provide a safe place where children of all abilities can play together. It takes away barriers and prevents 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, understand differences, and celebrate 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 ensure no child, regardless of their ability, is left out of the fun.
If you’d like to add your name to the list of people who can help us keep Universal Universe a safe, clean and fun place for families across Sacramento, we want to hear from you – Please click the button below to sign up. And to receive email updates from Jonnie and Friends Reach for the Stars, click the button below to join our mailing list.
Help us Reach for the Stars! All donations are tax deductible and much appreciated! Donate today, in any amount, via 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