Sydney Cromwell
Edgewood Elementary Playground
Edgewood Elementary Principal Matt Kiser and Kathryn, Lindsey and Robert Ring in front of the new playground the Ring family donated to the school.
Every day that Lindsey Ring picks up her daughter, Kathryn, from school, she will get to see children enjoy the new Edgewood Elementary playground that her family helped to provide.
After her father’s death in 2013, Lindsey Ring said she and her husband, Robert, had been searching for a way to use the inheritance he left her to give back in a tangible way.
“I’ve spent all these years trying to figure something out, something that would be longstanding,” Lindsey Ring said.
Her father, Gerald Pulliam, was a supporter of children’s charities, Lindsey Ring said, and discussions with Edgewood’s PTO and Principal Matt Kiser led to the idea of providing the funds for a new, top-of-the-line playground.
“I thought it would be good that it would be something Kathryn, a fourth grader, could be involved with and could be proud of and a physical reminder of my dad. I wanted to be able to see the thing that was built in his memory,” Lindsey Ring said.
Kiser said a new playground has been a project for the PTO for a couple years, and they have been able to raise funds to replace single pieces of equipment at a time. With the help of the Ring family, he said, they were able to complete the project in a matter of months.
The Rings met with Edgewood staff in May for their initial discussions of the project and what the ideal playground would look like. Lindsey Ring said they talked with Kathryn about equipment her classmates would enjoy, and teachers provided input as well.
The playground, which is set to open next week, has a forest theme, with plastic pine trees decorating the equipment and details like a “ranger station” for kids to play in. In addition to the normal climbing, sliding and swinging apparatus, the playground features equipment that is accessible for kids with disabilities.
The wheelchair-accessible swing, for instance, allows kids to secure their wheelchair inside the swinging platform. Lindsey Ring said they chose to put the swing in the same structure with regular swings, so that kids of all abilities could play with their friends rather than being separated.
Kiser said that inclusiveness of all ages and ability levels had been a goal since the first PTO discussions of a new playground.
The path to the new playground includes a sign honoring Pulliam.
“I expected it to look really good, and it looks better than I expected,” Robert Ring said.
Since Edgewood’s playground is open year round, the Rings’ gift will benefit children and families even outside of the school, Kiser said.
“It exemplifies what I think Homewood City Schools is about, what Edgewood is about,” Kiser said.
“We wanted to be very mindful and respectful of the gift they were giving Edgewood school, that would impact 800 students right now but thousands of students longitudinally.”
Lindsey Ring said watching the playground construction was emotional, but happy at the same time. Getting to see it in use nearly every day, she said, is more than she had hoped for when she first decided to donate her inheritance to a good cause.
“That will be something that will remind me [of my father] every day,” Lindsey Ring said. “… It became more than I expected it will be.”
“A playground is such a happy and joyous place. Every day, 180 days a year and throughout the summer, there’s joy out there. Kids love it. I think that’s a great way to honor someone that you're so close to,” Kiser said.
