Prince William County has a new place for kids of all abilities to play. The county opened an inclusive playground at George Hellwig Memorial Park, a project shaped from the start by drawings and ideas submitted by local children.
The playground sits beside the Dr. Richard Tami Miracle Field at 14420 Bristow Road in Manassas, according to Potomac Local, which also reported that organizers expect the new playspace to serve more than 900 children a year. The Miracle Field next door already hosts children and young adults with disabilities who play Miracle League baseball there, giving the new playground a built-in neighbor with a similar mission.
As InsideNoVa reported, the playground aims to provide recreational opportunities for children of varying abilities, with children and volunteers celebrating the finished construction. Prince William County's Coles District Supervisor, Yesli Vega, said the turnout at the October 23 ribbon-cutting reflected how much the community and its partners had invested in the project, adding that she believes the playground will become a hub for activity and memories for years to come.
Kids Sketched Their Dream Playground Back in August
The design itself traces back to an August design day, when children in the community drew their ideas for what they wanted in a play space. Those drawings were worked directly into the final design, per the same Potomac Local report. It's a process the county has used before: a 2024 playground project at Fairmont Park similarly drew on drawings from 30 local kids who shared their dream playspaces with organizers that August, according to a Prince William County government announcement.
Janet Bartnik, acting director of Prince William County Parks and Recreation, said every child deserves a welcoming, inclusive place to play, and that the new playground provides accessible play opportunities for children of varying abilities. The project brought together Prince William County Parks and Recreation, Amazon Web Services and the national nonprofit KABOOM!, which collaborated on building the playground together.
Amazon and KABOOM! Mark a Milestone Partnership
Lewis Irving, an Amazon Web Services representative, emphasized the importance of safe recreational spaces and maintaining community partnerships, saying that creating safe spaces for children and sustaining those partnerships is extremely important. Amazon Web Services has said it supports communities where its employees live and work.
Carlyne Cardichon, KABOOM!'s senior vice president of finance, credited volunteers and funding partners such as Amazon with making the playground possible. She also presented Amazon Web Services with KABOOM!'s newly introduced Spark Award, which recognizes partnerships that transform communities through play. The recognition comes as KABOOM! marks its 30th year, with the organization continuing to expand its work through public-private partnerships, research, policy and advocacy aimed at improving access to play spaces nationwide.
More than 200 volunteers took part in building the playground during a broader build-week effort that included preparation days earlier in the week and a Friday celebration. The finished playground now stands as the latest example of the county's kid-designed, community-built approach to expanding play access across Prince William County.
