LILI’S PLACE DEVELOPING STORIES
STORY X PHOTOS: GRACE MANNION
This August, the Kiwanis Club of South Lake held their groundbreaking for Lili’s place: an inclusive playground at Lake Felter Park. The project began with Lili, who became part of the Kiwanis family in 2016 after being diagnosed with cancer in 2013. Lili sadly passed away in 2018, but her wish that she left for the community was to bring something beautiful that could unite families in situations like her own that were going through cancer with South Lake families. Her wish was to have a beautiful playground. She wanted a place where she could feel safe, be free from judgement, and simply be a child. So, in partnering with the City of Clermont as well as the Live Well Foundation, this dream was able to become a reality in Lake Felter Park. Every year, Kiwanis members lead over 1.3 million service projects and raise nearly 390 million dollars to support children, families, and communities all over the world. Every project is tailored to the specific needs of the community, whether it's building a playground for South Lake families, holding a celebrity golf tournament, providing medical equipment, filling backpacks with school supplies, restocking libraries, and so much more. Just one Kiwanis member has the capability to impact the lives of 106 children.The project is planned to later this year. The Kiwanis Playground Community, including Renee Lowe (Member of Kiwanis of South Lake), Nancy Wilkins (Kiwanis of South Lake President), and Mike Henleben (Board member of the Kiwanis Playground Committee), would like to give a special thanks to the city of Clermont for providing the space for the playground in addition to agreeing to maintain the park. They would also like to give a special shout out to Donna Kirkland and the Livewell Foundation for donating 100,000 dollars to the Kiwanis Club of South Lake in order to make this dream a reality.
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