Imagine a giant tree house – high off the ground with plenty of room to play and run in. And imagine how fun it is watching everyone on the ground below.
Now imagine that you’re on the ground below, peering up at the tree house and wishing you could play in it, but you’re unable to climb up to get into the tree house. Mike Ritter ’02, coordinator for the office of disability services at Missouri Western, imagined something like that and decided to do something about it.
A few years ago, Mike and his wife, Michelle (Hendricks)’00, were sitting in their backyard admiring their large trees. “I thought it would be neat to build a tree house, but Michelle (who is in a wheelchair) couldn’t use it,” Mike said.
He imagined building an awesome tree house in a public park in the community, but adapting the structure so it was accessible to all, no matter their disability, no matter their age. Mike imagined The Tree House for Everyone.
He shared his idea with Stan Weston ’74, a retired physical education teacher who works for the St. Joseph Parks and Recreation Department. Stan had developed the Adventure League, a program that offers noncompetitive sports opportunities to the disabled, and Mike was a volunteer for the league. The two began imagining how such a tree house really could be built.
If they can raise enough funds for the tree house – Mike estimates it will cost $30,000 and they have already raised $10,000 – they want to break ground in a small grove of trees near the front entrance of the Bode Ice Arena in St. Joseph in October of this year, since October is Disability Awareness Month. After an article about their plans appeared in the local paper, River Bluffs Architects in St. Joseph offered to put Mike and Stan’s ideas to paper and design the tree house at no cost.
The current design is approximately 30 feet x 30 feet, and plans call for it to be wired for electricity, cable television and computers. Mike envisions that the space will be used by classes from the local and area schools. It will be built with materials that don’t require a lot of maintenance, and Mike says the Adventure League will hold a fund-raiser every year to pay for the tree house’s upkeep.
Mike noted that when it is completed, The Tree House for Everyone will not look as though it is intended for only people with disabilities. “That will just be a welcome surprise for people who need (the accessible amenities).” He noted that the tree house will be accessible not just to people with disabilities, but to the elderly or parents with strollers.
To donate, call Mike at 816-279-2171 or Stan at 816-261-0022.
“We want to make the tree house so attractive that kids can’t stop themselves from coming over to it,” Mike said.
Can’t you just imagine it?
-end-