Brunswick first grader donates to inclusive playground project

BRUNSWICK — Gwen Ciccozzi, a first grader at Towslee Elementary School, and her mother, Rebecca Ciccozzi, made lemonade out of lemons — literally and figuratively. In doing so, Gwen, who has cerebral palsy and limited function on the right side of her body, also supported the ongoing fundraising efforts for Brunswick's inclusive playground project. "The process started by finding a bag of lemons in the fridge that needed to get used up. That was it," Ciccozzi said Wednesday. "I said, 'Gwen, we should make lemonade,' and she said, 'I want to have a lemonade stand.' We decided, after thinking about it, we had no plans over the weekend so let's do it. "I honestly thought that we were not going to make any money. I thought we were going to spend a lot more than she brought in." Thanks to the support from the community and those passing by the stand, Gwen made $59 and, after being asked by her mom what she wanted to do with it, instantly decided she wanted to donate the money to the project — a place that when complete, Gwen will be able to enjoy. "I was so overwhelmed with the generosity of our community," Ciccozzi said. "She raised so much money. We were in the house and counting it and I said, 'Gwen, this is a lot of money. Do you think you want to keep this all or should we donate some?' And she immediately said, 'The playground. "The inclusive playground is so near and dear (to her). She understands the need for that inclusiveness," Ciccozzi said. "When she goes to a typical playground, oftentimes there are things that she struggles to participate in. Usually, we drive to another inclusive playground that is a bit of a distance. To have one in our neighborhood and our community is our dream." Leann Alferio, special education coordinator for Brunswick Schools and spearhead for the project, has known the Ciccozzi family since Gwen was enrolled in her preschool class. When she heard about the donation, Alferio was moved to tears at the selflessness and generosity of the first grader. "Sixty dollars is a lot of money to a first-grader," Alferio said. "To give that to this playground, it shows what a wonderful job her mom has done and what a heart this little girl has to donate to a cause bigger than herself. I know it's a place close to her heart having a physical impairment. "I just came off of the weekend of my oldest daughter having prom and graduation. I cried and cried and I thought I was all cried out. Then I open my email and see this picture of Gwen donating $60 and I started Monday crying again." Ciccozzi said she was "thrilled" when Alferio first proposed the idea for the playground, which received almost immediate support from both the city and the school district. Last month, City Council passed a resolution committing to set aside up to $175,000 toward the cost of the project, based on how much they can get matched dollar-for-dollar by a NatureWorks grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "It's so hard because we want to be able to run and take Gwen to a playground," Ciccozzi said. "She's at that stage where she can go to a typical playground but she can't enjoy it as much because there's not as much that she can do with one functional hand. … She's so excited for it and we can't wait. I'm glad she's young enough that, when it's built, she'll enjoy it." Because of the overwhelming response from the community when it didn't know the money was going toward the playground, Ciccozzi said Gwen is planning to have another lemonade stand with the proceeds once again going toward the playground project. The date has not yet been set but Ciccozzi is hopeful for an even greater response. "If we had told people what, ultimately, it would have ended up being for, would they have been even more generous?" Ciccozzi said. "I'm kind of bummed that we didn't make the connection." Seeing Gwen be so active and involved in supporting a cause that means so much to her has Ciccozzi's heart full. To her, the money remains secondary to the enjoyment she gets out of spending time with her daughter and seeing her interact in ways she never thought possible. "Gwen is so proud of what she did," Ciccozzi said. "That makes my heart happy. We didn't know if she would ever walk or talk, so to see her waving to cars driving by, dancing and talking is just an amazing thing to see." Contact reporter Jack Kopanski at (330) 721-4063 or jkopanski@medina-gazette.com.