Remembering Melaina

Last Friday was a special day for Andrea and Jeff Cunningham. The couple, along with a number of friends and supporters, broke ground on an all-accessible playground at Cape County Park North. The playground, Melaina's Magical Playland, is named after the Cunningham's daughter who died at the age of 3 from complications of nemaline myopathy, a neuromuscular disorder.

Over the last three years, the Cunninghams and a number of supporters have organized an effort to build this playground that makes fun in the park an option for all children and their parents. The playground is tentatively scheduled to be completed mid- to late summer.

In total, more than $640,000 has been raised through Melaina Cunningham and Friends Park Fund, the not-for-profit organization founded by Andrea Cunningham. Though a number of individuals and businesses, along with grant funding and support from the county, have helped get the project started, fundraising continues.

The playground is set to cost an estimated $785,000. However, Cunningham said the in-kind donations of labor and equipment, particularly through Nip Kelley Trucking and Equipment, Kiefner Construction and Koehler Surveying and Engineering, probably make the playground a $1 million project.

Melaina Cunningham's life was short. But with the efforts of her parents and this generous community, this little girl's legacy is one that will last in the hearts and minds of many for years to come.