Lilly Truel is not your average Girl Scout. Not only does she have pipes, but she also has a heart to serve the community.
Lilly collects clothes for children in foster care and is fundraising to finish Southgate's dog park.
But, last summer, Lilly learned her true passion when working as a camp counselor.
"A lot of the time I was placed one-on-one with campers who used wheelchairs, and whenever we went on field trips to parks, they weren’t allowed to participate in any of the park fun, and I didn’t think that was fair," Lilly said.
So, she began researching disability-friendly parks. She didn't find one within a 50-mile radius of her home, so she made it her mission to create one.
"My favorite thing to do when I was little was play on the swing set because I always felt like I was flying, so that’s kind of how I got the idea for my project," she said.
She calls it Wings for Wheelchairs – two swings, one wheelchair accessible, and another adult harness swing that fits up to 300 pounds.
Tracy Nestman said raising her 13-year-old daughter, Addyson, continues to be one of the greatest joys of her life, but finding activities for her daughter, who is considered medically fragile, is a challenge.
"I have been in search for one of these types of swings for years, and I actually reached out to the community trying to get one, but I was unsuccessful," Nestman said.
Anonymous testimonials poured in with people expressing gratitude for their loved ones taking flight for the first time.
"You can’t decide if you have a disability, you can’t decide if you have some sort of special need, and I think it is really important to include those people because they just want to be just like everyone else," Lilly said.
Lilly's advocacy work isn't stopping here. Now she is working with the City of Southgate to build not only more equipment like the swings, but an entire park to make sure children with disabilities can play alongside their peers.
