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Date: 11/20/2023
SOUTHAMPTON — A new playground at Labrie Field has been constructed and dedicated to the memory of Maddie Schmidt, a local girl who passed away last year at 8-years old after a 10-month battle with pediatric brain cancer.
In her loving memory, parents Nora and Greg — along with many other supportive family, friends and community members — have taken her loss and turned it into inspiration to create good in the world. “Maddie’s Magical Playground” is another step in doing so.
“My biggest fear when Maddi passed was that people would forget Maddie altogether, you know, forget her name, what she looked like, her kindness, her love for others, and that was my biggest thing I never wanted to happen. My family and friends knew this and promised me when she died that they would never let that happen, and they meant it and those were more than just words,” Nora Schmidt told Reminder Publishing.
Maddie suffered from a brain cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, known as DIPG, an aggressive, malignant brain tumor.
Schmidt said the idea for the playground came out of these efforts and was first discussed at a meeting for the nonprofit. When brainstorming what else they could do to continue spreading Maddie’s “sparkle,” a purple and teal playground — her favorite colors — quickly became a frontrunning idea.
Coming in to assist on the project was Juliet Locke, a family friend and project engineer by profession. With her expertise and background, Locke was able to help bring the project together over the last year with thanks to the many in town who stepped up and those who volunteered.
“I can’t imagine what Nora and her family have gone through, but when you have to watch from the outside one of your best friends going through this, you just feel so helpless, and I just felt entirely helpless, but this was one thing where I could say, this is something I can do to help keep Maddie’s memory alive,” Locke said. “And not only that, but it impacts a whole community and keeps her spirit alive for the entire community and for everyone to see for years to come. It’s crazy to think about how long that playground will be there.”
Locke not only took feedback directly from Maddie’s parents and brothers, but also from her cousins who all wanted to help create something Maddie would have loved. It was loud and clear from the children of the family that swings were a must.
One of the most important things that needed to be included with this park was that it would be made fully wheelchair and ADA accessible. Toward the end of Maddie’s life, she became wheelchair bound.
“It was heartbreaking to see that she was mentally still there, but physically she wasn’t able to be a kid in all the ways she should have been able to,” Locke said. “Our town did not have an ADA wheelchair accessible playground so that was very important to us when we started the planning process.”
Schmidt called the community’s support over the last year “special” and that it has given her a newfound appreciation for the importance of community and stepping up for others.
“They [the community] are the ones that keep us going along with our family and friends because they continue to support our family and our mission for Maddie, not only with my family but also with this playground,” Schmidt said. She added she was blown away by the turnout for the playground’s dedication.
She continued, “You ask one little thing and hundreds of people step up. A close friend of ours always comments, “this is love” and she’s so right. I couldn’t say it better myself. They have been the definition of love and community and supporting one another in the most unimaginable times. This community keeps us going and the love and support we feel from them is immeasurable and we are truly grateful for that for sure.”
Schmidt added more thanks to the volunteers who stepped up in the project and making it a reality through multiple days of unpredictable weather. Both Schmidt and Locke gave special thanks to the Southampton Park Commission, the Southampton Selectboard, residents of the community, and the Southampton Community Preservation Committee for their help in the project.
Magic for Maddie also added thanks to the Magic for Maddie Committee, the Connecticut Mulch Distributors, Geeleher Enterprises, Naples Waste Removal, Site Specifics, United Rentals and Community build volunteers.
In October, the second annual Magic for Maddie fundraiser 5K/2 mile family fun walk carnival event at Ashley Reservoir and the Holyoke Elks was hosted by the nonprofit. Because of Maddie’s specific diagnosis, Magic for Maddie the nonprofit has partnered with three national charities that specifically support research and treatment for this diagnosis. The three charities include the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation, the DIPG-DMG Research Funding Alliance and the Live Life Together Foundation, which provides financial help to other families in the same fight.
The first Magic for Maddie fundraiser in 2022 raised enough money to help cover expenses the family was facing through Maddie’s treatment, and the family was also able to donate $50,000, split between research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and their first $25,000 to the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation.
Both of Maddie’s parents are from Holyoke, but the family lives in Southampton. When reflecting on the big picture of the work the family is trying to do in Maddie’s memory, Schmidt said it puts a big smile on hers and the family’s faces.
“It makes us feel so proud that we were able to add something to this community and these kids who were friends with Maddie and that loved her so much. The fact that they now have this beautiful playground to play at while watching or after their soccer games or baseball or softball games and having something to play around with but also remember their friend Maddie just makes us feel really, really proud and thankful that we were able to do something like this,” Schmidt said. She added Maddie played her soccer games and watched many of her brother’s baseball games at Labrie Field where the playground now stands.
She continued, “Just to hear the laughter and the love that’s going on in the playground that comes from something that we were able to just makes us feel truly happy that we were able to give back in that way.”