McKenzie Centre Hamilton gets $25k Mitre 10 makeover for safer accessible play

McKenzie Centre business support co-ordinator Lillian Martin and co-owner of Mitre 10 Hamilton Hayden Camp. Photo / Tom Eley

A $25,000 makeover has transformed the outdoor space at Hamilton’s McKenzie Centre, creating a safer and more accessible place for young children with diverse needs.

Before the upgrade, children often had to walk through the carpark rather than use the damaged path, putting them in the same space as moving vehicles.

Uneven ground caused by tree roots had also made parts of the space unusable.

The last major playground upgrade at the centre was in 2009.

McKenzie Centre business support co-ordinator Lillian Martin said fixing the outdoor area without outside support would have been extremely difficult.

“You know, we’d have needed 4000 working bees, but the reality is we just wouldn’t have done it,” she said.

The McKenzie Centre supports Waikato families with children aged 0 to 5 who have a developmental delay or disability.

Martin said the centre focused on supporting the whole family, not just the child.

Families attend sessions alongside their children and are supported by a whole team that includes speech-language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, early intervention teachers and psychologists.

Martin said the aim was to give families the skills and confidence to support their children at home and help them build a strong foundation before a child started school.

Around 120 children and their families are supported each year.

Martin said part of her role involves applying for grants and maintaining relationships with supporters to keep the centre running.

“About 80% of our income comes from grants and contracts,” Martin said.

Co-owner of Mitre 10 Hamilton Hayden Camp and McKenzie Centre business support co-ordinator Lillian Martin.

Recent upgrades at the centre included removing a tree and reorganising the carpark to improve access and create a couple of additional parking spaces.

The work was carried out through the Mitre 10 Helping Hands programme, with team members from Mitre 10 Hamilton volunteering about eight days to complete the project.

Hayden Camp, who co-owns Mitre 10 Hamilton with his wife Abby Camp, said when they asked charities and community groups to nominate projects in need of support, the centre stood out.

He said the project allowed staff to get involved directly rather than just donating money.

The build involved significant groundwork, including removing large sections of concrete and dismantling structures built over an older ramp.

Camp said the new pathway not only improved children’s safety, but the overall project also revamped play areas at the front of the centre and added a wheelchair-accessible pathway.

Hayden Camp and the team at the McKenzie Centre.

Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist in Canada for Black Press Media and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.