Volunteers are needed on Saturday, May 14, 2005 to help assemble the Ashley Nicole Dream Playground, Knoxville's first 100 percent accessible playground.

The play area at Caswell Park, 620 Winona St., is designed to be a place where children with and without disabilities will enjoy playing together. The need for the playground was born from the disappointment of Ashley Nicole Manes, who was 4 when a 1999 accident left her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a heavy, powered wheelchair to move.

Her mother, Tiffany Manes, took Ashley and her younger sister to a playground after the accident, but when Allison ran to the swings, Ashley was unable to follow.Family and friends, working with the Disability Resource Center, initiated the drive for the project, soliciting the support of the City of Knoxville, creating its design and raising some $90,000 in private donations. Mayor Bill Haslam, on behalf of the City of Knoxville, presented a check for $100,000 to Ashley and her family.

Volunteers will begin working at the site at 9 a.m. Saturday and continue through the afternoon. Construction includes the assembly of large playground equipment.