Crowdfunding campaign opened for Hannah's Memorial Playground

INDIANAPOLIS — The movement to honor a fallen IPS student is calling upon the community to further support.

Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and IPS Superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson joined committee members for Hannah’s Memorial Playground at George Julian School 57 to discuss a crowdfunding campaign to honor Hannah Crutchfield.

Hannah Crutchfield died when she was struck by a car on her walk home from school in 2021.

Supt. Johnson shared her appreciation for Crutchfield’s classmates and friends to focus on memorializing her with upgrades to the playground.

“The tragedy that befell the Crutchfield family and the George Julian school community was unimaginable,” Johnson said. “But it took the imagination of Hannah’s classmates and school friends to transform her favorite place — the school’s playground — into an engaging space designed to honor her immense love of friendship and play.”

Hannah’s mother Cassandra Crutchfield shared with those in attendance a little about her daughter.

“Hannah was fun, adventurous and kind,” Cassandra Crutchfield said. “She loved animals, nature and birds and bugs. She was a leader among her peers, and she enjoyed creating games for her classmates to play during recess.”

The campaign is seeking $50,000 to transform the school’s playground into a fun, vibrant and welcoming area for students while providing a space to come together to remember Crutchfield.

If successful, the project led by the George Julian Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), will receive an additional $50,000 matching grant as part of the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s CreatINg Places program.

“Today, I am inspired by how you (the Hannah’s Memorial Playground committee) choose to memorialize Hannah Crutchfield,” Crouch said. “By the makeover of this playground you are continuing her memory and you are honoring her spirit where she played with her big sister, her classmates and her friends.”

“We hope to encourage a safe place for children to play while keeping Hannah’s memory and legacy in the eastside community,” Crouch said. “We are glad to see the CreatINg Places program used in Hannah’s honor and look forward to helping them achieve their goal.”

The campaign is accepting donations now. It is tax-deductible and will run through June 22, 2022.