Teen with cerebral palsy who raised $43k for accessible playground recognised at Welly Awards

Thursday, 18 March 2021

Cyrus Dahl, 13, won the Youth Philanthropist category at Wednesday’s Wellingtonian of the Year Awards for raising more than $43,000 to make playgrounds more accessible.

A campaign to get accessible swings in his local park has netted a Wellington teen a major philanthropy gong.

Thirteen-year-old Cyrus Dahl, Waikato Tainui, took home the Youth Philanthropist category at Wednesday’s Wellingtonian of the Year Awards.

Speaking on behalf of her son, Kris Dahl said Cyrus, who has cerebral palsy, was excited about the win.

“He said he was so overwhelmed he was going to cry. It was the biggest moment of his life.”

Cyrus was rewarded for his efforts to start a fundraising campaign to make playgrounds more accessible for people with mobility limitations that has so far netted more than $43,000.

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The Nikau Foundation sponsors the Philanthropy awards at The Wellys. This year’s winners were Chris Parkin (Major Philanthropist Award) (back left), Margaret and Mike Olsen (Nikau Community Award) (Back, second and third from left) and Cyrus Dhal (Winner, Youth Philanthropist Award) (front). On the right is Alice Montague, executive director of the Nikau Foundation.

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She said her son’s idea came after experiencing accessible swings at campgrounds on a family holiday in Taranaki. The swings feature bucket seats that physically support people who are unable to sit up.

”When we came back to Wellington there was nothing he could play on.”

Media picked up on his initiative in February and donations flooded in soon after.

“He’d say his proudest moment is raising $30,000 in 30 minutes.”

With an initial target of $25,000 to get the swings installed at Woodridge’s Tawhai Raunui Play Area in North Wellington, Kris said Cyrus would work with the Wellington City Council to place the swings in more parks around the city using the extra funds.

Disability issues were important to Cyrus and his ambition was to lobby for better accessible car parking and housing in the future, she said.

Alice Montague is the executive director of the Nikau Foundation which sponsors the Philanthropy Showcase Awards at “The Wellys”, said Cyrus’ “commitment and perseverance to achieve something is quite incredible”.

“One of the best thing about searching for our winners is you get to learn about all these inspiring people, but Cyrus was on another level.”

The Major Philanthropy Award winner was former Wellington City Councillor Chris Parkin for his on-going support for a wide range of arts-based organisations and causes, from public sculpture to local theatre, including setting up a drawing prize in his name – the Parkin Prize.

Husband and wife Mike and Margaret Olsen were joint winners of the Nikau Community Award for their work in youth development and leadership initiatives. Over the years the couple have been involved with Outward Bound, Spirit of Adventure, and the William Pike Challenge.

“We’re proud to recognise these amazing individuals,” Montague said.

Created by The Dominion Post’s predecessor The Evening Post, the Wellingtonian of the Year Awards were started in 1989 to celebrate achievements and contributions across all sectors of the greater Wellington community.