Community Begins Building Playground in Memory of Murdered 10 Year-Old Girl

Community Begins Building Playground in Memory of Murdered 10 Year-Old Girl

April 12, 2012 | Keri Brown

Hundreds of community members are banding together in Hickory, North Carolina over the next three days to build a playground in memory of 10-year-old Zahra Baker.

Zahra was killed by her stepmother in 2010. Elisa Baker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving 15 to 18 years in prison. The community has struggled to make sense of this horrible tragedy, and are hoping that the "Zahra Baker All Children's Playground" will serve a symbol of healing and remembrance of the little freckle-faced girl whose life touched so many people.

Dana Kaminske, communications specialist with the city of Hickory, said the community support is overwhelming.

“We have a total of 347 volunteers plus city staff that will be on site for the whole time... doing all sorts of things like painting the pavilion, putting picnic tables together and building a slide. We are excited because this playground is an all-children’s playground so even children with special needs can play on this playground. This is in the memory of Zahra Baker - what a wonderful child and what a wonderful way to memorialize her in our community,” said Kaminske

Zahra Baker was a cancer survivor who wore a prosthetic leg and hearing aids.

Community members and local organizations have raised more than $200,000 to buy equipment and other items for the playground. Kaminske said the Kiwanis Club of Catawba County will use some of the money to help fund a scholarship in Zahra’s name.

“What they have set up is a scholarship fund through the Kiwanis Foundation. Any money above what was needed for the playground equipment - and they don’t have that number finalized just yet because they are still paying some of the bills for the equipment - is going into this foundation fund for scholarships. From my understanding it is for special needs [children] and survivors of cancer who are high school students going into college,” said Kaminske.

Construction on the "Zahra Baker All Children's Playground" in Kiwanis Park will wrap up Saturday evening. A special opening ceremony will take place sometime in May.

WFDD's Keri Brown will be in Hickory on Friday for the build and will have a live report at Noon and in All Things Considered.