Rotary Club debuts accessible outdoor exercise equipment at Folsom's Lembi Park

Elected officials, parks and recreation staff and local residents gathered with members of the Rotary Club of Folsom last week for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the completion of an accessible outdoor exercise gym for people in wheelchairs, walkers and the non-disabled. The six exercise stations are on a 1,150 square foot, level concrete pad at the east end of the aquatic center at Lembi Park. They include a vertical press, lat pull, chest press, two butterfly/reverse fly combination machines and shoulder wheels. Each of the pieces of exercise equipment has one side that is accessible by people in wheelchairs and walkers, and one side for the non-disabled. "Our city is blessed with an amazing parks and recreation department and appointed parks commissioners,"said project coordinator Justin Raithel, the Rotary Club's community services director who also served as chairperson of the City of Folsom's Community Service Day. "We appreciate them bringing us ideas from the community and for helping us bring these projects to life for Folsom's residents to enjoy."Raithel said the new accessible equipment uses body weight for resistance to provide a good workout for many people and that is "fully accessible for people of most abilities." With community contributions and volunteer labor, the project was completed for under $30,000, which included a $20,000 contribution from the Rotary Club of Folsom, $5,000 from the Rotary Club's District 5180 and $5,000 from the City of Folsom's Community Service Day."The Rotary Club has partnered with the city on projects throughout the years, including crossfit equipment at the Willow Hills Reservoir Community Park near Folsom High School and numerous trail improvement projects," said Lorraine Poggione, parks and recreation director for the City of Folsom, who tested the equipment during the ribbon-cutting event. "We appreciate when a community service group has the passion and can rally the resources to help us serve the residents of our community."For more information on the Rotary Club of Folsom, visit the website at https://folsomrotary.com/. For more information on Folsom's Community Service Day, visit https://www.folsomcommunityservice.org/. For more information on the City of Folsom's Parks & Recreation Department, visit https://www.folsom.ca.us/government/parks-recreation.