Local father needs help with son’s memorial playground

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A father is trying to raise $15,000 to fund a park in his son’s memory but has only two days to make the dream come true.

Rob Whan lost his 4-year-old son Caleb to leukemia in 2008.

But he is pouring his grief into a patch of grass that could transform into a playground. Whan said this is the future park, located off Sunrise Boulevard, is the best way to honor his son.

“We couldn’t get him off the swing,” Whan said. “I put some gromets in the door jam so he had a swing when he was in treatment. There’s no doubt that this is important to us and definitely an awesome legacy for Caleb.”

A local organization, the Elizabeth Galeana Foundation, pledged $15,000 to Caleb’s memory if only Whan could match it with his own $15,000. He has until Saturday.

Whan said he didn’t realize how huge the task ahead of him would be.

“As challenging as that is and as much as my heart wanted to say ‘That’s too quick of a timeline,’ the words came out: ‘Yes, we would be excited to do it!” Whan said.

Whan already has the support of another local father. Joe Stephenson’s daughter Catie May died of stage four neuroblastoma one year after Caleb passed.

His daughter, too, had a passion for playing.

“Catie was a spitfire. She was a ball of fun, always wanted it her way, loved to play, was a ‘snooty booty,’ as she would say,” Stephenson said. “She was definitely a pistol.”

Both fathers hope the park will serve as a legacy to their children as a place for other families to gather.

“To see the smile on kids faces, to come here and play knowing that when I was little we didn’t have this, and for them to have it now for the community to come together to have a good time to let their kids play: it’s huge,” they said.

The park has received a $5,000 donation from Edison Auto Service for the $15,000 goal.

To donate to Caleb’s playground visit https://www.razoo.com/us/story/Villas-Beautification-Project?referral_code=sw.