A safe place to play

Sue Doyle

COSTA MESA -- Brick by brick, Cindy Soto and Sierra’s Light Foundation

are transforming playgrounds into safer places for children.

This weekend, volunteers started digging a trench for a new wall behind

Girls Inc. in Costa Mesa.

The wall will make the grounds safer for children who play there, said

Ruth Santoyo, assistant director of Girls Inc., a national nonprofit

group that focuses on girls’ issues.

It has been more than a year since the tragedy that took the life of

Soto’s daughter, 4-year-old Sierra, and another child, 3-year-old Brandon

Weiner. The two children died when a man intentionally drove his car into

the playground of a Costa Mesa day-care center.

Through the foundation, created in memory of Sierra and Brandon, Soto

aims to physically improve security for children and to lobby for safety

guidelines at all day-care centers.

“I feel that if we can make one difference in one child’s life that it’s

worth the efforts,” Soto said.

The construction of the wall at Girls Inc. has turned into a community

affair. Between private donations and a fund-raiser, the foundation

raised $6,500 for the $10,000 wall.

In addition, some high school football players surprised everyone when

they showed up and volunteered to dig the wall’s 75-foot trench.

“We would have never been able to do it without them showing up,” Soto

said. “It was a bear.”

The trench must be approved by an inspector before construction can

continue. A contractor will finish the job, which is expected to be

completed within the next two weeks.

A week ago, the foundation erected a chain-link fence around a play area

at Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa. Strangers had been

approaching preschool children on the playground, and the new fence now

protects them, Soto said.

The wall and fence mark the first major steps taken by the foundation,

which is dedicated to making sure that playgrounds are filled with

nothing but make-believe kingdoms and fairy tale endings.

Soto will spend the rest of her life making it happen.

“It’s the idea that this will keep children safer,” Soto said. “For me,

personally, it’s a way to channel my energies, grief and anger into

something positive.”