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When PTO leader Yvonne Stitzel looked at the construction site beside Perry Elementary School on Saturday, she didn’t just see a group of people putting together playground equipment.

She saw years of organizing bingo games, raffles and bake sales finally coming to fruition. But she also saw the chance for special-needs children to finally be able to play with friends at recess, rather than having to sit on the sidelines and watch other kids having fun.

A tool-wielding group of almost 50 people spent Saturday piecing together the new and long-awaited playground equipment at the school at Fourth and Reber streets in Shoemakersville.

Although most wore matching bright blue shirts, they weren’t from a construction company: They were volunteers who had been working for three years to fund, plan and assemble a playground for all children.

What sets this particular playground apart is that all of the equipment is designed for children with disabilities.

The playground equipment’s installation was finished Saturday afternoon, and Stitzel hopes the playground will be up and running by mid-July, once the rubber that will be poured over the playground’s surface has fully cured.

“This playground being inviting to all children very much mirrors what we have in our school,” said Dr. Richard Mextorf, Hamburg School District superintendent. “We want every child to feel welcome, and we want them to feel safe, and we want to treat them with respect and dignity.”

The equipment installed Saturday, chosen with input from physical and occupational therapists and the parents of children with physical handicaps, is intended to be usable by all.

This includes pieces such as a roller table, which children can lie on and pull themselves through, and a “we-saw,” which is a handicap-accessible version of a see-saw.

The new equipment is the second phase of Perry Elementary’s playground area. The first, the existing playground completed when the school opened in 2014, was also assembled by community members. The PTO has begun preparations for a third and final phase: a learning pavilion that Stitzel hopes will be built next summer.

“The plan was to develop a phase two playground that is going to not only complement this particular spot, but also to address some unique pieces to aid in the inclusivity of all children,” said Steve Hemler, a sales consultant for General Recreation Inc., the company that worked with the district to design and build both phases of the playground.

Stitzel, whose daughter is going to fourth grade at Perry Elementary, said she’s extremely grateful both to have raised the money to finish the project in just a few years and to have had enough volunteer help to ease the cost of installation.

“This is a really good representation of the microcosm of the school district community and the larger community: everybody coming together to do things that matter,” Mextorf said.