Campaign for Hannah Crutchfield memorial playground raises more than $200,000

INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly two months after a crowdfunding campaign to honor Hannah Crutchfield was announced, organizers say they've surpassed their fundraising goal of $200,000.

Organizers made the announcement Wednesday, saying the funds have allowed them to order equipment for Hannah's Memorial Playground, a play area intended to commemorate the fallen first-grader.

"We are excited and overwhelmed at the amount of generosity that we have seen from our community, from all over the city of Indianapolis, all over Indiana, all over the country," Michelle Pleasant, the president of the George W. Julian School Parent Teacher Student Association and co-chair of the Hannah's Memorial Playground project, said in a Tweet.

Hannah was killed in a crash in September 2021 while she was walking home from George W. Julian School 57, where she was a student. She was 7 years old.

Her mother, Cassandra Crutchfield, and a crossing guard were also critically injured in that crash.

Earlier this year, school officials and members of the community announced plans to renovate the school's playground to honor Hannah. then, in March, the crowdfunding campaign was officially opened.

RELATED | School renovating playground in honor of Hannah Crutchfield

Any of the surplus funds will go toward art and murals dedicated to honoring Hannah. Pleasant said the new playground equipment will be installed this fall.

Marc Ransford, an IPS spokesman, said installation is scheduled to start Oct. 8. and could take one to two weeks. There's also a dedication event in the works. That will be announced as the installation date approaches, Ransford said.

"We've had so many people who have shared our story, shared about who Hannah was and why this project is so important to our community — and especially to our students who came up with this idea and asked to build this space to honor their friend and honor the joy that she brought to so many people," Pleasant said.

"We now get to build a beautiful space — a space where we can come together, where there can be healing, where we can show our students that we can do big things, we can do hard things, and we can do something beautiful to honor who Hannah was and how important she is to so many people," she added.

WRTV Reporter Nikki DeMentri contributed to this report.