At Holden Oversoul, every meal this week helps build a playground for every child

DEMOREST, Ga. — A simple dinner out this week can help bring an inclusive playground to Demorest Springs Park.

From Monday, July 13, through Saturday, July 18, Holden Oversoul Kitchen & Oyster Bar will donate 5% of all food sales and 5% of gift certificate purchases made directly through the restaurant to Price to Play, the local nonprofit working to build an inclusive playground where children of all abilities can play together.

The fundraiser comes as Price to Play enters the final phase of its campaign. Since launching the project, the nonprofit has raised approximately $650,000 and is now working to secure its final $200,000 so construction can begin this fall.

“We want to help them get this project to the finish line,” Holden Oversoul owners said in announcing the weeklong fundraiser. “Y’all showed up last summer for this initiative. Let’s all do it again.”

A vision inspired by one little boy

For founders Emily and John Herrin, the project is deeply personal. The nonprofit is named after their son, Price, who has developmental delays. His experiences opened their eyes to how traditional playgrounds often leave children with disabilities on the sidelines.

The planned playground at Demorest Springs Park will feature wheelchair-accessible rubber surfacing, sensory play panels, inclusive swings and other equipment designed so children with physical, developmental and sensory challenges can play alongside their peers—not separately.

“I want children to be able to play together,” Emily Herrin previously told Now Georgia. “I don’t want the equipment to be a separate thing for some children and not others. I don’t want it to have a stigma or divide people. I want every single kid to want to play on these playgrounds.”

The idea for Price to Play grew out of Price’s therapy. After months of struggling to participate, he became engaged when he discovered a box of toy trains, leading his parents to realize that every child connects with play differently. Emily later visited an inclusive playground in Minnesota, where she learned how thoughtful design and accessible surfacing can transform playgrounds into spaces where every child belongs.

Community support builds momentum

Community support has helped turn that vision into reality. Last summer, Holden Oversoul hosted a sold-out benefit that raised nearly $6,000 for the project, adding to the momentum generated by grants, corporate sponsors and local donors.

Now organizers are asking the community to help push the project across the finish line.

Whether it’s lunch, dinner or a gift certificate purchase, every meal this week brings Demorest one step closer to creating a playground where every child has a place to play.