Maybe dreams do come true.

On July 1, one day before the first anniversary of 17-year-old Kyle Caraher’s death, a manufacturer of commercial playground pieces held a contest giving away playground equipment.

Stacy Seiden, a family friend of the Caraher family, entered “Kyle’s Dreaming Tree” into Playworld Systems’ “Write to Play” playground contest with an application explaining the Carahers’ story.

A few weeks later the Carahers got a call. It was from Lewisburg, PA.

When Kyle’s mother, Karen Caraher, answered the phone, she was absolutely thrilled.

“When we first found out that there was a contest that was being held at the exact same time we were doing our fundraiser, it just seemed too good to be true,” said Karen Caraher. “So for us, this contest was almost…I would say God-driven. And to win it was overwhelming. We were so incredibly excited.”

The Kyle’s Dreaming Tree fundraiser was set up by Karen Caraher and a few of her friends to meet an initial goal of raising $30,000 in order to build a playground in memory of Kyle Caraher.

Jenn Harry, interactive media manager in Playworld Systems, explained how the contest was run through Facebook. Harry said hundreds of entries, with a variety stories, were submitted and reviewed online by an internal Playworld Systems committee. After all the entries were evaluated, the finalists were put on the Playworld Systems Facebook page where viewers could vote on their favorite story deciding the winner.

Volunteers for the Kyle’s Dreaming Tree fundraiser built a treehouse-themed playground on Sept. 21 at St. Norbert’s School. Last year, it was discovered that Kyle had drawn up plans in which he wrote about creating a treehouse for his friends, so the idea of a incorporating this treehouse theme into a new playground for the school seemed perfect to Karen Caraher.

According to Karen Caraher, she and her friends wanted to figure out some way to build a treehouse but couldn’t because of the safety concerns and legal liability.

“We decided to come up with the idea of a playground after we contacted the school to see if they needed one, and determined that the [current] playground was very small and in disrepair. They were ecstatic when we suggested raising funds to buy a new playground.”

Karen Caraher couldn’t be happier with the Northbrook community’s support and participation.

“I’m very touched, very heartfelt, that people cared enough to donate the money and the votes that we needed to win the contest,” said Karen Caraher. “There was a group of just fabulous seniors who raised about $1,000 with a three-on-three basketball tournament. Another group of children, God-bless them, from St. Norbert’s had a lemonade stand after the masses on Northbrook Days, and there alone they raised almost $600, so little things like that add up quickly.”

Moreover, when the fundraiser needed help taking the playground equipment off of the truck, a local construction company offered to lend their forklift for when the materials arrived.

“It was as if everything completely fell into place,” Spaniak said.

Spaniak’s oldest daughters Leia and Lisa Spaniak, students at St. Norbert’s, are very excited for the new playground.

“We’ve had a really small [playground] for as long as I’ve been going there,” Lisa said. Both girls agree that the old, broken, and small playground was in need of repair.

According to Spaniak, the park is open for public use outside the school day.

“[The playground] is going to be a great place for people who knew Kyle and want to go and remember him,” Spaniak said.

Karen Caraher agrees as she believes the playground will keep Kyle’s legacy alive.

“I do not want [Kyle] to be forgotten not only because he was my loving son, but because he set such a fine example for other teens,” said Karen Caraher. “Based upon the outpouring of donations, votes and kind words, I think his legacy will go on as he has touched so many lives.”