In memory of her son Matthew, Julie Swanson fundraised for swings that allow children and caregivers to share smiles and create lasting bonds.
Photo: The new expression swings in Community Park are a hit with families of young children. Photo by Natalie Davies.
By Natalie Davies
Expression swings have two seats: one for a child and one for a caregiver. The seats face each other and allow each person to see the expression on the other person’s face.
Dexter installed expression swings at Community Park after Julie Swanson fundraised for them in honor of her son Matthew Swanson.
Matthew passed away at 11 years old in August 2001. Julie wanted to honor her son as the 20-year mark of his death approached. She first saw expression swings in a park in Brighton and wanted to bring them to Dexter. The swings allow parents to see the joy in their children’s faces while playing. She wishes she could see Matt smile again.
“Matthew lived life full on and embraced fun and joy,” Julie said. “He was very unconditionally loving. He needed a lot of support, but he honed in on what was important and could pick out people that were very rock-solid folks. He brought a lot of people to our family and created quite a network around himself.”
Matthew had Down syndrome and lived in supportive housing during the week and with his family on the weekend. Matthew tragically drowned on a field trip to Independence Lake where four caregivers brought 24 boys living at the center to the lake to swim, Hour Magazine reported in its story “The Depths of Despair” in 2002. None of the boys were wearing life jackets, though Julie said the family provided a life jacket for him to wear on field trips.
“It feels right to remind people, especially in the summer, that these things happen in the summer and we need to be paying attention,” Julie said.
Julie said the Dexter community supported her and her family during their time of loss and was also quick to pitch in fundraising for the swings, which wouldn’t have happened without them. Matthew brought people together during his life and still does through his legacy preserved through his mom, family and the Dexter community.
“Taking in a village was definitely true where Matthew was concerned,” Julie said. “He lived with joy and in pursuit of fun. A majority of the time, he was pretty happy. Even when he was really sick and in pain, he was connecting to people. He loved food. So he would if we were at a lake or something, he wanted to go sit with people and share their food and all that stuff.”
Dexter locals and supporters of the expression swings project raised $12,000 in just over one month. The fundraiser started in August 2021, and $3,000 donations from the Lions Club and owner of Hilltop Greenhouse and Farms Denise Prielipp brought it to the finish line in mid-September 2021, according to Julie’s “Swinging for Smiles” GoFundMe page.
Installation concluded in late September 2023, but other park renovations didn’t conclude until late October. Julie hosted an event at Community Park on May 19, 2024, to celebrate the opening of the swings, bring together the community, and honor her son Matthew.
“It (the event) felt like a full circle thing and made me realize how valuable personal and professional connections are face-to-face with the people that supported me through my healing with Matthew,” Julie said.
Julie was a speech pathologist for the Dexter School District for 19 years before retiring in 2019. She specialized in Early Intervention and ran the local First Steps/Early On Program for Dexter families with children ages 0-5. The program no longer exists.
“Matthew was the impetus,” Julie said. “I was a speech pathologist before he was born, but he was the impetus for me fully embracing the early intervention position. That type of program didn’t exist when Matthew was that age. My passion for my role in Dexter was a thing because of who he was to me and the joy and the hardship.”
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
