Parents Club, community fund-raisers made project possible
Some of the play equipment at Willow Grove Elementary School
dated back more than 50 years, but when the students go to recess
now it’s on an all new playground paid for with donations raised by
the parents club and volunteers from throughout the community.
Parents Club, community fund-raisers made project possible
Some of the play equipment at Willow Grove Elementary School dated back more than 50 years, but when the students go to recess now it’s on an all new playground paid for with donations raised by the parents club and volunteers from throughout the community.
“The school had wanted new equipment for a while,” said Shelley Bettencourt, president of the Willow Grove parents club. “Our goal had been to get new equipment purchased by June 2008. We did it in a quarter of the time we thought we would.”
In fact, the new play equipment was purchased much sooner than expected thanks to help from grants, fund-raising, and a little old-fashioned elbow grease.
The parents club was first approached about the project in the fall of 2006. In September, the parents club approached the board of trustees and told them what they were working on.
By October fund-raising was well under way.
During the year the students participated in two separate candy sales, one at Christmas and one at Easter. There was a raffle and the school raised $1,500. Students did their part, too, by bringing any loose change they could scrape together and filling 5-gallon water jugs.
By the middle of November, the parents club had contracted with a company to purchase the new equipment and was informed that they could get a grant that would cover half of the purchase price.
Within six months, they had raised the total amount necessary for the equipment and by the December break, volunteers were clearing out the old equipment and removing tan bark so the new surfacing could be installed.
“We had kids down there during the winter break helping to haul out tan bark,” Bettencourt said. “Everyone got into it. There was such a show of love and support from the board, the teachers, the community and especially the students. If it wasn’t for the students, this project couldn’t have happened.”
The new playground is a combination of some of the old equipment mixed with all the new equipment. The students decided there were certain pieces they wanted to keep, namely the monkey bars, which have been present since the school was first opened.
“As a parent, I’m thrilled that three generations of our family have been able to attend school here,” Bettencourt said. “I was shocked and so pleased to see we were able to do such a large project in such a short period of time.”
