Staff Writer
ASHLAND – The Ashland Playground Restoration Project has been collecting donations for several months to create an up-to-date facility for area youth and their families to enjoy; it received word recently that a local business has pledged $1,000 toward the effort.
“When we began the project, I started contacting local businesses and organizations about donating to the cause. Irving Woodlands was one of the businesses I called. Since that first call, Irving has agreed to donate $1,000 toward our project,” said Andrea White, one of the organizers of the playground project.
White indicated it was her organization’s largest donation to date.
“Irving is dedicated to families, especially those of their employees. The playground will give their staff someplace to go with their families when they’re not working,” said White.
Completion of the project was estimated at $35,000. So far, a few thousand dollars have been raised.
“We have almost $3,000 in donations from a few local businesses and money collected from coin jars placed at local convenience stores but we would like to raise $35,000 to make this dream a reality,” said White.
Jessica Fine, another organizer working on the project, said she’s been impressed with how well the public has responded to the collection jars.
“I thought we’d see an occasional bill in them but would mostly have coins – odd change when people finished their purchases. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find a few $20s turn up from time to time,” said Fine.
Fund-raisers are being planned in coming months, including dinners and other acitivities.
“During Ashland’s Summer Fest we’re sponsoring a foul-shooting competition at the high school to raise awareness of the playground project and raise funds for it too,” said White. “We’ve been working closely with Town Manager Jim Gardner to move our plans from the design stage to reality.”
The playground will be geared for ‘children’ of all ages, from infants to senior citizens. It will be dedicated to four siblings who lost their lives in a tragic accident nearly a year ago.
“We’re making it (playground) as family-oriented as possible, since we’re dedicating to the four sisters who were killed last year. We’re looking to install picnic tables, park benches, barbecue pits, as well as equipment for children to play on,” said Fine.
Though dedicated to the sisters, the project actually got under way before the accident.
“We began looking at the idea of creating a playground for the community to use back in January 2006. It’s been a year and we’re making progress,” said White. “We’re going for something with actual play structures.”
No definite site has been selected at this point, but organizers have narrowed the search to a few parcels of property in town.
“We’ve narrowed down the possible sites but are still working out the details,” said White.
Since not much can be done outside in winter months, White and Fine have spent time inside the last few months checking catalogs for equipment ideas and pricing, as well as looking for alternative sources for funding the project.
“We’ve been browsing catalogs looking at structures to accommodate, typically, children between 2 and 12 years of age. We’ve been looking for grants that might be available for this purpose – grants such as those available through the LIBRA organization and Maine Community Foundation. There’s also a tobacco grant, I’ve heard. The Rec Department recently acquired a treadmill through a tobacco grant, so I’m hoping it will apply to playground equipment,” said White.
A new playground is needed since the existing structures located behind the Ashland Rec Center, which were donated when Loring Air Force Base closed, no longer meet government safety codes and are considered unsafe.
“We need a facility where our children will be safe to play and have fun,” said White.
A committee of concerned parents and members of the community was established to raise funds to create what White and Fine call “a family-friendly park” with all the necessities of a playground.
Groundbreaking is expected to take place as soon as late summer or early fall, 2007, once the site is selected.
“That’s why we need to raise the funds as soon as possible. It won’t be long and it will be time to start building. But we can’t do that without donations,” said White.
For more information on the project or to make a donation, contact White at 435-6363.
