Come to help
Kelly Mayer
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
THE PEOPLE of Emporia have a tremendous opportunity to come together as a community and accomplish something exceptional for the children in our town. From Wednesday, April 30, through Sunday, May 4, hundreds of volunteers will gather at Peter Pan Park to help build a new playground.
I first heard about this project when I worked for the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce. The community-built playground began as a project of the Leadership Emporia Class of 2004. It has taken four years to raise the necessary funds, and thanks to the sheer determination of Mike Dorcey and Robin Nelson “the build” is on!
Several people have recently stepped up to the plate and joined in the efforts of the committee to do whatever needs to be done to make this playground a reality. The enthusiasm is contagious and the business community is responding generously to requests for donations of supplies, tools, equipment, etc.
The primary goal is to build a safe playground for the kids, however, the real winners here will be each and every volunteer who comes to the Park and helps in whatever way he or she can. 700 to 800 volunteers are needed to work any of the three shifts over the five-day build period. This is a unique opportunity and should prove to be an enriching experience not soon forgotten.
I encourage everyone to volunteer today! Contact Mike Dorcey at 794-3476, mikedorcey@yahoo.com; Robin Nelson at 342-1600, rnelson@emporiakschamber.org; Denise Dorcey at 794-1622, ddorcey@usd253.org; or Kelly Mayer at 343-6976, kmayer6976@cableone.net. You’ll be glad you did!
Kelly Mayer
Emporia