A small army of volunteers is needed for a building blitz planned at Peter Pan Park beginning at the end of this month.
Members of the Peter Pan Park Committee have scheduled work days from Wednesday, April 30, through Sunday, May 4, to build a new play area for children and families to enjoy.
The blitz is the culmination of a fundraising effort that has been years in the making. Begun as a community-improvement project by the Leadership Emporia Class of 2004, the project soon was taken over by a few class members, their spouses and friends. The group held numerous fundraising activities, solicited funds from businesses, individuals and foundations, and sold T-shirts, hand prints and engraved pickets that will be installed as a fence around the playgrounds.
In the process, the committee has raised $54,000, with commitments for supplemental funds of $37,500 from the City of Emporia and $87,500 from the Jones Foundation.
Funds still are needed, with about $13,000 remaining to pay the architect involved and money needed to pay for unanticipated costs and for a reserve fund.
“We probably need to raise somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 just to have a good pad, and anything leftover goes into a long-term maintenance fund for it,” Dorcey said.
The committee is ready, however, to begin building the playground with the funds on hand, and needs several hundred more volunteers to commit to one four-hour shift.
“On our master list, we have about 380 volunteers, but we need about 700 to 800, so we’re about halfway on volunteers,” said Mike Dorcey, who, with Eric Tincher, is co-chairman of the committee.
Committee member Robin Nelson said that at least 90 people per four-hour shift are needed on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and up to 100 or 110 for the weekend shifts.
“One thing we’re lacking is construction captains, which would be someone who would volunteer to work and who’s skilled and could supervise 10 to 15 people,” Nelson said.
First- and second-shift volunteers on the weekdays are especially needed, since many of the volunteers can only spare time after work and on weekends.
Committee members are hoping that bringing area residents in to work together on the playgrounds not only will result in a finished product for the children, but will produce an auxiliary benefit for the community.
“I don’t know if you call it the ripple effect or the fallout, but that’s one of the goals, that the relationships established during those four or five days benefit the community for years,” Dorcey said.
“We didn’t plan it this way, of course, but I think there’s an aspect of this project that is particularly timely right now, with the community kind of having been reeling from the shock of some economic news. And I think this project coming right now is an opportunity for the community to come together ... and experience something positive and hopefully people will move away from this. I know that with an attitude that even in spite of bad times, we can do something for ourselves and for our community.”
The playground committee will be at the Teddy Bear Clinic Saturday morning at the Flinthills Mall. They will sell adults’ and children’s T-shirts at $10 per item, hand prints for $4; and engraved pickets for $25 each. The pickets can contain messages or names up to 22 characters, including spaces.
Students at the Riverside School are holding a penny war through April 11 to raise funds for the project.
The playground committee also will have information available on a Web site, www.emporia.com/playground, Dorcey said.
The committee also is looking for sponsors to buy equipment ranging from slides, swings, bridges and even a store front that can resemble a local business if the buyer prefers. The costs of those is from $150 to $3,500.
Businesses and organizations who already have donated to provide meals served at the building blitz are:
Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Gambino’s Pizza, Evco Wholesale Foods, Dolly Madison, Faith Lutheran Church, KFC, Los Compadres Club, Planet Sub, Quiznos, Sweet Granada, Subway, Sonic, The Liquor Store, United Methodist Women’s Group, USD 253 Food Service, Wheatstate Pizza, and Williams Automotive.
Businesses that are providing major pieces of equipment for the playground are: Coffelt Signs, Emporia Community Housing Organization, Emporia Parks and Zoo Department, Evco Wholesale Foods, First Start Rental, IBT Inc., Kansas Turnpike Authority, and Waters True Value Hardware.
For information or to volunteer, call 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.
nks (anonymous) says...
I think the playground is a great idea and long overdue.
The only thing I am worried about is how long it remains usable.
I used to take my kids to the playground on weekend mornings over the past several years. No more. On many occasions I found broken beer bottles, underwear, condoms and one time I even found vomit and human feces on the playground equipment.
I really hope that the community takes responsibility for not only building this playground but also helping law enforcement keep it safe for our children to use.
April 5, 2008 at 4:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )