March 14, 2001
Pasta dinner real recipe for success
Fund-raiser nets $10,600 for new Central playground
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Take 521 hungry people, a generous community and gallons of good food. Mix together well and you get - a new playground.
Central Elementary Schools' Playground Committee discovered a recipe for success in their first fund-raiser to replace their outdoor equipment and upgrade playing fields. Held Thursday evening at the school, the pasta dinner and silent auction netted just over $10,600 toward their goal of $50,000 to 80,000.
Since every bite of food consumed by the eager diners was donated by area businesses, each dollar raised went directly to the playground fund.
"We went into this thinking that raising $3,000 would be great," said Barb Ritchie, chair of the playground committee. "This is a great start."
The fund-raiser featured teachers cooking and serving plus fifth- and sixth-grade students serving, clearing and cleaning tables. Parent volunteers also helped during the event, shepherding the 500 diners to their places, answering questions and helping at the silent auction.
"The help that came from the staff and teachers was great," said Ritchie. "I swear every teacher was there working in some capacity and they also donated lunches with themselves to the auction."
Shoring up the old playground will also positively impact the community, Ritchie said, noting how the fund-raiser garnered extensive community support. So in addition to being the largest elementary schools in the district, it also attracts neighborhood children and families year round.
"We want to have a very enjoyable and safe place for our children to play," said Jamie Warbasse, a parent of children attending Central and a neighborhood resident.
Recently, some of the older equipment had been removed because it did not pass a safety inspection. In addition, the asphalt underneath the playground equipment was replaced with sand and sand was used to cover the soccer and football fields.
The fundraising initiative addresses both of these issues by earmarking funds for resurfacing the soccer and football fields with sod, adding new equipment and resurfacing the playground area.
"I went to school here and some of the equipment was here when I was here," said Tess Williams, a member of the playground committee. "It is in sad shape."
With the extensive upgrade of the Central school building and facilities recently completed, this year it was time to turn to the outside spaces. This upgrade had been financed by a bond passed in 1995, which kept the school running instead of closing it down. Parents, teachers and staff had hoped some money would be left over from the bond to finance playground improvements, but this was not the case, said Principal Sharon Dionne.
So a committee of parents formed to plan a series of fund-raisers to privately raise money. Coming up next will be a celebrity basketball game and additional fund-raisers are being planned for the future.
A Pennies for the Playground campaign will also continue; in the first month of collecting change from students this program netted around $3,000.
"Recess is a very important time for students," Dionne said. "If you look at it through their eyes, that is a very important part of their day so the facility and the grounds do have an impact on the students."
Dionne also noted that resurfacing would save wear and tear on the school. While the sand was cheap, and all the limited budget could afford at the time it was put in, it has created some hidden costs for the school.
"The custodians probably sweep up at least 25 pounds a day, when it is not frozen or snow-covered," she said. "It is extremely abrasive. It is also extremely difficult for the kids to play some of the games they want to play in sand, try to imagine playing soccer in six inches of sand."