Leflore County Elementary School is trying to raise money for construction of a new playground.
The effort, aided earlier this month when the Dr Pepper Snapple Group and national nonprofit KaBoom! awarded the school a $15,000 Let’s Play Community Construction Grant, now will require the remaining funds to be raised locally, according to Principal Nekeshia Collins. The entire playground is expected to cost a little over $40,000.
Collins spoke about the grant to the Leflore County School Board last week. At that time, board member Roy Hudson said he’d like to see any fundraising be coordinated with the board before being implemented.
Collins said she would work with Superintendent of Education Viola Williams McCaskill and the board.
The playground “Build Day” is scheduled for the middle of May, once school is out for the summer recess.
“We are extremely excited about the potential that this grant holds for our community and our school,” Zaia Thombre, a fourth-grade math teacher at the school, who is spearheading the project, said in a statement. “We hope that everyone in the community finds a way to become involved in this project — whether it is by volunteering to build the playground, donating money, finding the tools we need or working with our students.”
The Dr Pepper Snapple Group is a leading producer of flavored beverages. Kaboom!, founded in 1996, has built more than 2,000 playgrounds across the country.
The three-year grant is part of a nationwide effort to provide playgrounds within walking distance of every child. Up to 2,000 playgrounds will be either built or fixed up by the end of 2013, benefiting an estimated 5 million children in the nation.
The playground will be built by hand by volunteers from the community.
The Leflore County School District welcomes anyone who is interested in working on the playground project in any capacity. Volunteers may visit the website www.ourdreamplayground.org/lefloretigers for more information. An online fundraising goal of $20,000 has been set. As of this morning, $700 had been raised.
