TOPSFIELD — An enthusiastic group of parents wants to raise $30,000 in July to give Proctor Elementary School students their first playground equipment in years.
Once that goal is met, the group will set its sights on raising another $100,000 to replace the town's tot lot with a community lot with more equipment, said Lori Greenslade, one of the founders of the Topsfield Playground Committee.
"We can actually have the playground in for this fall," said Greenslade. "We can potentially have it in for October this year, which is amazing because this September kids who've been in Proctor for two years and have never been able to put their feet on a piece of play equipment can have it in for their last year."
Proctor students were banned from the existing playground last fall after months of repairs. That equipment is said to be about 25 years old, and has wood that is badly cracked.
The group has already raised $41,000, plus another $10,000 in pledges for in-kind donations. Greenslade said organizers, including Dawn Seymour and Sharon Drake, have a simple message: "Let's just get it done and let the kids play."
The group is finalizing a catalog of sponsorship opportunities, from $4,000 for a seesaw to $125 for a memorial brick that can be engraved with a corporate logo.
As soon as the Proctor School playground is settled, the group will try to replace the existing tot lot. A large set of playground equipment there would help make it more of a multi-age area.
Topsfield residents Nick Bettencourt and Sam Warner are also working on the playgrounds for their Eagle Scout projects. The two plan to solicit equipment and get all town approvals needed so they can repaint the basketball court and create hopscotch boards and other games on the pavement.
The Topsfield Playground Committee's slate of projects will cost about $250,000 in cash and donated labor and materials.
Some of the biggest donations came from walk-a-thons at the town's two elementary schools. Such activities could help fund maintenance to keep the equipment in good shape.
For more information, visit www.TopsfieldPlaygroundCommittee.org.
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