By Cate Lecuyer
BEVERLY — Not quite sure what to do with your broken lawn mower? How about that old iron fence that's about to fall down?
Donate any metal you have lying around to North Beverly Elementary School's scrap metal drive, and help raise money to build a boundless playground there.
"The response from the community has been tremendous, and we plan on turning in tons and tons of metal," said Laurie Johnson, who came up with the idea to build a special playground specifically designed to encourage children with special needs and handicaps to play with kids who have no disabilities.
The playground would be built between the basketball courts and soccer fields at the school.
So far, they've raised more than $32,000 of the $105,000 price tag and plan on recycling the metal to add the money to their fund.
They'll have a raffle during the event, with gift certificates and other prizes for people who stop by to drop off their metal.
"It is a great way for folks to get rid of old appliances, air conditioners, car batteries, car engines, lawn mowers,¬ fencing, etc ... for free," Johnson said.¬ "I get several e-mails and phone calls each day for pickup requests."
Businesses like Stop & Shop and Sunoco of North Beverly have done some cleaning and contributing, and last week Briscoe Middle School replaced about 300 old lockers on the third floor and donated them for the playground.
"We nearly filled two huge rows of Dumpsters," Johnson said.
If you go
What: Scrap metal drive
To benefit: North Beverly Boundless Playground
When: Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 a.m. to noon
Where: North Beverly Elementary School
Cost: Free
What to donate: Anything metal that's not silver or gold. This includes copper, brass, lead, aluminum, iron and steel.
Suggested items: Refrigerators, air conditioners, metal window frames, metal door frames, weights, car parts, catalytic converters, toasters, file cabinets, brass pipes, chips, fittings and fixtures, copper pipes, copper wire, cable wire, electrical wire, electric motors, radiators, gas grills, car rims, washing machines, dryers, and microwaves. If it's not on the list, they'll probably still take it.
