It Takes a Village to Raise a Playground

It took four years and the concerted efforts of scores of volunteers working hand-in-hand with town officials to make it happen, but on May 28, the new children’s playground at Civic Triangle Park officially opened. Judging from the squeals of delight coming from the more than 50 children who scampered through tunnels, skidded down slides, swung on monkey bars, and rocked back and forth on teeter totters, the playground is a big hit already.

Waterford Director of Parks and Recreation Brian Flaherty was first to speak at the opening celebration, but he was quick to say that much of the credit for the new playground belonged to Waterford parents who had volunteered their time and raised money to make it happen.

“It started with Adrian Forman,” said Flaherty, asking the former Waterford resident to stand up and be recognized. “Adrian filled my mailbox with hundreds of emails in support of the playground. She and a lot of her friends really pushed the idea of a central playground.”

Although the original plans for Civic Triangle Park included a central playground between the Waterford’s ballfield and the town’s youth center, the idea was a tough sell at times.

“The scariest part of the process was going to the Board of Finance meetings and trying to explain why we need a playground,” said Jane Dunlop, a Waterford parent who chairs the Children’s Playground Ad Hoc Committee.

The fact that they were poised to begin fundraising just as the bottom dropped out of the economy didn’t help either.  The total cost of the project to date amounts to about $160,000. Of that, $75,000 came from Waterford’s capital improvement fund, said Flaherty, and the rest was raised by volunteers.  

The largest donation came from the Gardiner Family Foundation, which got the project off the ground. Jerry Lokken also established the Waterford Parks Foundation as a nonprofit so the Ad Hoc Committee could apply for grants from local companies such as Dominion Nuclear.

However, the fundraising--like the project itself--was a genuine grassroots effort, with money coming in from bake sales, lemonade stands, even birthday party donations.  Sam Bellos and Sofia Bruno, for instance, asked their friends for donations in lieu of gifts and raised enough money to earn themselves a spot on the new sign that lists the top 100 donors.

The Kelsey S. Harrington Foundation was another big contributor and was instrumental in shaping the design of the playground. Initially, the playground wasn’t designed with children who have special needs in mind. Diane Harrington--who founded the Waterford-based Kelsey S. Harrington Foundation in memory of her daughter to help other children with special needs--and foundation board member Jill Long lobbied hard to change that.

The result is a playground that has wide ramps for accessibility and features designed to stimulate the senses. Flaherty said that in a few weeks, the playground will expand again to include a Sway Fun swing ride large enough to accommodate wheelchairs. The final phase of construction, he said, will include permanent handicapped-accessible bathrooms to replace the accessible port-o-lets that are on site at the moment.

“It’s accessible to everyone, and that’s rare,” said Fitch High School special education teacher Robin O’Keefe, who is on the board of directors of the Kelsey S. Harrington Foundation. 

Watching as her children played on the new equipment for the first time, Long—the adoptive mother of two children with special needs--was overcome by emotion. “It was important to me that every kid enjoy the playground,” said Long. “Kelsey was in a wheelchair. This is for Kelsey.”