West Hempfield Elementary School students have a new playground.
The playground, located at the Wendel Road school, opened to students last week and features three slides with a connecting bridge, climbing pieces, an all-inclusive merry-go-round, a spin cup, an orb rocker with four seats and a platform where children can stand and a rally round, which is similar to monkey bars.
The playground was also moved to the back of the school for a safer environment. Originally, the facility was located in front of the Hempfield Area school near a parking lot and road.
“That was our goal all along, was to give them a new, safe and inclusive environment,” said Kimberly Pavsek, chair for the playground initiative. “It’s just the icing on the cake.”
The playground project has been underway since 2018 when parents in the school’s PTO expressed an interest in renovating the facility that had not been updated in about 18 years.
At the time, PTO members began sending letters to businesses and families in an effort to kickstart fundraising efforts. From there, the organization held several fundraisers and applied for grants. By November, the organization had raised $41,559, which was donated to the Hempfield Area School Board for the project.
At the time the money was donated, board members approved the project, allowing PTO members to begin purchasing playground equipment from Ohio-based Snider Recreation. By April, an additional $10,000 was awarded to the West Hempfield PTO in the form of a grant from Noble Environmental.
In all, $56,000 was raised for the playground project.
“We finally were able to make our goal,” Pavsek said. “We were very blessed to get that last-minute grant money.”
Work on the playground began in July, Pavsek said. She noted the district prepared the site for construction and Snider Recreation completed the installation.
Installation was complete by July 28, she said.
“Our vision in the beginning … was to make it safer, make it larger, make it inclusive and we have done that for the kids, so that in itself makes it worthwhile,” Pavsek said.
Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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August 30, 2021 at 10:01PM
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West Hempfield Elementary School's new playground open for fun - TribLIVE
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