People can head online now to donate to the Wallaceburg Splash Pad, and they can simultaneously leave their own mark on the project.
The Wallaceburg Splash Pad committee has teamed up with an upstart local company called Inspire Daily. Together they are gathering donations and also collecting names of children which will all be included on a sign that will be installed at the splash pad site.
For a small donation of $50 per child, the Splash Pad group will have your child’s name added to the signage. The group is hoping the children will enjoy seeing their name, along with the sense of pride and inclusion of community involvement and contributing towards a common community goal.
“I think it just goes hand in hand with the whole project,” said Chris Young, chair of the splash pad committee.
“It’s about the kids, it’s about community coming together and finding ways to raise the money to have this happen in our town, for the kids and families. Families are even saying ‘You know, we just like our family’s name there. Can we do that?’. We are open to all options.”
Young added: “I think it’s great for the kids too if they can go and see their name on the sign that their grandma or grandpa, dad or whomever, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, whomever has donated. Even if they saved their money and you know come up and say ‘here is my donation’ and go online and do that. Put their own name up there too. They have helped create something really nice for the community. I think its just a nice fit for the project as a whole.”
Young said businesses can also get involved with the sign fundraiser, as donations of $1,000 will get their company a prominent place on the signage.
“Putting their name on the sign is great,” Young said. “If they have an idea of something they would like to do at their store whatever their avenue is, we are more than happy to listen and lend our support if they want it. If it is something the employees and the business owners want to do themselves you know, more power to them. We just ask that they let us know so we can make sure we can get the word out so that people know what they are doing.”
Young said the committee is still working hard towards their goal of raising $200,000 for the project.
They currently have $50,000 in the bank.
“We have got a couple more irons in the fire which once we can get all of the i’s dotted and t’s crossed, I can tell more about it,” he said. “It’s very exciting and it will move us up the ladder to completion quite a bit. We are still looking for donations big or small. We are working with all the different grants and opportunities out there to see what kind of grant money we can find and other community dollars that are available through some of the different corporations.”
Young said they are still targeting a July 1 completion for the project.
“I am not giving up on the July 1 date yet,” he said.
“We may be stretching it out a bit but I want to leave it there as our target and see where we are in another month and a half or two and see where we think we are going to get. We have got a number of different things planned on the books and lots of ideas pouring in.”
Young said the group raised $4,400 at a recent Cliff Erickson concert at the CBD, which “packed the house” for the sing-along event.
He said Burnett’s Cycle and Mower stepped up and donated a snow blower as a giveaway prize at the event, and recently Stekelbos Watch and Battery Repairs donated $1,000 from batter and watch repairs.
Currently Home Hardware in Wallaceburg is selling raffle tickets for a barbecue. They are $2 each or three for $5. The draw is going to be held on April 9 at the Wallaceburg Home Hardware, where a bake sale will also be taking place.
So Chatham gets a splash pad and all other communities in Chatham Kent have to pay for their own…doesn’t seem fair