The Boissevain School Parent Advisory Council (PAC) has been busy fundraising to build three new accessible and inclusive playgrounds and outdoor spaces for our students and community members.
In just over one year the committee has already raised $170,000 of their $500,000 budget, and that number continues to grow weekly with donations coming in from businesses and members of our community.
The newest incentive is the Three Acre Challenge.
"With agriculture being one of the key economic drivers of our small community, we are inviting farmers to help push this project forward. The ‘Three Acre Challenge’ is a fun way to encourage the ag sector of our community to challenge their neighbours and fellow farmers to make a donation to the project," shares Committee Co-chair Heather Janssens. "The idea is for producers to donate the sales from just three acres of cropland to the Playground Project. A few producers have already stepped forward and made donations in support of this project, which we are very grateful for."
Phase 1 is the middle years playground, for Grades 5-8 with a cost of $185,000, meaning they're just $15,000 away from reaching their first goal!
"We're so close and we're fairly confident that we're going to make Phase 1 happen this summer," shares Janssens. "And yes, we're relying on our community to help us build these playgrounds but we are also putting in every effort that we can to find grants and to apply for grants to be able to stretch the dollars that are being donated to us, as well as the dollars that are fundraised by members of our community and by our students, to just make it go as far as we can possibly take it."
The K-5 playground area will be phase 2.
A High school space will be a newly created area that will provide seating area, basketball, maybe pickleball. That plan has yet to be determined.
"The current playgrounds have been well taken care of, with routine repairs and maintenance. However, with most pieces of equipment being installed in the 1970's and 1990's (making them 30-50 years old), the playgrounds at Boissevain School have surpassed their life expectancy, and equipment will soon need to be removed for safety concerns. Two of our current students use a wheelchair for mobility. This creates an urgent need for accessible and inclusive playground spaces in our community, giving all students the opportunity to play together, regardless of their abilities," adds Janssens.
Please listen to more with Heather Janssens below.
For more information visit their Facebook page HERE!