Help MPS playground campaign

Sixty minutes of play, every day.

Experts say this is what kids need to feel good about themselves and instill lifelong healthy habits.

Those of us who spend time with young children know firsthand how important it is for them to have time and space to expend their seemingly boundless energy. Having a safe place for them to play is critical as well.

With its location next to the athletic fields at Hoover Ridge and the Madison County Farmers Market, the playground at Madison Primary School has become a central gathering place in the community. While it is intended for use by kindergarteners and students of the Head Start program housed at the school during the day, you will see children and families playing there at all times during the evenings and weekends.

Anyone who has spent time on the kindergarten playground on the west side of the school has probably noticed that many of its components are outdated or in disrepair. The biggest concern with the current playground is that it does not meet Head Start safety standards, which means Head Start students have no option for an outdoor play space. Our Head Start students, kindergarteners and the broader community would greatly benefit from a new playground that offers more options for active play, allows for better integration of special needs children on the playground, and is safe for everyone who uses it.

A communitywide effort including the school district, Head Start, the MPS PTO and other community stakeholders is under way to raise $75,000 for a new playground. Over the next 12-18 months we hope to secure support from a variety of local businesses and community members willing to offer money, time, skills or other resources. Also in the works are a number of activities and opportunities for community members and businesses to be part of this effort.

The first activity will be the inaugural Leprechaun Launch, a 5K (3.1 mile) obstacle race to be conducted on Saturday, March 17, at Hoover Ridge. The race will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a children’s race to follow at 9:30 a.m. Make it your New Year’s resolution to get in shape for fun event — the only one like it in our area.

Later in the spring we will offer a special Paws for Reading Night with a celebrity reader, to be announced later, and a benefit dinner. Paws for Reading is a monthly evening for MPS students and their families to come together and celebrate reading. The May 17 event will be open to the entire community, so save the date.

For our efforts to succeed, we will rely on contributions from community members and local businesses. We have a range of sponsorship levels, with benefits including naming rights for the play space, outdoor reading pavilion or garden education area. Individuals and families will have an opportunity to buy an engraved brick for the outdoor reading area.

As we get closer to being ready to build we will also be looking for donations of materials and labor. We are planning a community build effort to install the play space, with a first phase of work happening in summer 2012 and a second phase in summer 2013.

We hope you will consider how you can be part of this community effort to create the type of play space our primary school students — and our community — deserve. Those wishing to support this effort today can send a check made payable to MPS Playground Fund to Madison Primary School, attention Valerie Miller, 158 Primary School Drive, Madison, VA 2277. All donations are tax-deductible.

For information on our plans for the playground, the March 17 race and other events, or to find ways you can support our effort, visit www.mpsplayground.com.

(Guest columnist Lori Bartczak lives in Madison and is the mother of a kindergartner at Madison Primary School and two younger children who love to play at the playground. Her e-mail address is lbartczak@gmail.com.)