West Edmonton community reaches for dream playground

By Mathew White

GLASTONBURY — Kimberly Johnson was just another resident in the west end community of Glastonbury.  Until one day, after reading the annual community newsletter, she decided to act.

The newsletter had a simple message:

‘Are you guys tired of loading your kids up into the mini-van to drive them to a park so they have a place to play?’

And that was all it took.  Since then, Johnson has joined forces with Joanne Birmingham and Corinne Dechene to form a committee with one goal in mind: bring a playground to Glastonbury.

“We have a great neighbourhood,” said Johnson. “There’s friendly people, we’ve got walking trails everywhere, but I realized after I had kids that we didn’t have a place we could all come together.”

The Playground

The projected cost of the playground is roughly $536,000. With the help of others, the three have been raising funds through BBQs, bottle drives and other small fundraising activities, something, Johnson said, that is challenging at times.

“Technically, in our Glastonbury neighbourhood, we don’t have a school or a hall or any sort of central location that you can use as your hub for fund raising,” said Johnson.

“It’s easier to sell cookie dough when you have a school of 500 children.”

On top of their fund-raising efforts, the committee has also successfully applied for two major grants:

• CFEP – Community Facilities Enhancement Program – $125,000 grant from the province of Alberta
• NDPD – Neighbourhood Development Park Development – $250,000 grant from the city of Edmonton.

So now, after six years of hard work – which generated $140,000 – and with the help of the city and province, they have finally reached the target for their playground.  It is scheduled to break ground sometime in early-to-mid July this year.

But that’s not the end of the story.  With another $25,000, they could have more than just a playground.

“We have essentially meet our base,” said Johnson.  “But there’s a few features to finish off the park in the way we had envisioned it.”

The Contest

Besides the playground, the committee is hoping to build a shade structure (gazebo) that would act as a community gathering point, as well as install two permanent signs to give residents a heads-up on upcoming programs and events.  These features would add another $25,000 to the projected cost, and that’s something Johnson says they just don’t have.

But all hope is not lost.

After receiving an email from their CRC coordinator, the three learnt of a contest perfect for their cause.

The Keg’s Thanks a Million contest grants $25,000 to 40 different causes across North America – totaling one million dollars.  Projects include everything from summer-lunch programs to musical instruments for youths.

The three couldn’t help but jump on the opportunity and have been trying to rally votes through posters, flyers, social media and word of mouth ever since.

“We’re hopeful, but there’s a lot of great causes out there,” said Johnson.  “We’re hoping we can get the word out as much as possible and people will support this opportunity for us.”

Project winners are decided by casting votes on the Keg’s website.  Polls close on June 14 and the winners will be announced on June 29.