Since 2019 when a play structure was removed from the Fayston Elementary School playground when it became unsafe, the school has been operating with limited playground options.
At the beginning of last winter, school principal Celia Hooker reached out to Katie Rayburn and Deb Powers to ask for help in fundraising for the purchase of new playground equipment. Powers is the vice president of the PTO and Rayburn is a PTO member and parent volunteer and PTO representative to the playground fundraising committee.
“The PTO devised the multi-pronged capital campaign -- Every Day in May raffle, an online auction and playground sponsorship opportunity. The raffle and auction wrapped up at the end of May. We are continuing to accept playground sponsorships. During this process we were made aware of local and national grant opportunities that we are exploring. Playgrounds are incredibly expensive; we are making sure this build out is a thoughtful one. We will be working with Broadleaf Landscape Architecture to devise a master plan for the playgrounds and depending upon the success of our phase two fundraising efforts, will continue to chip away at the master plan,” Rayburn explained.
“One of the main pillars in our vision is to install a significant playground structure that would allow for students of varying ages and the community to engage in positive, outdoor social interactions while moving their bodies,” she added.
The fundraising team set a phase one goal of raising $35,000 and has raised approximately $47,000 so far.
“During our sales of raffle tickets at Mehuron's to our promotion of the online auction at the Arts Fest and the farmers market, it was clear that there is strong community support to revitalize the playground for our students and the greater community. We also had an abundance of generous businesses that contributed goods, services, gift cards to our auction and raffle. We can’t thank them enough,” Powers said.
As the project has evolved, organizers, in developing a master plan, have set a goal of raising $100,000 to complete the masterplan.
With the funds they have raised so far, they will be able to purchase a standard playground structure and a few ancillary pieces. Further fundraising will allow the purchase of an integrated play structure, additional stand-alone play equipment, implementation of a master architectural plan, repaving of the basketball court and appropriately-sized basketball hoops and curriculum base plantings.
“We are installing a few individual pieces late this summer/early fall. The master plan for the grounds will be completed early this summer and the install of the main new play structure will occur in the summer of 2024. We are very excited to get this project rolling,” Rayburn said.
“The Fayston PTO would like to thank the businesses who have supported our auction and raffle endeavors, the playground sponsors, and the effort from our school network,” Powers said. If interested in supporting phase two of the Fayston Community Playground Project contact
