New Alberton playground fundraising goes well
<p><strong>The old playground at the Alberton school will soon be replaced thanks to the fundraising efforts of two parents and the school district.</strong></p>
ALBERTON – Parent fundraising efforts to bring new playground equipment to the Alberton Public School have gone well, having raised approximately one-third of their goal in only a few months.
“We’re excited,” said Kyle Fisher, principal at Alberton. “It’s nice to see parent involvement in the school; that’s what you look for.”
According to Jennifer Zimmerman, one of the parents behind the fundraiser, as of Saturday, October 17, they had raised approximately $24,500 of the $60,000 goal. The money has been coming from grants as well as private donations.
Zimmerman, the school district and Lisa Thiele, the other parent behind the project, are still looking for grants to bring in more money. The grants will allow the district to save money for other projects around the schools.
Fisher noted money is always tight at schools, as the limited government funding they get is needed for a variety of different projects all at once. As a result it has been hard to dedicate money to replacing equipment, which is still in working order.
The goal is to have the new playground equipment fully installed by spring. According to Fisher, they plan to phase the new play equipment in over time as money comes in. Since the school has the main public playground in town, kids will still want to use it during construction. Fisher felt it was not ideal to have things completely shut down while the new equipment is put in.
“That way, the kids can still use [the equipment],” he said of keeping it open during construction.
It is also hoped the new playground will help to entice families with kids to come to the area. The older equipment could be seen as unsafe and cause families to rethink moving to the area. However, Fisher noted the school district’s insurance providers had not indicated there were any safety concerns about the existing equipment.
The principal was impressed and happy with the outcome of the fundraiser thus far. He was also happy to see the overall rally behind the project from donors and grantors.
“It’s pretty amazing considering they just started working on it a couple months ago,” he said. “It’s a big deal for the school and for the community.”
The project was started between Zimmerman and Thiele. Zimmerman recalled the current playground equipment is very old. They reached out to the school district and proposed the fundraiser to replace the equipment.
“The current equipment is so old and dated and you see all these wonderful playgrounds around, and then ours is so old,” said Zimmerman.
Community members wanting to make donations can find the project’s GoFundMe page under Alberton Playground. Donations can also be sent directly to the school at P.O. Box 330, Alberton MT, 59820.