Friends of the Playground Saltville

The Town of Saltville, Virginia has a new playground! 
We received a $15,000 grant from KaBOOM! and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in July 2013 with the stipulation that we had to raise the remaining funds needed and use their “COMMUNITY BUILD” process to plan, develop and implement the project all within a year and WE DID IT! 

The community has really come together and showed their support for the playground.  In fact, we had over 200 people show up on ”BUILD DAY” and have conducted fundraisers, solicited donations, and applied for several other grants to raise the funds needed to install three (3) playstations.  To date, we have secured a $5,000 grant from United Way Virginia Highlands, $12,000 grant from the Lions Club, and raised nearly $10,000 in donations and fundraisers—all towards the costs of Phase I. 

Phase II will began on July 1, 2014 with a $61,335 grant from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth to fight childhood obesity.  It will be used to build a Born Learning Trail around the perimeter of the playground, install kiosks that will have information on other recreational activities near the playground, and to develop programs and/or events that will educate and encourage kids to live more healthy lifestyles. 
We have also received a $20,000 grant from Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful/Lowe’s to install a rain garden, recycling educational display, benches, and trash cans.

The overall vision is to create a fun, inviting playground and learning center that will be unique to the region.  The space will be a welcoming environment that unites play with discovery by engaging children in an enjoyable, exciting learning experience.  This site will be used to promote physical activity, exploration and family interactions while enhancing both community awareness and community involvement.

We are doing the brick fundraiser to raise the money for a brick walkway through the playground.  In addition to the commemorative bricks we will be installing 8 x 8 bricks for all the donors that contributed $1,000 or more to the playground.

Any additional funds, over and above the costs of the walkway, will be used toward further enhancements in and around the playground area.