(HYPE) Helping Young People Excel

MLK Park Project Competes for $5,000 Playground Equipment Grant

In a national competition hosted by non-profit playground builder KaBOOM!, Winnsboro is in the semi-finals for up to $5,000 in playground equipment grants to help build a playground for the children in the community.

In order to help reach their vision of a great place to play within walking distance of every child, national non-profit KaBOOM! is hosting an online “Promote Your Project” video contest. Forty-four communities worked to create videos that showed the world why they need a new playground. HYPE has made it into the top ten, but to secure the top prize, up to $5,000 in playground equipment from a national vendor,HYPE needs to garner as many online votes as possible.

The three playground projects with the most votes will receive equipment grants worth up to $5,000 from one of seven national equipment vendors. To vote, supporters of HYPE's project to build the Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Winnsboro project need to go online to VOTE HERE to cast their vote.

Supporters can vote once a day until the end of March. The three videos with the most votes win! It only takes a moment to vote and visitors do not have to register on the site.

This local effort is spearheaded by Marsha Duffy, and Brett Barnett made the delightful video. Marsha made the initial contact to KaBOOM. "I have been a fan of Kaboom for sometime," she said. "And I keep up with what promotions and resources that they offer."

To promote the video and garner votes, Marsha has been sending out notices and making people aware of the contest for the past couple of weeks. She has enlisted the help of the Winnsboro Chamber of Commerce, International Headquarters of Kiwanis out of Arlington, and other organizations. "I even have my cousin who is a professor at Texas College giving extra credit to her students for voting each day."

Marsha has approached Dr. Bosold to get students in the Winnsboro schools involved in the voting, as well as and the Pittsburg ISD.

Specifically, the MLK Park Project wants to image a wall mural created by the seniors and children of Winnsboro, purchase new playground equipment, install picnic tables covered with shade structures, create a small community garden for the community to enjoy, add benches and a water fountain to sit and enjoy summer evenings and afternoons. This park will serve 200+ children, families, and individuals.

This grant competition is part of the online tools and resources KaBOOM! makes available to all communities. In addition to grant opportunities, KaBOOM! has posted all their knowledge and playground building experience online, giving everyone access to the information they need to build a playground on their own. The KaBOOM! website also allows individuals to self-organize, connect with experienced playground builders and find other advocates for the cause in their communities.