MONROVIA >>The Mayflower Elementary School playground is being rebuilt from the ground up on Saturday — and dozens of community members have volunteered to do the work.
The project is being funded, in part, with a $20,000 grant the PTA earned for the school through a national video contest called “Let’s Play.” The contest involved launching a social media campaign on Facebook to encourage Monrovia residents to vote online during a two-week period in June.
Not only was Mayflower the only school on the West Coast to win, but it set records for garnering the highest number of votes in the contest’s history
PTA President Jessica Kitterman said one of the most exciting things about the new playground is its ability to service all kids.
Three key features include a slide, geo-dome and four swing sets, one of which is inclusive to children with disabilities. She said the geo-dome also has ramp access to the interior for kids in a wheelchair.
“Our kiddos are so excited with those three pieces of equipment we are being blessed with,” she said. “A team of parents went out and interviewed the kids and this is what they wanted.”
Kitterman said the PTA had been working to raise funds to replace the playground over the past year, and was able to set aside about $35,000, but that was only enough to cover about half of the renovations. She said this grant gave the group the financial push it needed.
Resident Carmen Martinez played a key role on social media, where she shared the video daily and urged current and former Monrovians to take a moment to vote.
“I was adamant that we were going to win,” she said. “We got people from all over the country that used to be in Monrovia, or had relatives that lived here; people got excited because they felt they were a part of it.”
Some 70 people had signed up to volunteer as of Monday night, including PTA members, school district employees, city officials, and neighbors, Kitterman said. Anyone interested in volunteering should sign up by Wednesday via the Mayflower PTA Facebook page, where there is a direct link to the application.
In addition to benefiting Mayflower children, the adjacent field, currently under renovation, is used by youth sports organizations and community members.
“That’s what the beauty of this is, when we think about how many can potentially be served by this new playground, it’s enormous,” Kitterman said.
The Let’s Play initiative, launched by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group in collaboration with nonprofit organization KaBOOM, started in 2011 with the intent of making daily play a priority in communities by building or improving play spaces and providing grants for athletic equipment and gear.
Over 2,000 playgrounds have been improved or rebuilt in the past four years, benefiting an estimated 5 million children nationwide.
