Stevensville Mayor Gene Mim Mack and Council member Tim Hunter presented a check for $10,000 to committee members of Bear Mountain Playground last week.
“We have had tremendous support from the Mayor and Town Council from the very beginning stages of our project,” said Renee Endicott, Steering Committee co-chair.
In addition to the “diamond-level” donation from the Town of Stevensville, Bill Watkins, the owner of The Living Centre and Discovery Care Centre, will provide a match of $5,000 as part of his commitment to add a 50% match to all donations that are collected for the Bear Mountain project. The first phase of the Bear Mountain Playground project is estimated to cost $195,000 and so far about $90,000 has been collected and/or pledged.
“This is the perfect time to donate to the playground with Watkins’ match,” said Jessica Brunell, the Steering Committee’s other co-chair. “Every dollar is worth half again more. Right now we have a campaign called ‘In it for $10’ going on, and hope that everyone from the community will donate $10, share a photo on Facebook and spread the word. If everyone from Stevensville gives $10, we could raise $20,000!” said Brunell.
The committee is also busy planning for its next event, a silent and live auction dinner at The Living Centre on March 21. Endicott and Brunell are hoping that everyone comes down and supports the playground. They will be selling pieces of the playground, including slides, swings, and monkey bars, and also personalized fence pickets and handprint tiles. For more information or if you would like to donate an item or service for the auction, call Renee at 544-7192.
Bear Mountain Playground, to be located at the Lewis and Clark Park in Stevensville, is a citizen driven effort to create a unique community supported, safe and healthy play space usable by every child, including children with disabilities. Bear Mountain Playground will be built by hundreds of volunteers from all over the community from Wednesday, September 16 through Sunday, September 20, 2015. To learn more
about how to donate or volunteer with Bear Mountain Playground, visit the
website, www.bearmountinplayground.com and “like” it on Facebook.