Playground Committee - Westmount Charter School

Please contact us if you can offer your assistance:

Playground Committee Report

April, 2012 - Parkdale Campus Update

It is a lot of work, but our goal is still to have the playground built in the fall.

We have applied for the CFEP, Trees Canada, Edible Trees and Parks Foundation grants.

The CFEP grant may match what we raise up to $125,000, but it is up to us to show them what we have raised. The more we raise, the more they may match.

The next month or so is critical in our fundraising efforts if we would like to see a playground in the fall.. We have come along ways, but we still need to raise more.

We are moving ahead with a "Sponsor a Bench" program where individuals, families or Corporations can sponsor a bench and have their name engraved on a plaque mounted on the bench as well as additional recognition.

We have sent letters and had discussions with various Corporations for sponsorship, and are hopeful that some of them will come through for us.

If you are aware of anyone who may be able to help us out, please contact us at westmountplaygroundcommittee@gmail.com

We would like to say a big "Thank you" to our recent sponsors, as well as everyone who has stepped forward and offered their assistance by volunteering when we build, offering to provide food, or providing our much needed In-kind donations.
Including:

Great Dane Ventures - www.ourliferocks.ca
LaFarge
Westmount Charter School Society
Westmount Parent Council
Home Depot

We are received contact and are hoping to secure a welder, and someone to assist us with the site preparation. Aside from donations, we are still looking for landscaping supplies If we all pull together over the next couple of months, and work on getting more funds, we can make this happen.

Our focus right now is continuing to raise funds. The next CFEP (Canadian Facilities Enhancement Program) application deadline is March 15.

(We choose not to apply Dec. 15 to give us time to raise more funds, and have a well prepared application). This is our best opportunity for a matching grant, as they may match what we raise up to $125,000.

Aside from the cheque drive, we are looking at Corporate donations, and in-kind donations (look under "how you can help"), as well as companies that will match what their employees donate, all of which can also be applied towards the matching grant. We are working very hard at preparing all the necessary documents for these applications.

We could use some volunteers to assist us - particularly between now and March 15th. We could use help in these areas:

Corporate liaison - to contact various corporations for donations. We have a package put together, and a list of leads to get things started.
In-kind coordinator - find out who within our school/community can assist by donating time and/or material such as gravel, trees, bobcat, cement etc. (see the listing on our website, and on our display at the school). The value of these can be matched in the grants.
Assisting with the Grant applications.

Fundraising

Cheque writing drive is in full swing.

Our account is now set up with Parks Foundation Calgary.

Donations for the Parkdale campus can be made online (can also use credit card).

Visit www.parksfdn.com, or there is a link from the school webpage to our playground website.

Donations for Van Horne will continue to be made out to “Westmount Charter School Society” and can be left at either school office - (attention - Playground Committee).
We will have a tally of the funds raised to date available very soon on our webpage http://www.playground.wcspfs.org.
Corporate donations and In-kind (who within our school/community can assist by donating time and/or material such as gravel, trees, bobcat, cement etc.) are our focus right now.

Parkdale Update

Our presentation boards of our ideas for both the playground and Naturalization area are on display in the main entrance across from the office.
We will also have a display in the teachers lounge to receive input from them before making our final design very soon.
We met with the Parkdale P & D Committee who liked our presentation and have provided us with a letter of support to use for our Grant applications. We are also discussing some involvement on their part for the maintenance of the Naturalization area over the summer months.

Van Horne Update

We have received input and ideas from the school regarding the best use for the area at Van Horne without interfering with the much needed field space. We will be contacting the community to discuss our project with them as well.

Together we will be coming up with our ideas and a drawing, which we will put on display at the entrance to the school.

Application to Parks Foundation Calgary

Our application to Parks Foundation Calgary has been accepted, and they will now manage our funds for the Parkdale location only. Click here for forms. Donations to Van Horne will continue to be accepted at the school, with cheques payable to Westmount Charter School Society.

Project Gift Administration Information

Project Gift Administration Information Parks Foundation Calgary (PFC) acts as catalyst to help the citizens of Calgary enhance parks, amateur sport and river valleys throughout the city. Recognizing the valuable role citizen-led initiatives play in creating healthy and vibrant communities, Parks Foundation Calgary offers Project Gift Administration. We appreciate that many community organizations are volunteer-driven and may not have the capacity, experience or expertise to manage the financial transactions of a project. To that end, PFC’s Project Gift Administration supports communities by providing the following services:

Opening a unique account for each approved project
Receiving donations and gifts on behalf of the project
Issuing tax receipts for eligible donations
Managing the Accounts Payable/Receivable

November 30 Update

We have been very busy. The Cheque writing drive is in full swing - thank you to those who have already donated to the Playground.

The Snow Ball family Dance held on Nov 24th was a great success!. We sold 440 tickets. The numbers will be finalized by the end of the week.

We would like to thank the teachers for participating in all the great crafts and auction items - it was a huge help, and the kids enjoyed showing off their crafts. As well, the students that volunteered from Van Horne (via Julie and Kathy Mismas), were awesome!! A big thank you to Scott as well. He was great, and had the kids dancing the whole time. Thank you to everyone who worked hard on putting the Snow ball together, and for all the great donated items!!

Our application to Parks Foundation has been approved and our account is being set up. They will manage our funds including donations. We have a playground website - www.playground.wcspfs.org - see our ideas and more. Our website is also linked to the school webpage.

There will be a link to Parks Foundation very soon for donations for Parkdale. Donations for Van Horne will continue to be held at the school with cheques payable to Westmount Charter School Society. We have displays of our "ideas" for both the playground and Naturalization area, on display at the main entrance at Parkdale. Included on the display are some wish list items that may or may not be included depending on funds raised. We will be meeting with the Phys. Ed. department and administration at Van Horne very soon, to decide on the best plan for that area, and put together drawings to display at the school.

We have an applications in with Servus Credit union, Kinsmen, and are in the process of sending a package to the Bowness Lions club, hoping they will partner with us in the project.

We are preparing all necessary documentation for Grant applications as well.

The Next Important Project...

The next important project for us is In-kind donations. We can save tremendous amounts of money if we can supply some of the necessary items for building a playground. We need to ask all parents if they or someone they know can assist us with a bobcat, welding, gravel, trees and/or landscaping supplies, food (for our volunteers when we build) etc. A list is available on the website under "Ways You Can Help". We have the opportunity to match the value of these in-kind donations with a matching grant. This proves to be very valuable.

Cheque Writing Drive Now in Full Swing!

Nothing to buy, Nothing to sell, 100% of proceeds to the playground.
Simple! Easy!

Imagine the possibilities if we could average $100/student we would have $40,000 that has the potential to be doubled with matching grants. The next deadline for the matching grant is March 15th. Cheques are made payable to Westmount Charter School Society and may be delivered to the school office, or sent to school with your child.

Please be sure to include a donation form which can be downloaded below:
Donation Cash Form Playground 11

Receipts are available for Donations of $25 or more.

ParkNPlay Playground Design Proposal

Click here to view the Design Proposal.

The Playground Committee