A group of Jacksonville residents with ties to Washington Elementary School are working to raise funds for new playground equipment.
Dean of Students at Washington, Anthony Williams began recruiting people last fall when he realized the planned upgrades to Washington School did not include the playground area of the school grounds.
Washington school is currently in the middle of a complete renovation project that will turn the 90-year-old building into a state-of-the-art learning center while preserving the historic feel of the school.
Williams says he’d like to see the rest of the property be able to measure up to the amazing new upgrades inside the building. He says it is the hope of the group to have the money raised and the new equipment installed and ready for use when Washington reopens in August.
“Right now we are doing a general campaign, and some of the teachers are going to also start a fundraising event. I’m kind of leaving that to them at Washington School. We’ve also had private donors that have given us money towards purchasing equipment, but this is actually the very beginning of our campaign even though we’ve acquired some funds already.”
The group effort includes CNB Bank & Trust which partners with Washington on student programming throughout the year, and the Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation is serving as the repository for donations to the project.
Williams says despite the nice start the effort has seen simply by word of mouth so far, they still have a long way to go. “We are a little bit towards our goal. Right now we have about $20,000 to raise, and I would say that we are getting closer.
But we are also hopeful that the alumni that went to Washington School, and different organizations would look at us as a possibility to donate money to.”
The Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation serves as the repository for donations to the project. To make a tax-deductible donation, please contact Tony Williams at 217-370-0541 or Jodee Nell at CNB Bank and Trust. Make checks payable to Jacksonville Public Schools Foundation with the memo Washington Playground Equipment Fund.