THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 10, 1995 TAG: 9508080078
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
All it took was for a few heavy hitters to get involved to finally make the Imagination Island playground a reality.
Now, just $5,000 shy of their $200,000 goal, playground organizers are in the process of finalizing design details, ordering equipment and recruiting volunteers so they can build the ``giant erector set'' at Northside Park in mid-September.
A firm build date depends on when the equipment arrives.
``We're so excited,'' said Diane Koffman, a Rosemont Middle School teacher and chairman of the community organizing committee. ``I can't believe it's finally happening. For a while, I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get it built.''
Earlier this summer, organizers of the project persuaded several powerful Norfolk community and business leaders to join the fund-raising efforts.
The movers and shakers also put some significant money into the building pot. Josh Darden's Colonial Chevrolet Charitable Foundation contributed $10,000, and retired Norfolk businessman Charles Burroughs Jr. donated another $10,000. Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate threw an additional $5,000 into the coffers.
The community leaders were also instrumental in securing another $25,000, from both the North Shore Foundation and the Norfolk Foundation. Another $10,000 came from the Harry Bramhall Gilbert Charitable Trust.
``Once they got on the bandwagon, stuff really started happening,'' Koffman said of the leaders. ``They really became committed to seeing Norfolk get this playground.''
Other recent contributions have included ones by Landmark Corp. for $5,000, and a donation of $5,200 from William E. Woods & Associates. Agents and staff members at the Little Creek Road realty company raised the money by sponsoring a Spring Fling festival in Northside Park last May.
Just a few months ago, the prospect of seeing the playground built this year did not look promising. In March, more than $110,000 short of their goal, organizers announced they were forced to postpone construction until next spring, nearly a year later than they orginally anticipated. The group of school kids and community volunteers simply did not have enough cash.
``Most of us have never done a massive fund-raising project like this before,'' admitted Koffman, whose life-skills class at Rosemont originally came up with the project idea. ``And over the last year, we have been through so many changes. It's been tough. But now that we've gotten more professionals involved, things are happening very quickly.''
With most of the funds now in hand, organizers are actively recruiting volunteers to help with the construction of the 160,000-square-foot playground. Unfortunately for their efforts, the original list of people willing to help, compiled a year ago, has been destroyed.
``We have no idea who wants to help; we're basically starting from scratch,'' said Koffman. ``Those people still interested in helping should call our hotline again.''
Unlike the wooden Kids' Cove in Virginia Beach or Fun Forest in Chesapeake, Imagination Island will be constructed with plastic-coated steel playground equipment. Four play areas with whirlwind slides, sprial climbers, overhead fliers and other clusters will be connected by dock-style bridges. The entire area will be barrier-free.
Building it will be a lot like putting together an erector set, noted Koffman.
The idea for the Imagination Island playground was hatched by students in three public schools participating in a national pilot program to improve education. In perhaps a first for Norfolk, students and teachers at Norview High School, Rosemont Middle School and Tanners Creek Elementary began a year and a half ago to elict community help and financial support to build the structure.
Eventually, they formed a partnership with Norfolk's Department of Parks and Recreation, which offered a site at Northside Park and contributed $50,000 of services to the project. Some businesses and community groups immediately joined in the effort. The Seabee Unit 411 at the Norfolk Naval Base, for example, donated $20,000 worth of construction labor to the project.
Norfolk schoolchildren also sponsored a number of fund-raising projects during the last year. A coin challenge, for instance, brought in $3,500.
``When it's built, this playground will bring a lot of enjoyment to a lot of people in Norfolk,'' said Lorraine Perkins, a mother of three who serves as secretary of the project. ``It's been a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
A group of Seabees and other volunteers are finally going to build
Imagination Island at Northside Park.
Graphic
THEY STILL NEED . . .
Landscaping supplies, from plants to tools.
Use of a front-loading backhoe.
Wood to build the bridges between the playground areas.
People with woodworking skills to help rote pickets for a fence.
Carpenters to serve as team leaders for building playground
bridges.
Anyone willing to help.
Call the Imagination Island Hotline at 853-5066.
by CNB