Summer Updates!
Many of you have been asking recently how we are doing on our fundraising toward a new kids playground. It was our hope to start building it his summer, but summer is almost over. Back in January we presented a rather elaborate plan for a nice playground that was going to cost quite a bit of money, and we were hoping to start work as soon as funds started coming in.
Through almost the end of July, we have raised about $40,000 and the elders have gone back to the drawing board to re-evaluate exactly what we feel would be best. We know we need to do something and many of you have given generously and faithfully to this effort. Rather than wait until the original full amount has been donated, we want to come to you with something we feel might better suit where GBC is at right now. We have changed the footprint to include a much greater grassy area and a lot less amenities.
Here are three scalable options that could be built upon based on what is given to this project. These are not final by any means, but they give a good starting point of what we can do with our property and with what is collected.
Option 1
- Moves the containers further out in the south parking lot and includes a much greater footprint (removes the pastor parking).
- Creates a playground for the 2-5 yr olds, separated by a 4ft high fence with a gate into a grass area for the 5-12 yr olds.
- Shade provided by trees around the perimeter along with bench seating along with a picnic table.
- Repurposes a few pieces of existing play equipment.
- Keeps adequate access to the back of the kitchen and includes a drinking fountain station.
- We believe we can do this with $50,000, which is only $10,000 more than what we have given now.
Option 2
- Adds benches and play equipment similar to our original proposal in the 2-5 yr play area (teeter-totters, crawl tubes, and a slide).
- The additional cost is estimated at an additional $25,000.
Option 3
- Complete build-out with the original large play equipment we had proposed originally.
- Would look similar to a public park or other commercial locations.
- Adds two large shade structures over the equipment.
- Would require the original total projected amount of $125,000.
The elders have been working on this for a couple months and want to be faithful with what the Lord has given us. We are fine with building any of these three options. We will hopefully start the work in the next couple of weeks with the funds already given, and your giving would be helpful soon to know what we can work with. We hope to potentially cut some costs with our own manual labor (i.e. landscaping) - we know your personal budgets are tight and extra hands helping on a couple of work-days will be just as much of a blessing towards the project.
The leaders of Grace Bible Church are thankful for your faithfulness as we all look forward to finally having a safe play area for our children. Please contact Grant Olewiler (granto@gbcob.org) if you have any suggestions or concerns, or if you would like to be further involved in this project.