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04/20/2016 08:00 AMAs Green Acres Elementary School is the last of the four elementary schools in North Haven with an outdated playground, Alicia Burr decided to spearhead fundraising efforts to change that. After researching school playgrounds, Alicia realized that the project would cost $200,000 to $250,000
With her twins, who are now in 3rd grade, having spent several years on the defunct playground, Alicia approached the PTA about leading a larger-scale fundraiser. The PTA had done some fundraising, but Alicia knew that with the large price tag on a new playground, the PTA could use a helping hand.
“I haven’t held a board position with the PTA, but have been involved with them and the school,” says Alicia. “The PTA does a great job with fundraising, but we needed a bigger venue and a bigger fundraiser for the playground project.”
Elizabeth Ball, the president of Green Acres’ PTA, and Tracy Creatore, the organization’s treasurer, have been helping Alicia plan the upcoming wine-tasting fundraiser, which will be held on Thursday, May 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Fantasia.
“I’ve been to several wine tastings and they do really well so that was my big push in choosing this event,” says Alicia. “We have gone around the past couple Saturdays and received amazing support from local businesses who have given us donations and prizes for raffles and the silent auction.”
The Playground Committee is still in search of donations of raffle or silent auction items for the wine tasting. In addition the wine tasting, raffle, and silent auction, there will also be a beer tasting and food.
Save-Rite Liquors will bring a number of distributors’ representatives to provide the tastings and any wine purchased that night will be discounted. In addition, Save-Rite Liquors will donate 10 percent of sales that night to the project.
Alicia also noted that all four town fire departments have offered their help in selling tickets and the local government officials—including First Selectman Mike Freda, State Senator Len Fasano, and State Representative Dave Yaccarino—have been very supportive. One of Alicia’s goals is to secure grant monies, hopefully in the form of a STEAP grant up to $150,000.
“Last year, Vanacore Field got the whole amount [from the STEAP grant] and Mike [Freda] has been very supportive of helping us obtain that,” says Alicia, who noted several smaller fundraisers such as a poinsettia sale and cookbook sale have also been held to benefit the project. “There’s only so much the families at the school can do. We wanted to hold a town-wide event to help us because the town does use the playground.”
Because there are several baseball fields at Green Acres, there are many families at the school after-hours. Green Acres also has almost 400 students in pre-K through 5th grade, including handicapped students. Alicia noted the current playground is not only rusty and potentially dangerous, but it is also not handicapped accessible.
“This is a school with preschoolers and elementary school kids and their playground isn’t safe. It’s something that really needs to get done,” says Alicia, who is a nurse practitioner at Yale-New Haven Hospital. “While the kids play baseball, many families use the playground and we want it to be safe and accessible for everyone.”
Alicia has been scouring catalogs of school playground equipment, feeling like a “kid in a candy store” as she explores different options. The Playground Committee’s goal is to have two separate areas—pre-K to grade 2 and grades 3 to 5—which are not only handicapped accessible, but also include touch features for people with sensory issues.
Alicia and her family moved to town nine years ago and she is happy to be involved with a project that is giving back to the community that she now calls home.
“We fell in love with our house and that’s what brought us to North Haven,” says Alicia. “The people are really down to earth and nice and I’m glad we’re here.”
Another added perk to leading this fundraiser has been that Alicia has formed relationships with many more people in town. In addition to working closely with the PTA and the staff and families at Green Acres, Alicia has also met many people as she has organized the upcoming wine tasting, including local business owners, townspeople, and those in the town government. She is excited to see the support behind this project.
“With anything we try to do, it’s amazing how quickly people step up to help,” says Alicia. “In an ideal situation, we’d love to have it built in the next two years—that gives us some time to get the STEAP grant and get enough money in our playground fund. We have to stick with a budget and are trying to make it so it reaches all walks of life.”
For tickets or to donate to the raffle, event, or playground fund, contact Alicia Burr at 203-668-9885 or greenacresptanh@gmail.com.