(Left to right) Foster Barnhart, 5; Lilly Jones, 5; Annie Jones, 7; Leiney Gamache Miller, 6; and Abby Gamache Miller, 4, practice their roles in the play The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which they later performed at a summer PlayGarden barbecue.
Social Networking Drives New Fundraising Push for Seattle Children’s PlayGarden
By Seattle’s Child
Seattle Children’s PlayGarden, a nonprofit that works to improve access to outdoor recreation space for children of all abilities, has kicked off an effort to raise $230,000 for construction projects, and it’s using social networking Web sites to do it.
Donations can be made through a Twitter microblogging feed – @playgarden – or through a PlayGarden Facebook page.
The money raised will help cover the costs of completing the buildings and play plaza at the PlayGarden, a complex that includes a playground and garden at Colman Playfield in South Seattle.
Construction projects the PlayGarden hopes to complete by spring 2010 include a performance amphitheater where children can participate in plays; a therapy playroom featuring resilient gym flooring, suspended equipment for therapeutic use and mirrored walls; a fully accessible children’s kitchen for garden-to-table cooking; and a volcano with slides, boulders and water features.
Liz Bullard, the PlayGarden’s executive director, says this is believed to be the first time a Seattle nonprofit has used social networking this way for a fundraising campaign.
“By leveraging Facebook and Twitter, we hope to reach a large group of individuals to quickly and efficiently raise $230,000,” Bullard said. “We want to encourage the vast number of people who utilize these social networks to donate just $10 or $20 each, until we reach our goal.”
The PlayGarden’s mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment for children with or without disabilities to interact with nature, learn, explore and create – to enhance their cognitive, motor, and social skills, and develop their sense of wonder and independence.
The PlayGarden, believed to be the only facility of its kind in the country that’s located in a public park, formed a partnership with the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation back in 2003. Over the past five years, the PlayGarden has received more than $1.5 million in donations for construction.
