“Shirley’s communal spirit towards the importance of play is tremendous,’’ said Mike Vietti, KaBOOM!’s communications manager. “It’s not something we’re seeing in a lot of different communities across the country. Shirley just gets it. They understand that play is important to children.’’
While the $20,000 would help create the new school playground, it was the old one, with its metal swings and other equipment no longer considered safe, where Shirley’s new commitment to play began in 2007. A group of kindergarten mothers went to the elementary school to look around.
“It was terrible,’’ said Susan Heinz, chairwoman of the Play Board of Shirley. “It was a sandbox with equipment from years ago. Some of the equipment was out of code. Our swings were way out of code. Some of our climbing apparatus was just not safe at all. We had no slides.’’
One of the school administrators passed along the KaBOOM! grant application and the parents went to work. They soon learned Shirley was designated one of the first 19 Playful Cities USA and they received $5,000 to organize the town’s first Day of Play. “It was like the coolest thing ever,’’ Heinz said.
Then the mothers decided to rebuild the playground. They raised $25,000 - including $10,000 from Anna and Joseph Molinari, grandparents of two students - and applied for another KaBOOM! grant. This August, they learned they would receive $20,000. Local businesses agreed to donate services - a landscaper pulled out the old equipment, another landscaper jack-hammered the cement away, a fencing company provided free labor - and people in town donated benches.
“It’s so heartwarming,’’ said Dina Samfield, a member of the Play Board. “I watched as the excavator was tearing up the asphalt and I literally started to cry. It just means that much to me and the parents in the community. We’re going to have a playground that the kids deserve.’’
