May 12, 2008
Lyon College News Bureau
Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh looks over literature
with Lyon College seniors Natalie Marlin and Nate Reinhardt of Project
Playground. Representatives of Project Playground presented a check to
Elumbaugh for $7,000 to go toward building a playground in the city.
Project Playground donates $7000 By Courtney Kovacs A community project spearheaded by
Lyon College students reached a milestone Friday when a check for $7,000
was presented to Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh on behalf of Project
Playground. Last spring, when SGA had a surplus
of money, students proposed, among other things, building a playground
in west Batesville with the extra funds. Although the SGA funds were not
secured, a group of students remained dedicated to the idea of giving
something back to Batesville and developed an alternate plan to build
this playground for the community that become known as “Project
Playground.” Project Playground held fundraisers
such as a funnel cake booth at last spring’s Scottish Festival, waiting
tables at Charlie’s Pizza in Searcy, and a bake sale outside of Edwards
Commons. These events, along with contributions from the businesses of
Batesville, brought the total to $7,000 as the semester ended. It is
estimated that the playground will cost between
$14,000 and $15,000.
Students held weekly meetings to
discuss their plan, which had the full support of Mayor Elumbaugh. They
made posters, sent letters, and gave presentations. They volunteered to
go to local businesses to ask for donations, and involved the church
community as well. “It’s a community effort,” said
Natalie Marlin, the spokesperson for Project Playground. “We wanted to
get everyone involved, and show that the Lyon College community can give
something back to Batesville. A lot of the time the college seems
separate from the rest of the town, and we want to show that this isn’t
true.” In addition to asking businesses for
donations, the students made a trip to West Elementary School. Natalie
said, “The idea was to go to the West Side Elementary and ask the kids
themselves what they would like in a playground and maybe to draw it
out. This is great for getting input from the kids who would most likely
be using the playground as well as help get the word out that a
playground is coming.” Mayor Elumbaugh and the city of
Batesville have provided a location on the newly created walking path on
Polk Bayou and have offered city services to install the donated
equipment.
to city; Lyon students led the effort