The playground whose official name is Mila’s Hope and Rowyn’s Dreams Playground has been awarded a grant of $250,000 of the $500,000 needed to build! We are getting so close. And we need your help now. If you can, please see the information about attending the silent auction below.

As a reminder there will be a silent auction. See details below:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/fpgsilentauction/

It will take place March 25th through March 28th.

We still need your help and support. Please see the official capital improvements update.

Just a few months ago we were all feeling the impact of COVID, and our playground was no exception to that. Our grants were coming back undetermined, our Capital Funding left in limbo, our personal donations coming to a halt – all attention rightfully shifted to the pandemic. As a board we had to make some tough decisions and when faced with the facts we were down but not defeated. The question was raised, “should we continue”? We all knew we could never quit – we had to keep going for these kids. So, our board unanimously voted to keep pushing on with faith in the process. Now, just a few months later here we are seeing our Hopes and Dreams come to life. We have officially won our Capital Improvement’s Grant!

We were awarded from the State of Ohio, $250,000 towards our $500,000 goal. We submitted this grant under the sponsorship and guidance of Senator John Eklund in August of 2019. We sent all of our Hopes and Dreams with this application, giving light to the name of our new playground, Mila’s Hope and Rowyn’s Dreams Playground.

Many hands have guided our application along this journey: Senator John Eklund, State Representative Randi Clites, and Senator Matt Dolan all supported our goals of inclusion and accessibility. We had the privilege of meeting with Senator Matt Dolan at the State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio October of 2019. From there, Senator John Eklund, State Representative Randi Clites, and Senator Matt Dolan took us to the finish line!

The Capital Budget and SB 310 advanced to The House floor and were approved in a vote on the conference committee report. On December 29, 2020 one more hand touched our application as it landed on Governor Mike DeWine’s desk.

This massive win from Mila’s Hope and Rowyn’s Dreams Playground will hold two National Demonstration Award titles. One in Inclusion and one in Play On. We will be the THIRD playground in the State of Ohio with this designation from our equipment company, Gametime.

We are so grateful for the support and excited for what is next. Here we come 2021, let’s make it a summer to remember!

* We did not come this far, just to come this far!! Phase one of our build is possible with this large Capital Funding win, but our plans don’t stop here. Please consider donating, sponsoring, or reaching out today.