Playground Charrette This Saturday

Please join us for a community meeting this Saturday to have your voice heard regarding the new SWDC playground!

Date: Saturday, December 10
Time: 10:00 —11:30 am

Location:
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church
600 M Street SW (downstairs)

You are invited to participate in a community planning charrette for the SW Playground Project to provide input on important decisions regarding the playground to be installed next to the SW Library this coming Spring 2012.

We will be providing childcare for children over the age of 3.

With almost $130,000 raised, this project is in the final stretch and we sincerely hope you will be able to participate in this important planning event to ensure that the Southwest Playground Project meets the desires and expectations of the community.

Vote for SWPP to win $25,000 with Pepsi Refresh!!

SWPP is a finalist for a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh grant.  If we were to win this grant, with the money we've already raised and the upcoming FANtastic march, already boasting over $33,000 raised, we'll be well on our way to accomplishing our fundraising goals!  We just need your help!  Here's where you come in:

Vote for us once a day, EVERY day, now through September 30th and don't forget to share the link by e-mail, on facebook, and twitter to get your friends involved too! (I promise, it only takes a minute)
http://www.refresheverything.com/southwestplaygroundproject

Oh, and if you're a Pepsi products drinker, choose specially-marked packages of Pepsi with "Power Votes" on the bottle cap and if you use the code printed inside your bottle cap you can boost your vote by up to 100 extra votes!

Thank you Safeway!!!

The SWPP has received a generous $5,000 grant from Safeway! Thanks to this grant, Station 4's opening night donation, and the generosity of our individual donors we're on our way to reaching our goal!

FANtastic March - 10K Run/Walk on September 18, 2011

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel DC will be hosting a 10k run/walk on Sunday, September 18th with ALL PROCEEDS BENEFITING THE SWPP!  Your $50 entry fee includes breakfast, a FANtastic t-shirt, and a BBQ at Hains Point. The Mandarin Oriental has promised a corporate match of up to $10,000... so let's keep them to their promise! Please help spread the word and encourage your friends and family to participate! THANK YOU MANDARIN ORIENTAL!

Click here to sign up for the FANtastic March!

Committee Meeting 7/14

This month's meeting of the SW Playground Project will be held July 14th at 7 pm in the Westminster Church basement.  Hope to see you there!

Station 4 Donates $1200 From Opening Night

Station 4 restaurant has donated more than $1200 from their opening night proceeds to the Southwest Playground Project.  Thanks to all who came out for opening night and welcome to the neighborhood Station 4!

Help Us Build a Safe Place for Kids to Play!

Check out our promotional video...we can build a safe place for Southwest DC children to play with your help!

Station 4 Restaurant to Open This Sunday!

Station 4 restaurant will open this Sunday, June 26th at 5PM and will be donating 20% of all proceeds from opening night to the Southwest Playground Project.  Come enjoy our neighborhood's newest restaurant and help create a safe place for Southwest kids to play!

http://www.station4dc.com/

5th Annual Ward 6 Family Day

Representatives of the project will be at the 5th annual Ward 6 Family Day at the Yards Park this Saturday, June 25th from 1-3 PM. Come visit us to have some lemonade and discuss our progress.

ANC 6 Endorses the Project

ANC 6 has endorsed the SW Playground Project as the official representative of the commission to partner with Distric Parks and Recreation for the creation of a playground in Southwest DC.  Thanks to all who came out to support us!

Community Outreach this Saturday

Representatives from the playground committee will be at the Southwest DC Safeway (1100 4th Street Southwest, Suite 150, Washington D.C.) from 11am-1pm on Saturday June 11th.  Come by to learn more about the project and how you can help!

Next Meeting of the Playground Committee

The next general meeting of the playground committee planning meeting is Thursday 4/28 at 7pm in the basement of Westminster Church (400 I St, SW).  All are welcome to join us to learn more about the project and how you can help!

Save the Date: Earth Day

Please join us on Saturday, April 23rd from 11am-1pm for Earth Day to help us clean the library park site.  See the flyer below for details.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Thanks For Your Support!

Thanks to everyone who came by for face painting at the Cherry Blossom festival on Saturday.  With your help we raised more than $400 towards our goal!

 

Face Painting This Saturday!

The friends of the SW library playground will be offering face painting this Saturday, April 2, from 1-8:30 pm at the Cherry Blossom Fireworks Festival on the Southwest Waterfront to raise money for the playground! Bring your child down to have their face painted, share their thoughts with us, and learn more about the project.   

If you're facing the water, we will be located directly to the left of the Channel Inn (650 Water St SW, Washington DC) near the gangplank, underneath the white gazebo.  We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Playground Project Featured on 'Little Quadrant that Could'

Check out our article on the 'Southwest....The Little Quadrant That Could' blog

http://southwestquadrant.blogspot.com/2011/03/sw-library-playground-project-well.html

Children of Amidon Design Their Ideal Playground

The SW Library Playground committee recently held a contest in conjunction with Amidon elementary for students to design their ideal playground on the SW Library lot.  District Councilmember Tommy Wells was kind enough to join us in judging the art contest.  The winning students class was awarded a pizza party at the school.  Congratulations to winning entries!

Playgrounds Promote Healthy Childhood Development

Community playgrounds help promote social, mental, and physical development in kids, but don't take our word for it.....

Experts agree that "...children's spontaneous, self-generated play has tremendous potential to actually enhance brain development and increase kids' intelligence and academic ability..." (http://www.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20021001childsplay1001fnp3.asp)

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "free, unstructured play is essential for keeping children healthy, and for helping them reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones. Unstructured play also helps kids manage stress and become resilient." (http://www.playworks.org/why-play-matters)

"Scientists who study play... are developing a consensus view that play is... a central part of neurological growth and development — one important way that children build complex, skilled, responsive, socially adept and cognitively flexible brains." (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17play.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1)

...and the Federal government says kids need at least 60 minutes of play everyday! (http://www.letsmove.gov/getactive.php)

Your donation will help give children in Southwest DC a safe, fun place to get the unstructured activity they need!

Playground Committee Meeting Scheduled

The next playground committee planning meeting is 1/31 at 6:30pm in the upstairs reading room of the SW Branch Library. Come join us to see how you can help!

Where will the playground be?

The SW Library Playground will be located on the wooded DPR/DCPL property adjacent to the SW Library Branch, near the corner of I & 3rd Street SW.

Social media

The Southwest Library Playground Project is now up on Facebook & Twitter.  Follow us and help spread the word!

http://twitter.com/#!/SWLPlayground

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SW-Library-Playground-Project/184297734928734

The SW Library Playground Project is Underway!

The SW Library Playground Project is a volunteer-led project to build a playground for SW children. We are working to raise $100,000 for a September 2011 playground installation.

ANC6D chairman Ron McBee recently announced the start of the project:

The Community Benefits Coordinating Council (CBCC) is working with parents and friends to establish a small person play park in the DPR/DCPL property adjacent to the SW Library Branch. This has been a long time coming and I am very glad to see us seeking a partnership...to make this vision a reality in our community. I, for one, see the need for more playgrounds in our area and hopefully this will be the first to come. Many people have been working separately, in small groups, and finally together to make this happen, including Tommy Wells' Office and the Friends of the SW Library, who have volunteered to help maintain the park. I will be pushing to make this a reality for our young members of the community. I hope you will join "the team" of 100 volunteer members needed to build the park.

You can HELP by donating your time, money or professional skills! Email us at SWPlaygroundProject@gmail.com to volunteer or click the 'Donate' link to contribute!