rotary club

The Bar Harbor Rotary Club in Maine donated recycled plastic benches and other outdoor furnishings to a local playground. Community projects such as these provide a highly visible example of the great contributions groups like this make to their communities

If your charitable organization wants to make a major impact on the community, just take a look at your local playgrounds and see if they need improvements.

That's what the Bar Harbor Rotary Club did recently in Maine when the group pulled up its sleeves, raised money, gathered volunteers and gave the Park Street Playground a much-needed facelift.

"It took many corporate sponsors, many more private donors and an army of volunteers and we are proud to now have an amazing space for our children to grow, learn and play," said organizer Jenna Horton.

The project to revise the playground was originally initiated by a local mom in 2011 but funds were slow in coming in.

So the Rotary Club decided to take on the project. Jenna said she was able to use her experience as a conference planner to get things moving with sponsorships and community support.

Sponsorships and lobsters raise money for recycled plastic benches, picnic tables

The Rotary Club also raised funds for the project in one way that only a Maine group can do - selling lobsters.

At their annual Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast and Seafood Festival, the group raised more than $40,000 and sold 450 lobsters to locals and tourists.

The Today Show and National Geographic both touted the event as "One of the best Fourth of July celebrations in America."

That festival has taken place every year for the past 46 years.

The group finally hit its goal of raising $180,000 and they went to work on Sept. 9, 2017 to start the renovations. The Rotary Club purchased several products from the Park and Facilities Catalog including two recycled plastic benches with the proud engraving "Celebrating Rotary Foundation's Centennial 1917 to 2017."

They also added metal picnic tables and a 7-bike outdoor bicycle rack where kids could park their bikes.

"It's a fun and engaging playground for our community's families to enjoy," she said. "And the benches look great."

Brandon Burres, an executive with The Park and Facilities Catalog who assisted with the project, said, "We congratulate the Rotary Club on their hard work and accomplishment in raising such a large amount of money to give children a revitalized place to play. It's dedicated groups like this that really make a difference in a community."

Rotary International has more than 1.2 million members and 34,000 clubs in more than 200 countries. Their goal is to create a network of volunteers to tackle humanitarian challenges, locally and worldwide. Their website is www.rotary.org.

If your club is interested in donating outdoor site furnishings to a local project, contact The Park and Facilities Catalog. We have a full selection of park benches, recycled plastic benches, picnic tables, bike racks, trash receptacles and many other items manufactured with commercial-grade materials and durable weather-resistant coatings. If you also want to add a custom message, we can help.

If you need proof that adding metal picnic tables to a playground is a good idea, take a look at the jackets strewn about this table from a bunch of active kids. The Bar Harbor Rotary Club added this picnic table and several other items to help improve a playground in their town