HURRICANE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – West Virginia State Park Playgrounds Need Improvement. The West Virginia State Parks Foundation is announcing a major new fundraising drive.
Named ‘Playground of Possibilities’, this initiative seeks to raise funding to replace, maintain, and improve playgrounds located on West Virginia state parks, forests, and rail trails. “Much of the playground equipment at our parks is aging, outdated, and does not meet the needs of all children,” said Foundation Executive Director Bradley Reed. “In some areas, the outdated structures are in danger of becoming unsafe. Playgrounds at Watoga State Park were recently removed for that reason.”
Although some parks have new or excellent playgrounds, the last major update of these facilities park system wide was completed in 2010. That overhaul did not include many playgrounds which have construction dated back into the 1970’s. Additionally, many of these facilities are not adequate for children with disabilities.
Kim McCluskey, Foundation Treasurer and former Chief of Programming Services for WV State Parks said that “playgrounds are integral to mission of our park system.” In these wonderful wild spaces, our children discover the joy of the great outdoors and experience for the first time Wild and Wonderful West Virginia.”
Estimates suggest that at least 20 of our 48 parks areas need new or updated playground equipment. Many others need significant maintenance. “One of our major foundation goals is to support state park needs which are not funded in the regular agency budget,” said Reed. “This is our opportunity to make a difference.”
West Virginia State Parks are a cornerstone of the state’s robust tourism industry, generating $521 million in economic impact annually. McCluskey told us “we talk quite a bit about the value of bringing tourists in “What we don’t talk about is the role our state parks play in local communities.” “In many areas of the state which don’t have their own city or county parks nearby, our state parks provide the only source of free outdoor recreation.” “I don’t want to even imagine a state park without a great playground for our local citizens,” she said.
The good news is that you can become a part of this campaign to rebuild wild and wonderful playgrounds. Your tax-deductible donation will help bring this vision to life. If you would like to donate, or are interested in more details, visit lovewvstateparks.com
