Clockwise from left, parents and volunteers help with the playground installation, EPM principal Colette Lavallée (left) and Tanya Rowe Gansauge (EPM Parents Committee), and (below) parent Pascal Felicite at the school on Thursday. (Angela Brown/BattlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Parent-initiated project

Parents, volunteers show support for École Père Mercure’s new playground project

Aug 25, 2022 | 3:42 PM

Kids at École Père Mercure (EPM), North Battleford’s francophone school, will soon have a brand new playground, thanks to help from a lot of volunteers and community donations.

On Thursday about 10 parents and volunteers were busy helping with the installation of the new equipment, with the work to continue Friday and Saturday. The company Park N Play out of Edmonton is the supplier of the new playground.

The project was initiated by the EPM Parents’ Committee, with help from the school.

Tanya Rowe Gansauge, parents’ committee representative, said she appreciates everyone’s support in helping make the project a reality.

The existing playground at the school is over 25 year old and needed to be replaced, so the committee started fundraising three years ago to purchase equipment for a new playground.

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“As of May, we had just over $70,000 raised. Our budget total was $85,000 to $90,000,” Rowe Gansauge said. “We still need to raise a few thousand dollars, but hopefully over the next couple of years, with fundraising efforts, we’ll get that covered off.”

There is still time if more businesses want to donate to the project.

“We’re planning to put up permanent signage,” Rowe Gansauge said. “If you donate some money, we’ll put your name on the sign.”

Because so many people and businesses have already helped with the project, that has saved thousands of dollars on the cost. The project also received some grants as well.

“After all is said and done, hopefully we won’t owe that much,” Rowe Gansauge said. “We’d like to put in some trees and some benches if we have money left over, if we receive more donations.”

Parent Pascal Felicite, who was helping with the installation work Thursday, said he looks forward to seeing the project complete.

“I just wanted to help out today to get the work done for the community and for the school, so the children can enjoy it and have some good times here,” he said.

Felicite said it will be great to have some new equipment for the playground to enrich the children’s lives, to help them grow and learn something new.

EPM principal, Colette Lavallée, is thrilled with the success of the project.

“We’ve gotten lots of parents, former students and family members that have been able to volunteer to help build our project, the new play structure,” she said. “Being able to have volunteers is a huge savings for the parents’ committee that was organizing this new project.”

Lavallée added not everyone knows that new playground projects have to be parent-initiated, since they are not covered through funding from the Ministry of Education.

The parents at the school have put in many hours on the effort, creating online auctions, and last year a hot lunch fundraiser was started as well.

“Many parents have also given cash donations and requested donations in the community,” Lavallée said. “…For a small school like us to fundraise $75,000 is a huge undertaking. We’re very proud to have these new play structures that our students and the whole community will be able to enjoy and play on.”

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW