Dream Playground Foundation Programs
Our community's Dream Playground, which was built over a period of five days in September 2002 by more than two thousand community volunteers with tools and equipment loaned by the community, is one of the largest volunteer projects Clallam County has ever seen. This collaboration and volunteer effort was akin to an old-fashioned barn-raising with individuals of all ages participating in the build. Over $185,000 was raised to pay for the construction, most of which came from a host of local businesses and more than 10,000 individual contributors.
Since 2003, the Foundation has funded and coordinated the volunteer maintenance and repair of the playground facility.
The Foundation hosts an annual picnic with games and free drinks and snacks in order to increase community involvement in the playground's preservation and expansion.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
In the summer of 2009, the Foundation opened a new 800 square foot pavilion adjacent to the playground. Like the original playground, this structure was built by community volunteers and financed by donations. We were surprised and deeply gratified to see the outpouring of local support for our project as we got underway. Local material suppliers discounted or donated everything from cement to lumber, hardware and metal roofing. Similarly, the City of Port Angeles Park Department Construction Crew poured and finished concrete for our building slab and sidewalks, while local contractors and volunteers surveyed, excavated, set poles, beams and trusses, sheeted the roof, installed metal roofing, and performed the necessary carpentry (wrapping posts and building walls and benches), masonry and tile-setting, and painted the structure - all gratis. This resulted in allowing us to reduce the necessary cash outlay by approximately 45% of the anticipated project cost.
The Foundation incurs annual maintenance expenses of between $1500 and $4000. Individual donations of $10 to $20 toward these expenses are deeply appreciated.