Hamburg $5,000 shy of installing new playground

HAMBURG n "Almost there." After 20 months of fund raisers and general begging, Dawn O'Grady, chair of the school playground committee for the Hamburg Public School, is about to see the fruit of the group's labor accomplished…maybe. And it's a not a little maybe. O'Grady says the committee needs $5,230 in the next few days to install the playground equipment that is due to be delivered. If the money can't be found, the materials will have to remain in their boxes, unopened, unassembled, and unused by the children. The playground's cost was originally estimated at $50,000, but O'Grady negotiated hard with each vendor. She got a $10,000 discount from Game Time, the manufacturer, and a $2,000 reduction in the cost of the rubber mulch that will cushion the ground under the equipment. The final price is less than 60 percent of the estimate n just $28,373. But the final $5,230 to pay the installer is still lacking. O'Grady and the committee have contacted dozens of potential corporate and local business donors to try to get the money, but, except for State Farm Insurance and Newton Trust Company, they have come up dry. O'Grady read from the list of possible donors who were solicited, including Blockbuster, Oprah Winfrey, Wal-Mart, Wachovia, Crystal Springs, Intrawest, Neuman's Own, Mountain Creek, Tri-Co Federal Credit Union, the local condo associations, and even Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen Degeneris. All without success. She said that local citizens have been extremely generous, particularly with donations from individuals whose grandchildren are attending or previously attended the school. There have also been many donations as memorials, including money given by fourth-grade teacher Kathy Delben, Superintendent Robert McCann's mother, Jean, and Councilwoman Ginny Gorman. "Raising this amount without any corporate sponsors is nothing short of amazing," said O'Grady, "We have come a long way, but if every family in the school gave $15, we would reach our goal. "We are so-o-o close." To contribute the playground fund, contact McCann at 973-827-7570 or O'Grady at 973-209-7110.