Lemay Child and Family Wins $15,000 in Online Competition

An area nonprofit is $15,000 closer to building an outdoor playground thanks to online votes from the community.

For the past two weeks, has been trying to get the . The center, which provides early education to children, received the third most votes out of more than 80 nonprofit oranizations. Voting closed Sunday and the top three all won $15,000 grants.

“We were just thrilled with the outpouring of votes,” said Elaine Powers, executive director for the center. “It seems like everywhere I went, people would stop me and say, ‘How’re you guys doing in the voting?’ We’re really thankful for everybody who took the time to vote, because it paid off.”

Powers credits development director Megan Green for pushing the community to vote once a day through Facebook and email blasts.

The $15,000 kicked off fundraising; Lemay Child and Family is still about $230,000 away from its goal for the outdoor learning center.

“The truth is, what we have now is really inadequate,” Powers said.

The $600,000 project will include multiple playgrounds and a natural play area. A bike path, kickball and softball fields and gardens are also in the plans.

“It’ll be a variety of equipment and experiences to meet the needs of babies through 12-year-olds,” Powers said. “We spent a lot of time with staff and families getting feedback on what’s really needed.”

Several studies show outdoor learning, especially in cases of attention disorders, has been proven to improve learning in the classroom, Powers said.

“It’s something that’s missing,” she said. “They live in apartments and subdivisions. A lot of our kids—my own included—don’t have those outdoor experiences.”

The center hopes to break ground in a year, and are continuously looking for sponsors and fundraising opportunities to meet their goal.