A memorial playground

We are working on a project for our local elementary school that I am very excited about. Our kids are in desperate need of a playground, and I believe we have found a way to raise the funds and make it happen - and best of all, we get to do it in Grady's honor.

My parents always buy our children savings bonds for Christmas and birthdays. The year that Grady passed away, my mom had already gotten his Christmas bond. Now I am left with his money, and want to do something meaningful with it.


I considered planting a tree on school grounds, but the project was already funded... I thought about books for the library, but we already did that... I thought about putting a picture in the hall. While I was discussing this option, I spoke to Kevin-John Jobczynski. He supports our SIDS fundraisers, and I hoped that he might be willing to do a special picture for the school. While explaining the money and what we wanted to do, I mentioned that I wished that we could buy a new playground, but knew that was impossible to do with what we had. Kevin-John blew me away with what he suggested.

He offered to do a new piece and give us the rights to copy and distribute it. We can sell the copies to raise money for a memorial playground at Spartansburg Elementary School. This is so special to me and my family. I have three other children who will attend that school, and my nephews will go there also. It's a small school on the outskirts of our district, and it often gets overlooked. I'm thrilled to give all of the kids there a new playground. I love knowing that my sons and nephews will play there and know that it was built in Grady's honor.

 If you're not familiar with Kevin-John's work, please visit his website, www.kevin-john.com to check it out. He is a celebrity sports artist, but got his start doing landmark art in his hometown of Erie. He will be doing a print of the lighthouse on Presque Isle for our project. 
 
This playground project is very expensive! It will take alot of dedication and fundraising to get accomplished. I want to give a special thanks to Kevin-John for his help. If you would like to join him in supporting our project, we are accepting donations. Checks made out to Spartansburg Playground Fund can be mailed to:

Spartansburg PTA
21600 Spartansburg Hwy
Corry PA 16407

Donations are tax-deductible.
Please put "Grady" on the memo line. Thank you!

 

UPDATE:

Kevin-John has finished his artwork and it is available to purchase. Please visit www.presqueislelighthouse.com to view the art and find details.