GENEVA — His face stiff with concentration, Brandon Mattingly squinted in the sunlight Thursday afternoon and tried not to look down.
High up on the new jungle gym at Little People’s Park on North Eagle Street, Brandon, 8, climbed and crawled across the red and blue bars built by the community for area children.
Volunteers worked for hours June 13 to assemble the large playground set which includes a tree climber, pods, a two-way slide, a cargo net climber and stationary surfboards, Geneva recreation director Mychaelane Anderson said.
“We started at 8:30 a.m. and put the last post for the last bench in at 7 p.m.,” Anderson said. “It was the most amazing day. People came to help out for a couple of hours and ended up having a great time and staying all day.”
The playground equipment was free to the city, thanks to a $14,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant, a $7,500 grant from the Kool-Aid company and a $2,000 donation from the Geneva Eagles Aerie, Anderson said.
Anderson said more and more volunteers came to help and local residents and businesses brought food and drinks for the workers.
“People in Geneva are fabulous,” Anderson said. “Really phenomenal. They spent the whole day here working and were supported by other people and our local businesses. The day was just too perfect.”
Sponsors for the build include Geneva city employees, Domino’s Pizza, Rosemary’s Pizza, Cap’s Pizza, Georgia’s Pizza, Giant Eagle, Beverage Depot, Rae Ann of Geneva Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, Styling on Broadway, Dunkin Donuts, Sports n Sports, Bob’s Video Production, Subway Restaurant of Geneva, The Lodge and Conference Center at Geneva-on-the-Lake, UH-Geneva Medical Center, Crawford Insurance, Geneva Business Association, Augustinky Foods, Geneva Street Department, Geneva Fire Department, Geneva Police Department, Gary Hydinger and Karen McCroden.
The park, which is located next to the skate park, is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. until August 31. Free summer lunches are served to children every Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to noon at the park pavilion, courtesy of Ashtabula County Children’s Services.
Anderson said she still hopes to add more equipment to the playground, including more swings and equipment for younger children.
Residents can view photos of the playground equipment, rate the playground, leave comments and suggestions and even donate towards the expansion of the play area at www.projects.kaboom.org/GENEVA-PLAYGROUND.
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