Community Playground Taking Shape - Entering Day Three of Build

Online, May 21, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Rotary Adventure Playground has checked in nearly 400 volunteers as it enters day three of a five day volunteer powered build. The playground is located in Freedom Park at Terry's Corner on Camano Island, exit 212 from I-5 and 12 minutes west. The project is a unique venture led by a small group of community members who have raised more than $200,000 for materials this past year. Similar playgrounds have been appraised at more than $1 million for replacement.

The project is overseen by two international playground designers/builders from Leathers and Associates which has provided the technical expertise to construct playgrounds around the world. Their inspiration was derived from a day-long interview process with area youth earlier this year. More information on our experts is available at www.iHeartParks.org.

"The sheer size of this playground will make most kids' mouths drop and beg for five more minutes," explained Project Coordinator Greg Gilday who has spearheaded the project after realizing there were no great options in the way of community playgrounds to take his kids to. "This playground is designed for the whole family - from a covered pavilion, a tot lot filled with fun for smaller kids to the regular playground which has so many different elements kids will find something new each time they come," he said.

Similar playgrounds often become destination playgrounds with families making day trips of 30 to 50 miles to spend the day doing something fun, safe and out of the ordinary. Being located at the Gateway to Camano Island provides an even stronger incentive for more than locals to seek this newest destination.

The project's web site has photos and information regarding the build to date - www.iHeartParks.org.

The public is asked to help make this project a success:
1. Volunteer for a 3 hour shift (or more). All skills and levels needed. Sign-up and find more information at www.iHeartParks.org.
2. Contribute to the project. Leave a mark in the park! Pickets that surround the playground are a great place to have your favorite names appear - $35 each, must be ordered by Saturday on-site and they will be there for the opening on Sunday. All funds raised in addition to the build costs will be put into an endowment fund to support on-going maintenance to ensure the structures will stand for many many decades.
3. Come to the ribbon cutting - Sunday May 23rd, 6pm.

Media facts:
• We need more volunteers! While many have signed-up we have a lot of work to do. Help us tell the story of community driven improvement and the power of volunteering.
• The project's web site, www.iHeartParks.org has received tremendous traffic with more than 500 visitors in the past three days. More than 85% of these have been first time visitors - thank you for helping us get the word out.
• Project schematics, donor information, and build photos are available on-line.
• The project is rich in opportunities for photography and background sounds for interviews. We would love to tell the region our success to both take this project to completion and to encourage other communities to dream big.