(Chelsea Update would like to thank Shawn Personke for the information in this story.)
Two unique fundraising opportunities are now available to help support TimberTown, Chelsea’s 25-year-old park that is in need of a rebuild.
South Meadows and North Creek Elementary School families will be looking in pockets, purses, piggy banks to find loose change to drop into collection jars in each classroom. The challenge runs April 15 to April 19. Coins will be counted at the end of the week and all funds raised will be matched by Chelsea State Bank and an anonymous donor!
All graduating classes that collect over $200 will win a picket engraved with “CHS Class of 20##” as a part of the permanent fence surrounding the park for generations to come.
“This is a fun way for your kids to take part in a grassroots, community-based volunteer effort that will improve the park’s safety, sight-lines, and accessibility,” said Casey Wescott, North Creek principal.
Speaking of pickets, everyone in the community has a chance to become a part of the park’s legacy by sponsoring a picket with a generous donation of $250. The pickets will become part of the permanent fencing in and around the play structure.
Pickets can be engraved with up to 22 characters to recognize your family, child, parent, group, or organization.
“Each picket represents a story, a memory, and a commitment to preserving the beauty and enhancing the accessibility and essence of our community space,” said Jeff Hardcastle, co-chair of the TimberTown Reimagined project.
Picket forms will be available online at www.TimberTownChelsea.org, or at the TimberTown booths at the Chelsea Farmers Market, and at various stores around town, including Chelsea Hometown Pharmacy and The Treehouse.
TimberTown Reimagined project is a partnership between the City of Chelsea, Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, Washtenaw County Parks & Rec. Support from local foundations, such as the Chelsea Community Foundation and the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation, has bolstered support from many local businesses who have been sponsoring pieces of play equipment. A general donation campaign is providing an opportunity for supporters to make donations of any size.
Chelsea State Bank will be donating $50,000 as a matching funds initiative, and is joined by an anonymous donor to create the $100,000 matching fund.
The project is made up of five components:
- Building a new trailhead for the B2B trail
- Refurbishing and adding to the TimberTown play structure
- Adding six pickleball courts
- Renewing and repairing the Pathway to Renewal mosaic
- Improving infrastructure (lighting, adding parking spaces via paving the lot, etc.)
The work on TimberTown will take place from Aug. 6 to 11, 2024. Many volunteers are needed. The schedule will be flexible to allow people to give a few hours or a few days.
Chelsea State Bank, Gestamp, and the Chelsea Hospital are allowing their staff to volunteer for the August 6-11 build.
“We’re extremely excited about the community engagement the project is generating,” said Hardcastle. “When the community built TimberTown in 1997, it was an amazing experience and we think the re-imagining of TimberTown this summer will not only result in a wonderful ‘new’ community park, but also create a highly memorable experience for the hundreds of area volunteers who we’ll need to get it done.”
To personalize your Legacy Picket, donate, sign-up to volunteer for build week, and to learn more about this community effort, visit www.TimberTownChelsea.org.
