Park fundraiser brings in more than $155K

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This article was published 24/04/2024 (871 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In less than a month, Brookwood residents have raised more than $155,000 toward new play structures at Olivia the Brave Park.

Lead organizer Amber White told the Sun on Tuesday that the money raised between the last week of March and April 19 will allow the city to double the budget for the playground and have funds left over for the purchase of additional amenities.

The park, located at the corner of Goldenrod and Plateau drives in the Brookwood neighbourhood, was named after four-year-old Olivia Baessler, who died in 2020 due to complications from a congenital illness.

This year’s city budget put $100,000 aside for the addition of a play structure at the park, but residents expressed a desire at a March 25 community meeting to fundraise so that a bigger and better option could be installed.

However, with a need to put the project out to tender soon so that it can be built this year, the money had to be raised by April 19.

Even after the deadline, White said funds are still coming in. Around $105,000 came in from about 150 donors, with local philanthropists Gord and Diane Peters matching $50,000 for the total of around $155,000 raised.

In discussions with city parks officials, White said it was determined that the budget for the play structure would be doubled to $200,000.

Donations will be left open for the time being so that residents can still contribute toward extra amenities that will be purchased separately from the playground, with the remaining funds from the fundraiser dedicated to that purpose.

“We’ll make sure every penny of it gets used towards that playground,” White said.

White said she’s discussing with neighbourhood residents what they’d like to see added “so it’s not just a park, but … kind of a safe space for everybody to go to and be a little more inclusive.”

Those possible amenities include a shaded area, a memorial bench telling Olivia’s story and picnic benches. White said residents want enough green space to be left so that kids can play games like soccer and baseball.

Some of the remaining funds will also be used to purchase commemorative plaques for people who donated $1,000 or more. A local business has offered to donate the installation of a fence to make the park safer for its users.

“The residents of Brookwood have done an absolutely phenomenal job of pulling this together,” White said.

“It’s a result of what can happen when people come together … We had people beyond that (area) contact us who read the story about Olivia and called us to come pick up donations. People from care homes, people from all over Brandon and even outside of Brandon.”

Olivia’s mother, Crystal Baessler, said she was “super thankful” for the work that Amber and the community put in to remember her daughter at the park she loved playing at.

“This will be something to remember Olivia, for family and friends and for people that will get to know her story after this,” Crystal said. “She brings so much love and light to everyone. The park is in such a cool spot where the sun just shines.”

Bryce Wilson, Brandon’s manager of parks, told the Sun by email that the city hopes to put out tenders later this week for all four play structure projects it’s carrying out this year and to have them installed this fall.

Once a finalized list of donors is provided to the city, the finance department will work on getting charitable tax receipts issued. As long as additional funds raised are distributed to the city, Wilson said those will be eligible for receipts as well.

“I’d just like to pass on a massive thank you to Amber and all residents that have assisted in this project,” Wilson wrote. “It has been a great community effort and will benefit all in the area.”

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