Volunteers help spruce up Keene’s playground
Keene Elementary School students Blake Parsons and Asher Freeman helped wiped down a piece of playground equipment prior to it being painted. The school’s PTO organized a playground cleanup day on Aug. 10. Josie Sellers | Beacon
COSHOCTON – Keene Elementary School’s PTO wanted their students to return to school with a bright, colorful and safe place to play. They accomplished their goal on Aug. 10 with a playground cleanup day.
Parents and students were invited to help the PTO officers and their families paint the equipment, work on the landscaping, and complete the restoration of the wooden piece of equipment on the playground. They also were able to paint games on the asphalt for the kids to play.
“The renovation was completely funded through a Kiwanis grant and fundraising efforts by the PTO,” said Angie Copenhaver, treasurer of the group.
PTO President Morgan Hammond said the grant from the Kiwanis of Coshocton Club was for $2,500, which helped them purchase supplies for the upgrades. It also will be used for new swings and a picnic table that will be ordered this fall.
“We are grateful and appreciate the parents and volunteers who came out to help us,” Copenhaver said. “We couldn’t have accomplished all this without them.”
In addition to parents and students they also had help from River View High School’s football team and members of the National Honor Society.
“It’s good to get them out to help in the community,” said Mike Hemming, head football coach. “Anytime we can do that it’s good for the football program because the younger kids look up to them.”
Kaitlyn Richard, who will be a senior at River View, said the National Honor Society is always looking for opportunities to volunteer in the community.
She and several other members of the group gave the monkey bars a fresh coat of red paint.
“We thought this was a great chance to get involved with one of our elementary schools and I personally went here,” Richard said.
Others who helped make the playground cleanup day possible included: Craftsman at Large, Auer Ace Hardware, and J’s Portable Toilets.
Category: Education, Multimedia, Photo Galleries
