Bernon Heights Celebrates Hard-Won Playground

Mayor Leo Fontaine, School Superintendent Giovanna Donoyan and school officials joined the Bernon Heights PTO for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Bernon Heights playground Tuesday. 

The celebration capped off a years-long fundraising effort to build a playground at the school. The PTO worked with Childscapes, a KaBOOM! preferred vendor, to design a playground and supervise the grant-required Community Build on Saturday, Sept. 28. More than 115 volunteers rolled up their sleeves and participated in the playground build, which lasted from at 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. “The Bernon community, led by the PTO, truly worked together to make this project happen,” said Mayor Leo Fontaine. “This tremendous effort has not only resulted in a beautiful new playground for the students of Bernon Heights, but also a renewed sense of pride in the school and the community.” 

Most of the volunteers spent much of the day putting together the play equipment, which weighed more than 5,000 pounds, installing a barrier and shoveling mulch. Others coordinated activities for the children in attendance. The playground, which is located in the school yard, features slides, rock walls, monkey bars, decks, bridges and other fun features geared for children ages 5 through 12. “Great things happen when the focus is on doing the right thing for our students,” Donoyan said.  

The PTO has been raising money to build a playground since 2009, when a student stepped forward and asked the PTO to build a play space at the school.
In the years since, various fundraisers have been held to raise the money needed to purchase the playground equipment, including the school’s Annual Spookfest, a Halloween-themed festival and spooky trail, now in its fourth year. In 2012, the PTO and Woonsocket Education Department were awarded a $15,000 Let’s Play Community Construction Grant from Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and national non-profit KaBOOM!, which provided them with the remaining funding needed to purchase the equipment. The total cost of the playground equipment was $35,000.   “We are so proud to have been able to bring this beautiful new playground to the students of Bernon Heights,” said Amy Thibault, PTO member and Playground Project Leader. “Thanks to the tenaciousness and perseverance of our PTO, and the generosity of the Bernon community, Bernon’s students now have a safe and engaging place to play. In addition to the Let’s Play Community Construction Grant, the PTO received several monetary and product donations for the playground from local businesses.

Businesses and organizations that have made monetary donations to the playground include: 1-800-GOT-JUNK, Belcher Electric, Bob’s Discount Furniture, Boys Town, Cercle Laurier, Esten and Richard Agency, Gold Advance, Italian Workingmen’s Club, Navigant Credit Union, Planet Fitness, Retro Insulation, River Falls Restaurant, Scentsy, United Healthcare, The Valley Breeze, Vision Associates, Vohn’s Restaurant, Woonsocket Motor Inn, Woonsocket Prevention Coalition, Woonsocket Rotary Club and Woonsocket Teachers Guild. 

The PTO received product donations from many local companies and organizations as well, including Alex and Ani, Athena’s Home Novelties, the Boston Bruins, the Boston Red Sox, Burger King, Cupcakes by Laurie, CVS Caremark, Dunkin’ Donuts, Frito Lay, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, the New England Patriots, Paparazzi, Park Avenue Pizza, the Pawtucket Red Sox, Pepin Lumber, Rick’s Bar and Grill, Supreme Pizza, Wal-Mart, Utz, Wendy’s, Woonsocket Palace Pizza and Wright’s Dairy Farm.