Winchester Town Wide Yard Sale – A Huge Success
The BeGINN Again project had a huge turnout for its Yard Sale where we sold new and used children’s clothing and accessories. We raised over $4,000! This is in addition to the $2700 we earned at local house Yard Sale.
We had a number of Winchester residents stopping by to thank us for taking this project on and all were excited to donate to the project. In addition, there was a lot of interest in the fabulous Vineyard Vine bags that are now available for sale. Thank you to all of the enthusiastic volunteers who helped make this day so enjoyable and successful.
Next event is the BeGINN Playground Launch Party on October 17th (rain date of October 18th) down at GINN Playground. We look forward to seeing you there.
Winchester Star covers August 10th Public Hearing
Read about our public hearing as covered by the Winchester Star
source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/homepage/x2145960247/-be-GINN-again-Playground-gets-a-new-lease-on-life
WINCHESTER, MA – The quality of gin alcohol does not improve with age, and neither, according to Winchester parents, does the quality of Ginn Field.
Accordingly, the Ginn Field Restoration Committee (GFRC) presented a proposal at a public hearing Monday for an approximately $350,000 overhaul of the playground it hopes to fund privately and have completed by mid-2010.
The project, entitled “beGINN again,” boasts the slogan, “If we build it, they will play!”
“[We need] to rebuild and redesign Ginn playground to meet the needs and standards of Winchester residents,” said GFRC Chairman Dan Courtney.
According to Courtney, a number of elements of the playground are in disrepair. The swings of the swing set had to be removed because of deterioration to the wood, the walking bridge is broken down, the benches and tables are rotting and dirty and the main structures are old and worn, said Courtney.
He added that the worn structures have caused an increase in splinters for kids, causing some kids and parents to stop going to the playground altogether.
“Anyone who hasn’t seen it should go down and take a look,” he said. “It’s in desperate need of replacement … and is definitely not up to the standard this town deserves.”
The plan
Courtney said the committee is very close to selecting a contractor for the project, and hopes to begin fundraising in September, with a formal kick-off fundraiser to be held on Oct. 17 at the field.
He said he expects the design to be similar to that of the new playground at the Stratton Elementary School in Arlington.
“Besides having a safe, creative and state-of-the-art park for people of all ages, we want a central playground that best represents everything Winchester has to offer to residents and visitors,” said Courtney.
He said in addition to fundraising, the committee plans on applying for numerous grants and corporate sponsorships in the coming months.
Amy Mariani of the Winchester Neighbors Club said her fellow members would be assisting in the fundraising efforts.
In addition to the kick-off event, a number of fundraisers — including a Wine & Beer tasting, wiffle ball tournament, golf tournament, T-Shirt program and Ginn Field movie nights — are also in the works, said Courtney.
The committee has also created a Facebook group as well as a Web site, www.beginnagain.com.
Selectmen were appreciative of the committee’s efforts.
“It’s a great undertaking,” said Selectman Thomas Howley. “I’m not sure when [the town] would have gotten to this, given all the other issues we have [at hand].”
Chairman Brian O’Connor agreed, but cautioned that the timeline for the project might need to be extended.
“Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money, and a lot of money to raise,” he said. “I would check in with town committees … that could tell you things you never thought of to save time.”
Hazardous basketball hoops
Also present at the meeting was Bob Bigelow of the Winchester Basketball Association, who said that the basketball hoops at Ginn Field are in such a state of disrepair that they should be taken down immediately.
“Those hoops really have to come down. They’re a danger, and someone could get hurt,” he said.
Bigelow said the bent and crooked hoops have been in place for about 50 years, and is worried teenagers could hurt themselves by hanging on them.
“It’s time to take them down. It’s just too dangerous,” he said, adding that he will work with the town to get this accomplished as soon as possible.
In addition to new hoops, Bigelow said the court itself needs to be paved, as evidenced by the large cracks in the pavement, from which numerous plants and weeds have sprouted.
“We [the WBA] have the necessary resources [to fix the court],” said Bigelow.
He said the WBA plans to discuss an initiative to renovate the court soon.
