The Answer for Youth (TAFY) recently sponsored the tire swing at the soon-to-be-built Dream Playground. We are immensely grateful for TAFY's support and for the ongoing work they do in our community. 

"The Answer for Youth is a barrier free nonprofit 501C3 privately funded organization that has provided services for over 10 years at no cost to the city for homeless and at risk in Port Angeles."
In its capacity as an outreach center for homeless youth in Port Angeles, TAFY provides healthy cooked meals, a food bank, a free clothes closet, as well as blankets, tents and other supplies necessary for living out of doors.  

Learn more about TAFY's work and how to support them by clicking below:

They may be small, but they're mighty! Jett (age 4) and Pepper (age 2) Johnson collectively recently $3,075 to the Dream Playground rebuild project at the end of May. The funds were raised through a combination of birthday fundraisers and an auction for art pieces created by Jett. 

You might not be surprised that Jett and Pepper have a special connection to the Dream Playground:  Foundation board member Tyler Johnson just happens to be their dad. In fact, both Tyler and his wife Nicole are natives of Port Angeles. 

Keep an eye out for these adorable faces at the playground this summer. Jett and Pepper, you are super stars!!!

Click below to make a donation to the Dream Playground or to purchase an engraved brick of picket.

The Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles has donated $2,000 to the Dream Playground rebuild effort! We are so appreciative to this organization for all their support and generosity. 

 

Charted in July 1921, the Kiwanis Club of Port Angeles is the oldest Kiwanis club on the Peninsula. ​Their website states: "We are an organization of service-minded men and women, who give of themselves to make Port Angeles a better community in which to live, raise a family and retire. Our Kiwanis community and service projects are accomplished as our members volunteer their time and talents.... Our motto is, "SERVING THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD" and we believe that we can achieve greater accomplishments together than as individuals working separately." 
What a wonderful mission and what an incredible group of people. We're grateful for our Kiwanis members and for this gift which will benefit the children of our community today and for generations to come. 

The day of the community build is in sight and the Dream Playground Foundation is reaching out to the community to lend the tools and equipment needed to complete this exciting project. We're seeking everything from hammers to wheelbarrows to popup tents. Click the link below to learn more and sign up to lend a tool!

Q: How do I get my tools to the cause?
A: There are several options:

1. drop off at Erickson park (across from Civic field)  Meet at the pavilion every Tuesday and Friday 5 pm to 6 pm (Beginning June 4th)
2. Call or email Steve at  (360) 808-3896 or stevenhargis@hotmail.com for more information or optional delivery place, days, or time. 

** Tools on a very limited case-by-case basis may be picked up.

Q: Who will be using my tools?
A: Volunteers who have signed up to participate in the Dream Playground build will use your tools after undergoing initial training and proper tool checkout procedures. Skilled supervisors on site will monitor all worksites for proper tool usage and safety practices.

Q: How do I ensure I get my tools back?
A: Your name & contact information will be assigned a unique number and recorded along with a description of each tool loaned. Your number will be written directly on your tool with a permanent marker. Tools will be ready for return starting Monday, June 28th. Pick-up/delivery method and date will be determined at the time you drop off your tools.
Example: Joe Smith #12 | joe@email.com | DeWalt battery-powered drill, 2 batteries & charger 

Q: Will my tools be safe?
A: Yes. Each tool will be signed out and in each day and will be locked up securely each night. 

It was emotional for many of us to see the original Dream Playground disappear, but demo day was also an exciting milestone in the new build process. The heros in the process were a few local companies who generously donated their services either in whole or in part. ​We couldn't have done it without them!

First on the scene were 2 Grade and Bruch and Bruch Construction, Inc, who demoed and removed the old playground elements.

After Clark Land Office performed surveying services, Sitkum Tree Service arrived to do tens of thousands of dollars worth of tree abatement. Our community had mixed feelings about losing some of the trees around the playground, but their removal was crucial to the safety of the playground and the increased visibility that had been requested and incorporated into the design. 

Members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe harvested large amounts of cedar bark from the felled trees before Hermann Brothers Logging & Construction removed the trunks from the site. 

RJ Services hauled away 100 or more cubic yards of old wood fiber ground cover. This type of ground cover, though common in past decades, has been surpassed by a variety of safer and cleaner options, including the one we'll be using: Playground Grass by Forever Lawn. This ADA compliant ground cover is safer, cleaner, longer lasting, and provides greater microbial protection than other options. 

We also owe a huge thanks to the Kiwanis Club for providing site monitoring and for helping to arrange for the wood fiber ground cover to be hauled away. They will coordinate turning all the salvage wood into firewood sales that benefit Camp Beausite. 

Volunteers will once again be at the covered picnic area at Erickson playfield, next to the Dream Playground build site, to return engraved pickets from the original build to their owners. Contact Amanda with questions: kiddle.amanda@gmail.com
We are so grateful to the original donors to the Dream Playground. Whether you purchased a brick, a picket, or sponsored a playground component, this beloved project could not have existed without your support. 
Please take this opportunity to help make the new Dream Playground a reality. Customized bricks and pickets are available as well as a few playground components. This is your chance to literally put your name or the named of a loved one on a piece of a playground that will become an important part in the lives of our community's children. 

Grab your friends and family and sign up today for as many shifts as you can during our community build week, beginning June 22. We can't build this playground without you! Untrained help is welcome but we are also in search of skilled volunteers. 

Members of the Dream Foundation Board met recently with representatives of First Fed to accept a $15,000 donation destined to build the tree house at the new Dream Playground. We are so grateful for First Fed's generous gift and support, which will make a significant impact on the success of this exciting project. We are also lucky to have First Fed employee, Jen Swanson, as part of our Foundation Board.   

At nearly 20 years old, many elements of the original Dream Playground were reaching the end of their service life. The new build, scheduled to begin June 22, 2021, will be a community volunteer project and will contain new, more inclusive elements, a sustainable and long-lasting grass-like ground cover, and exciting components like a zipline and climbing net! 

April 21, 2021                    For Immediate Release

Dream Playground Build Manager to Visit  Monday, 4/26/21.  Old picket pickup events 4/24 and 5/15

As the Generation II Dream Playground approaches reality, activity at the site and behind the scenes is increasing and enthusiasm is building for the playground to rise again between June 22-27.

On Monday, April 26, Lee Archin of Play By Design will visit from Ithaca, NY.  Mr. Archin is the site coordinator who will oversee the six-day rebuild to be completed by hundreds of local volunteers.  Mr. Archin will meet with various volunteers on-site throughout the day.

Many volunteers are needed, and people can visit www.padreamplayground.org and click on the ‘donate or volunteer’ tab to sign up. All construction skill levels are welcome, but skilled folks are definitely needed as well.

Play By Design is the firm designing and guiding the rebuild effort, starting with a visit in May 2019 by lead designer Laura Sehn, who visited local grade schools to gather the imaginings of local kids, revealing the new design later that week at the Vern Burton Center.

“This is really the kickoff moment where it gets real,” said Dream Playground Foundation President Steve Methner.  “Up until now, we’ve been planning, fundraising, ordering materials, clearing the site and praying for COVID to get out of the way.  Lee’s Visit is when we plan the build itself and all the nitty-gritty details of the week.”

The City Parks and Recreation department, headed by Corey Delikat, has been doing much of the site preparation, and coordinated the removal of the existing Dream Playground over the last 30 days.  Volunteers had previously removed the fencing and have saved the engraved pickets for people who would like to keep them as mementos. 

The Playground Foundation is hosting two picket pick-up events on April 24 and May 15 for anyone who would like their old pickets back.  The events will run from 10am to 1pm on 4/24 and 5/15 at the picnic shelter at Erickson Playfields, which is adjacent to the playground site on Race Street.

Engraved pickets for the Generation II playground will be available for ordering as well.  All proceeds will support the rebuild effort through the Dream Playground Foundation.

The original Dream Playground was built over six days in September 2002 by hundreds of volunteers, and was one of the largest community projects Port Angeles has ever seen.  The Foundation plans to repeat the effort this June 22-27. 

For questions or more information, contact:
Steve Methner, President
Dream Playground Foundation
360-460-7356
stevemethner@outlook.com
www.padreadmplayground.org

With immense gratitude to the Charno family, the Dream Playground Foundation is thrilled to announce a matching grant of up to $30,000 for donations of between $25 and $500 received before April 30. 

The Charno Family Grant has been generously donated to encourage investment from and connection with the community in the Generation II Dream Playground build scheduled for summer 2021. 

Cash donations in any form, including donations used toward engraved brick or picket purchases, are eligible for matching. When you donate any amount from $25 to $500, the Charno family will match that donation.* This means that all donations made before April 30 will be DOUBLED! 

Existing pickets have been removed and are being safely stored until build day, June 2021. At that point they will be made available to the corresponding donors to commemorate their support of the Dream Playground that has served our community for almost 20 years. 

*While brick and picket purchase amounts will be matched, the matching funds will not be used to purchase additional bricks and pickets. Instead, it will be donated directly to the playground ensuring maximum benefit. Feel free to contact us if you have questions. 

We are thrilled to announce that Pacific Office Equipment Inc. (POE) has become a corporate sponsor of the Dream Playground with their donation of $3,250! This, and every donation received, brings us closer to our goal of a brand new and improved Generation II Dream Playground.

POE is a locally-owned, community minded business that has been serving the Olympic Peninsula since 1965. Their primary business focus is copier sales and service; IT computer sales, service and network installation; office furniture sales, delivery and installation; and office supply sales and delivery. 

We hope you will support the companies that support our community. Contact POE to find out how else they can support your business needs!