Mountain Park Swing-A-Thon Needs Sponsors, Volunteers, Participants

Have you ever been to Mountain Park? Well you should have by now! Mountain Park is a small city that was found in 1927 and is located just outside of Roswell.

We are a Wildlife Refuge, as well as a Tree City USA! We have numerous groups and clubs in our xity including: MP Organic Garden, MPVFR, The Watershed Preservation Society and the Mountain Park Civic Club.

Mountain Park Civic Club (or MPCC as we all call it around here!) was founded in 1966, after numerous volunteers decided there was a growing need for recreation and events. MPCC is an organization of community members who all volunteer their time for the betterment of the community. MPCC is dedicated to promoting good fellowship among the residents of the community and promoting cooperation with and support of the city's government. We work together for the civic welfare of our community. Our goal is to serve our community and neighbors. We accomplish this through community volunteers and local sponsors. We host everything for our city from Easter Egg Hunts, to Fourth of July, to Holiday Potlucks.

We have built all the structures in our community, including our City Hall, Civic Center, playground and bridges.

Currently, we are working on raising at least $75,000 for a new playground. Our playground was built in 1985 and is literally falling apart. We will need to buy all new surfacing material, new playground/slide structures, and items that are imperative to any public park (i.e. signage, trash cans, benches, etc). Our current playground is not inclusive for all children, and does not meet ADA guidelines; our new playground would be for children 2-12 and meet all ADA guidelines.To sum it all up, our playground is literally falling apart. The playground was built in 1985 by volunteers from the civic club. As of a few years ago, ADA regulations were made about public parks and recreation centers; Our playground does not meet any of these requirements. The wood that was used for the playground was also treated with a harmful chemical that actually effects your nervous system. This was a common chemical used for treatment of wood, until the early 90s. Obviously, our playground has seen better years.. But, the biggest problem is NOT the equipment- it is the lack of play that once existed in children. As part of the "Play" initiative by Play City USA, we plan on creating a space where children will want to come to and enjoy. Our vision is that all children in our community will have a place to come to and play, rather than getting splinters or nasty toxins on their skin.

We have numerous ideas for raising the - might I say, frightening? - amount of money, but our biggest fundraiser this year is Mountain Park's 2012 SWING-A-THON on June 9, 2012.

Kids and adults will swing on the existing swings during a 12 hour period of time (8 a.m.-8 p.m.) to raise the funds necessary for creating a new playground. We are expecting around 500 attendees and ample media coverage. Each participant has been asked to get sponsors, for a total of $150, but that will still leave us short of our goal. We are hoping to get the whole community involved, as well as local businesses, so that the playground can be built by the end of this year! 

So, what can YOU do? Well, you could sign up for the Swing-A-thon by going online, or you could donate money towards our playground, or you could volunteer your time on the day of the event, or your business could sponsor us... The possibilities are endless, really!

For more information, visit the MPCC online.