Moms' Greentree Park Effort Gets $25k Boost from Willistown

Willistown Township recently pledged $25,000 toward the installation of new playground equipment at . Those funds, combined with $19,000 raised in recent months by the , means a new Little Tikes play set should be open for business by spring 2012.

The Friends, an offshoot of the , has led the charge since 2010 to enhance the park, with the support of township parks director Mary McLoughlin. Co-founder Kristin Thomas said Greentree Park has many kid-friendly staples—including bathrooms and a fence—but lacks fun options for children, leaving many parents to drive to West Chester and Downingtown for playtime.

The new play set will include:

• climbing walls
• three slide variations
• two different types of “monkey bars”
• several interactive/pretend play panels
• a “moving” bridge

At their Oct. 11 meeting, the Willistown supervisors voted unanimously to allot the $25,000 in the 2012 parks budget. The board of supervisors had turned down the Friends' previous request for financial help last year, but reconsidered after witnessing the the group's impressive planning and fundraising operation. The Friends collected $19,000 in four months, through grassroots efforts including a and event.

"In my mind, it's almost a case study—the perfect model for a partnership between the township and the community," township supervisor Norman Macqueen said. "I just became a grandfather, so I imagine that our new grandson will be using our addition to the park."

The project is expected to cost between $40,000 and $50,000. With township's cash, enough money has been raised to buy and install the Little Tikes playset, but the Friends are still selling coloring books and engraved fence pickets to pay for benches and other amenities.

In a Friends press release, member Lori Bartlett, a mother of three, described the process as a true group effort.

"So many people pitched in to make this happen, from the people who put spare change in donation cans around town, to our very own husbands, who did what we asked of them without complaint," she said. "I'm so grateful to everyone who helped us out along the way.”