Come On, and Give Me a Push!!! by heather m.

     Here is a REAL contest that could benefit so many, not one of those fake contests that will produce the telemarketing calls I have gotten recently telling me I have won a cruise and a car. Oh, and then there are the people that insist that someone at this address has diabetes.
     Do you like to play? I'm not kidding or saying anything improper. This is not like one of those other emails you may get regarding single, whatever-color-or-age ladies or gentlemen. While I don't go out and play often, I love swings. I will still get on one if I can, and have a great time. AND, to all those preschool teachers out there who have some kind of '4 push' rule, well, you're worse than the grinch to me. I was/am a short kid, and getting yourself moving when your feet can't touch the ground can give you a concussion from shaking around so much!!!
     It's always a sad thing to see a dilapidated playground. You know the kind I mean - the ones with swings missing or hanging by one chain, not two; the ones with all the seated spring-loaded animals that the big kids had to get on and break; then there are the ones with slides from the ancient days, slides that can send you flying near the speed of light, and you will be thankful for that on hot days when the temperature of the metal slide gets high enough to cause 1st degree burns!!! I saw one of these slides recently, and being a steep metal slide wasn't the worst thing about it. Here's the amazing part: whoever set it up turned the base of the slide toward a hill, a very steep hill which led right down to a winding road. Must have been a (you-put-in-the-nationality-of-your-choice) engineer who figured out the placement of that one!
     Well, Alexandrians have lucked out. That sad playground is at a church in PA so it's not eligible for a PROJECT PLAY GRANT. Only playgrounds in the City of Alexandria are eligible. Four grants will be awarded, two of $5000 each and two others of $2500 each. This little bit of money can turn a neglected playground into a very safe and snappy-looking place for the local kids to play. The money can be used for repairs, mulch, new small equipment(think spring-loaded fire truck seats and swings for me!), seating and even shade trees.
     There are only a couple easy steps between your playground and one of those cool ones any kid would love to play in:

     1. Click on this link Nominate a Playground .
     2. Explain how a spruce up grant for your playground would help the children in your community.
     3. Specify the kind of equipment, repairs, changes or innovative ideas you have for your playground. Special consideration will be given to equipment or playspaces that serve toddlers or pre-school age children.
     4. Include a representative photo if possible. (My advice: Don't make your playground stand up straight, smile and suck it in for this photo. Bad is probably good this time.)

Turn this:



Into this:


 
















And faces like these:

Into faces like these:

(PLEASE NOTE: ALL PHOTOS ABOVE ARE FROM GOOGLE IMAGES AND NOT OF ACTUAL ALEXANDRIA PARKS OR CHILDREN.)