Community Corner

Rotary Club Receives $250,000 Grant For Accessible Playground

LEGO Children's Fund makes huge donation for park to be located behind the Central Library.

Furthering its commitment to support organizations that serve children and children’s creativity, The LEGO® Children’s Fund recently presented a $250,000 grant to the Rotary Club of Enfield. The grant will support the creation of an accessible playground in the town of Enfield, where LEGO Systems, Inc. also has its headquarters.

The planned outdoor playground space will be centrally located at the Enfield Public Library on Middle Road, and will be a place where families can spend time together, enjoy the fresh air and benefit from physical exercise.  In designing and installing an accessible playground, The Rotary Club of Enfield will ensure that children and family members of any ability can enjoy the space.

“We are very grateful to the LEGO Children’s Fund for supporting this community service project,” said Rotarian Ed Palomba, who chairs the club’s accessible playground committee. “This generous grant will cover the entire estimated budget for design, site preparation and construction of the playground.”

Find out what's happening in Enfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Palomba indicated that the Rotary Club will raise additional funds to enhance the site with walkways, picnic tables, benches and a pavilion, and welcomes the support of businesses in the local area.

Former Enfield Rotary Club President Lindsey Weber proposed the accessible playground project in 2010. “I imagined an outdoor play space that everyone in the community would enjoy," she said. "Soon, families will be able to enjoy a safe and engaging space for physical activity and fresh air. I am very excited to see the playground come to fruition with the help of the LEGO Children’s Fund.” 

Find out what's happening in Enfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The LEGO Children’s Fund is our way of supporting organizations that promote children’s creative development,” said Søren Torp Laursen, president, LEGO Systems, Inc. and LEGO Children’s Fund chairman.  “We’re thrilled to award our largest grant yet to The Rotary Club of Enfield, which has served our local community for over 80 years. We look forward to the implementation of the new playground, where all children and families in the area will be able to play and enjoy time together.”

Typically, only one grant per year is made to a non-profit group identified and selected by The LEGO Children’s Fund Board of Directors. This year marks the first time that the Fund opened the national large grant nomination process to employees, and as a result, increased its 2011 grant-making total to nearly $1,000,000.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here