Rotary’s big project

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The local Rotary Club might not be able to put on the annual July 4 parade, but that doesn’t mean the club isn’t still deeply involved in the community. Witness its Kids’ Kove project for which, by the way, they need your help.

Anyone who has taken youngsters to Kids’ Kove knows it’s a fantastic place, but as the Rotary says on the Web site www.newkidskove.com, times have changed and improvements are needed.

The Web site says that when Kids’ Kove was built, “it was built with the best materials and to standards available at the time. Its life expectancy was 20 years. It’s now 20 years later and Kids Kove needs our help. The standards have changed, materials have improved, and we are 20 years wiser. We are ready for the challenge.”

We don’t doubt that for a second, but Rotary members know they can’t do it alone. Here are some of the things they want to do, again according to the Web site:

• Convert the safety surfacing.

• Increase accessibility for the disabled.

• Install an engineered shade sail to provide some shaded areas and to add to the aesthetic appeal.

• Raise the current 34-inch-high handrails to 38 inches.

• Replace three slides and picnic tables.

• Incorporate recycled materials into the design.

• Increase the play value of the tot area.

• And, in an overview, “to rebuild a unique playground, imagined by children and built by the community.”

Fantastic, right? Right.

The rebuilding project is scheduled to begin Sept. 22. Between now and then, Rotary needs to raise $100,000 and, by then, needs to round up an army of 600 volunteers.

One would think that in a community the size of Merrimack, rounding up 600 people for such a worthwhile project would be child’s play, but we all know that such isn’t the case. People have their own lives, they’re busy, maybe they don’t have any kids, maybe they’ve never been to Kids’ Kove, maybe the are opposed to playgrounds on general principles, maybe they think kids should stay inside and play video games. Who knows? Everybody has a reason to not do something.

But here’s the thing: In a very real way, places like Kids’ Kove benefit all of us. When kids are fit – and playgrounds help with that – they are less likely to be obese and run up insurance premiums for all of us. And, of course, being fit is good for them, if we really want to look at it in an altruistic, rather than economic, way.

But face it, economics play a part in everything we do and most of what we think about, so it doesn’t hurt to point out that economic benefit will accrue to all of us if children get the heck out of the house and onto a slide or some climbing apparatus.

So, how about helping to make that happen?

First thing, visit www.newkidskove.com and check out what’s going on. Or you could call Ron Douville at 424-7420 and ask what you can do to help.

Yes, Sept. 22 seems like forever away, but it isn’t. You’re going to get busy and make scads of plans and before you know it, it’s Sept. 21 and you just can’t make it to Kids’ Kove the next day. So call now and plan ahead. The kids will thank you, Rotary will thank you, and the doctors who have to treat obesity will thank you, too.