PLAYING FOR GOOD. Roosevelt Elementary School's PTA is hoping its upcoming Spaghetti Feed will get them closer to the playground project fundraiser's finish line. (via Roosevelt Elementary's Facebook)

With a near-$100,000 price tag, Eau Claire’s Roosevelt Elementary School Playground Pride fundraiser has been years in the making: The playground’s circa-1990s equipment’s prime is long behind it. About $10,000 away from fulfilling its goal, an upcoming Spaghetti Feed is aimed at whittling that number down even more.

The school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) held its first-ever Spaghetti Feed last spring to great community turnout, raising $5,200. The organization is hosting a second Spaghetti Feed alongside a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and bake sale, on Tuesday, April 30, from 4-7pm at the Good Shepherd Church (1120 Cedar St.).

“We are really hoping to meet the fundraising goal by the end of the school year through a variety of grants, business donations, and fundraisers,” said Paul Gierczak, a PTA member. “This small but mighty group of volunteers has sold wreaths and flowers; we’ve written grants and held formal fundraising campaigns such as this spaghetti feed. But it’s the kids that have pitched in the most!”

“This playground is important, not only to this school but for the surrounding community because kids need a place to be kids, use their imagination, and engage with each other and the world around them away from a screen. We can give that to them, and the generations to come.”

PAUL GIERCZAK

ROOSEVELT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA MEMBER

Eager as ever, the elementary school’s students have a huge sense of ownership in their play space, Gierczak explained, and those students have even donated their birthday money, Tooth Fairy money, and funds raised from lemonade stands. The school’s annual classroom coin drive has also supported the playground fundraiser.

Always fueled by the kids’ excitement and pride in their school, the PTA said if the fundraiser’s goal is reached by the end of the school year they will be able to install the playground this summer, marking the completion of three summers’ worth of improvements.

The upcoming Spaghetti Feed is free to attend with free-will donations accepted, the PTA recommending $10/adult and $5/child, the dinner includes one small salad, one plate of spaghetti, one breadstick, and the choice of coffee, milk, or water.

Phase I was completed last summer while Phase II hopes to reach its funding goal prior to this summer.

“What is a playground in the end? … It’s, at its heart, the centerpiece of a kid’s imagination,” Gierczak continued. “Is it a playground or is it a spaceship, or a castle today? Which character do I get to play? Who should we be, if we could be anything? … A playground is where you meet your first best friend or first crush. What better place to see the blue sky and puffy clouds than from hanging upside down and looking up? It’s the place where kids get to rule in their outdoor kingdom away from the adult world.”

A playground, or any free, open public space, could be easy to take for granted. But, as Gierczak pointed out, a playground is also a community resource and a place where kids get to make up and negotiate rules, roles, and solve problems all on their own.

 

“This playground is important, not only to this school but for the surrounding community because kids need a place to be kids, use their imagination, and engage with each other and the world around them away from a screen,” Gierczak said. “We can give that to them, and the generations to come.”

Find the 2nd Annual Roosevelt PTA Spaghetti Feed event on Facebook • The Spaghetti Feed will be held on April 30 from 4-7pm at the Good Shepherd Church (1120 Cedar St., Eau Claire)