Foundation's JCS Fund to Support Lombard Elementary School WHS Learn+Play Gardens
"The JCS Fund is extremely devoted to projects with long-term outcomes," said David McGowan, CFRE, president of the Foundation. "This project focuses on wellness and offers options for parents, educators and community members to work together to address the growing issue of childhood obesity."
"This grant from the JCS Fund of The DuPage Community Foundation allows us to cross the finish line," said Andi Cooper, WHS Learn+Play Gardens chair. "Our committee has been working two and a half years on this sustainable vision that is finally coming together."
The grant will be used for playground equipment, a nature-based play area, bike racks, outdoor musical instruments within a butterfly garden, walkways, benches, short basketball hoops and a drinking fountain, the first of any school in District 44.
"The WHS Learn+Play Gardens grew out of mud," explained Cooper, whose children attend
Hammerschmidt School. "The landscape where the kids recreate is often very muddy."
Cooper, who is a landscape architect, and other Hammerschmidt school parents, initially approached the school principal about replacing the old playground equipment, and creating a larger vision and strategic plan that has engaged the entire community.
"We are very excited about receiving the JCS Fund (of The DuPage Community Foundation) grant!" said Melissa Payne, principal of Hammerschmidt Elementary School. "Our parents have been working hard to get funds to complete this project. The grant will help not only our students, but also the community in our efforts to continue to promote health and wellness."
Replacing the outdated playground equipment would have been easier but would not have solved the storm water issue, which is currently being addressed as part of the project and a requirement of the grant.
"In my head I knew there was a greener healthier solution, and so we listened to stakeholders, and invited hundreds of people to be a part of this unique effort," Cooper said.
The focus of the WHS Learn+Play Gardens is to promote physical activity and wellness. Its mission is to create an engaging landscape that includes accessible play equipment, hardscape for recreation, and green space for field games and sports, as well as passive recreation, conservation opportunities and a nature-based play zone.
"We're trying to increase awareness about being healthy and many tangential school programs have spring boarded with this project," said Cooper.
Some of the tangents that have been created as a result of the WHS Learn+Play Gardens are an edible garden, summer garden club, walk+roll to school event, a walking club with more than 75 students wearing pedometers, Girls in the Game event, and an all-school fitness assembly. Additionally, the PTA puts on a program called "Star Grazers" where students sample and learn
about various fresh fruits and vegetables.
"Every week something educational related to health and wellness is happening," Cooper said. "It's all very exciting."
The project is truly a community-wide effort with funding and assistance from a number of organizations including the Lombard Park District, Village of Lombard, DuPage County, DuPage Forward, Healthy Lombard and others.
"This project is a vision for our community," said Cooper. "We're making cool things happen."
For more information about the WHS Learn+Play Gardens, visit www.whslearnandplaygardens.org.
About the JCS Fund:
The JCS Fund was established as an affiliate fund of The DuPage Community Foundation in February 2013. Its mission is to support art, music, cultural, health, and educational organizations serving the needs of residents of DuPage County, with a particular emphasis on programs that provide long-term benefits. The JCS Fund also has discretion to support charitable organizations serving other communities if it determines that the goals of these organizations are consistent with the Fund's charitable interests.
About The DuPage Community Foundation:
The DuPage Community Foundation seeks to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County by fostering philanthropy, connecting donors to area needs and building community partnerships. Based on the American virtues of volunteerism and philanthropy, the Foundation fosters a legacy of support for the people of DuPage County by making grants to not-for-profit organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health, and human
services. Since its inception, the Foundation has built its endowment to more than $55 million and
awarded more than $18 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of
DuPage County and beyond.
Established in 1986, The DuPage Community Foundation is a publicly-supported 501(c)(3) organization to which contributions are tax deductible. It was created to benefit the people of DuPage County and receives contributions and bequests into a permanent endowment from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations wishing to make lasting contributions to the people of DuPage. The earnings on these funds are then used, in accordance with donor wishes, for the Foundation's grantmaking and community leadership activities.
For more information about the Foundation, or to arrange future media opportunities, please contact Joelyn Kott, marketing & communications officer, at (630) 665-5556, extension 19, or jkott@dcfdn.org.