Members of the All Children's Playground Select Committee have begun their fundraising campaign in earnest, and have started going out to the community to tell people about the playground and ask for their help.

This drive follows on the heels of the campaign's kickoff on June 28, when Pathways Communities hosted an event that started the ball rolling by collecting more than $9,000.

Other donations continued to come in after the event, pushing the current total near the $15,000 mark. But that's still a long way from the minimum goal of $150,000 to build this one-of-a-kind playground that will be fully accessible to all children, whether physically challenged or not.

The Select Committee started its campaign with a presentation to the Fayetteville Rotary Club July 17. Bringing color enlargements of a conceptual plan and armed with brochures and background information, committee members Luther Holt, Colleen Sugar and Claire Cohen informed Rotary members about the project. The response was very enthusiastic, according to Colleen.

“The Fayetteville club has offered to set us up with presentations to other Rotary Clubs in the area,” she said.

According to Janet Smola, who is responsible for fund raising for the Fayetteville Rotary, they have taken on the playground as a Fayetteville Rotary Community Service Project. “This means we'll help raise money to build the facility, and we will assist in any hands-on support that might be required later on,” she said.

She also added that she would accompany Committee members to Rotary meetings within Rotary District 6900, which encompasses the metro Atlanta region.

Smola also confirmed that the Fayetteville Rotary would sponsor a golf tournament and contribute proceeds to the All Children's Playground fund. Final details of the tournament, which is planned for September, are being worked out and will be announced in the near future.

The Select Committee is also developing a plan to go to other civic, business or service organizations to give this presentation. In addition, they are planning on researching and pursuing grants and other sources of capital outside the Fayette County area.

Any group or organization wishing to schedule a presentation can call the Recreation Department at 770-631-2542 to coordinate it.