Ascension Day School
Thanks to the vision of two Vestavia mothers and the financial and volunteer support of more than a hundred local residents and business owners, Ascension Day School now has a completely overhauled playground. Photo by Laura Maddox.
Last summer, as Ascension Day School moms Rachel Lowther and Dana Sheheane were walking together, their conversation turned to the school’s wreath sale fundraiser, which was not turning the profit it once had.
As they passed near the school’s playground, located on a shady patch of the church’s property, their eyes lingered on the playground equipment. It was, according to Sheheane, decidedly un-picturesque.
“Despite its wonderful space, the playground equipment was 25 years old and simply out of date,” she said. “Rachel and I felt like the playground needed to reflect the theme of the school, which is creative play. We are here, and we know it’s the greatest place ever, but we also wanted to be sure that people visiting the school from out of town would have a favorable impression, and the existing playground needed to embody that as well.”
Not long after, Lowther and Sheheane were in the office of the newly minted Ascension director, Laura Maddox, pitching their idea.
By August 2014, the three had formed a playground committee, obtained support from the Episcopal Church of the Ascension’s Rev. Stephen Hood, and calculated final project costs, which totaled $20,000. To meet their deadline of having the playground ready by January, all funds had to be raised before Christmas 2014.
Fellow Ascension mom Ivy Holmes drafted a campaign letter, issued in October to everyone in the community with past or present ties to the school.
By the beginning of December, the committee had obtained not only its $20,000 requirement, but also several unexpected displays of community support.
“We had 114 individuals and local businesses contribute,” said Maddox, adding that Rocky Ridge Hardware donated money as well as supplying paint and cleaning materials for the project.
Several employees of Mugshots Grill & Bar were among those who ended up using that paint, refurbishing the playground items that remained.
“They told us that this project is helping them as much as it helping us,” said Lowther. “For them, it is an opportunity for team building and to give back through a community service project.”
Jimmy John’s, which had not yet opened, also stepped up to support the playground project.
“It was so sweet to see people so generous,” said Sheheane. “Let’s be honest. No one likes to ask for money. No one. And you know these businesses are hit up all the time. Yet no one balked at all. There was genuine excitement about this project.”
As the installation took shape, Ascension alumni also showed up to lend a helping hand. Kacey Venglik, whose children have long since aged out of the program, was among them; she worked tirelessly to paint the playhouse that is a popular feature of the refurbished playground.
Maddox added that by late spring, the site will also have a covered sandbox, thanks to the chosen project of Eagle Scout candidate Reed Hodges. Hodges, who attends Briarwood, selected the site through his affiliation with troop leader and Ascension church member Loring Jones.
“I came up here on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and saw five families up here enjoying the grounds,” said Sheheane, who lives nearby off of Canyon Road. “It is truly a neighborhood gathering place, and it was a neighbor-helping-neighbor effort to bring it up to date.”
