11/01/2025
*** Update: We are up to $3700 so far! Because of the busy Halloween week, we are extending glow run class points for donations through the next week. All donation envelopes from students are due on 11/8/2025. Thank you!!**
The Hudson Park PTO is excited to announce our fundraising focus for the 2025/2026 school year- New Playground Equipment! Some of you may have already heard about our plans, but we wanted to take a moment to discuss it further and provide some context.
It is crucial for our school to have high quality playground equipment because it directly supports a child’s development. Playground time is more than just a break; it provides essential opportunities for physical health, promoting gross motor skills, strength, and coordination necessary for an active life. Furthermore, it encourages social development by creating a structured environment for cooperative play, problem solving, sharing and conflict resolution. So, when we learned that some of our equipment is over 20 years old and parts are breaking, it seemed like a no-brainer to take action.
Two years ago, when we relaunched the PTO, our main goals were clear: to provide support for our teachers and increase engaging opportunities for both students within the school and families outside of school. We have been successful in meeting this goal through a variety of sponsored and coordinated monthly activities, including BINGO night, a Dance Party, coordinating & sponsoring an OMSI assembly and fundraising activities. We have raised over $6,000 which has allowed us to host and sponsor events, and will allow us to direct 100% of funds raised in the 2025/2026 towards the new playground equipment project.
We are fully aware this will most likely be a multi-year project. Playground equipment and installation is not cheap and can range from $300,000 to more than $750,000 depending on design and what is needed for installation. Not only will we be doing fundraising activities (Glow Run! Bake Sales and other events), we will also be searching for grants, reaching out to community partners and of course partnering close with school administration. (Plug: HPE PTO is a not for profit organization, so all donations are tax deductible!).
Our initial fundraising goal is $10,000~ anticipating this can cover selecting a vendor, consultation fees, and initial visual materials. We also know that since this is in partnership with our public school, we need to be mindful and ensure we follow all appropriate procurement procedures. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected].
Yours sincerely, Rainier HPE PTO
