1 week Ago By Sobia Moman
An "angel donor" has flown in to offer a generous donation, a whopping $150,000, to the students of a South Newton elementary school who just recently lost their playground to wear and tear over the decades. “We are just so incredibly grateful,” Hyland Elementary principal Bronwen Howden said in a Surrey school district press release. “It’s a tremendous donation to our school, and the kids will be super excited to have a new playground very, very soon!” Hyland's playground was dismantled over the summer break due to the aging structure in need of a replacement, which the school has been tirelessly fundraising for for the last year.
“We ran weekly pizza sales, multiple hot lunches, Halloween dance – every fundraising initiative was all going to the playground,” vice-principal Edward Carter said. “We raised almost $70,000 in a year, but when you’re looking at a $200,000-plus price tag for a new playground, these are things that probably would’ve needed multiple years to fund, or some significant grants. Or an angel donor.
” And that is exactly what the school received. An anonymous source donated $150,000 to Hyland after hearing about the school's need for a new play structure. This donation is the largest the school district has ever received from a single individual for a playground replacement.
“It was incredible news – how often do you hear of someone being able to donate $150,000?” Carter said. “I was super proud that we were able to raise almost $70,000 in the span of a year, that’s phenomenal, but obviously we were looking at this massive mountain to climb, and then all of a sudden, we’d just been taken to the top.” As the purchase for the new playground is being finalized, the school is busy planning what the new, accessible playground will look like and feature.
While the children do not have a playground to use in the meantime, the wait will be well worth it to the students, Howden said. “Staff were planning different activities for the Grade 7 classes to teach the younger kids – they did a lot of brainstorming of games and activities to play and that was very helpful," the principal added. The relief from fundraising pressure on the community is also welcome, the principal added, with excitement replacing the worry.
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