(Updated) Donations, Council Funding Helps Keep Historic Playground Program Alive

The difference that Meriden resident Lynette Valentine saw in her son Kyle after he attended Meriden’s summer playground program last summer was astounding.

Valentine said Kyle, 8, came home every day with a smile on his face and talked constantly about what he learned from councilors and the games he played with friends as they enjoyed recreational activities at the Thomas Hooker School.

“It’s a chance for families to get their children outside and take them from in front of the TV. It’s a chance to allow them to relax and spend time with friends doing productive activities,” Lynette Valentine said. “When we learned they were going to close the program, Kyle cried. It was devastating. We are so glad the community was able to find a way to save the program.”

Meriden children will have the opportunity to attend the annual summer playground program thanks in large part to donations that helped reduce costs to the community and allowed members of the City Council to restore the remaining costs to keep the program alive in 2013.

The council approved a motion appropriating $16,000 from the 2013-14 contingency fund on Monday night with just Councilman Walt Shamock opposed.

Shamock expressed concerns about restoring the funding using contingency money so early in the year and just months after a council voted to cut the funds due to a need to reduce the 2013-14 budget.

“I did some research and tried to look back and I can’t recall a time that these funds have been restored,” said Meriden Mayor Michael Rohde. “This is unprecedented, but we are doing it because it is the right things for our kids.”

Councilwoman Cathy Battista said at a press conference Tuesday morning, however, that none of it would have been possible without the generous donations of more than a half dozen organizations in Meriden, including $10,000 grants provided by the Napier Foundation and Meriden Lions Club that funded half the cost of the program’s operation.

The program costs $40,000 annually and after receiving $24,000 in donations, the council stepped up to provide the remaining cost.

The effort began with a phone call from members of the Lions Club, who were willing to step up when learning the program would be cut. From there, politicians took to finding funds to supplement community donations.

“It was an effort that myself and (Councilman) Miguel Castro began and right away, these groups responded and wrote a check without a moments hesitation,” Battista said. “That’s half the cost of the entire program. Without them, this would not be possible.”

The program, which was cut in May as the council looked to reduce costs and balance the budget, serves approximately 300 children annually and provides a free opportunity for local children to be social, run around and have supervised and educational play when school is out of session said Dan Murdzek, director of the program.

When it looked like the program would be cut, he said parents and councilors with the program instantly came forward seeking help in saving it. The program has run for more than half a century in Meriden.

“There was such strong support for it and it really comes as no surprise,” Murdzek said. “Each year, we have been able to grow the program and it’s spreading just through word of mouth.”

With several locations throughout the city, the program offers parents a chance to drop their children off for free and allow them to play in a controlled, supervised environment from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The program will continue for the full six weeks in 2013, thanks to the donations, he said.

Kaitlin Valentine, 11, said she is looking forward to joining other Meriden children on the playgrounds this year and taking advantage of everything that it offers.

“There’s just so much to do there and we learn a lot about teamwork and other things,” she said. “I learned to shoot a bow and arrow, how to play football and we are able to do a lot with arts and crafts. Without it, I’d be really bored.”

“We fought really hard to get this back and when we heard it would reopen, I was very happy. So was my brother,” Kaitlin Valentine said.

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