TIFTON — On Jan. 6, school and community volunteers will work together during “Build Day” to build a new play structure on the north end playground of the Len Lastinger Primary School campus.

The playground will receive much-needed new equipment as well as refurbishment of old equipment. The custom-designed structure geared for children ages five to 12 will feature six individual play events and support up to 45 users.

Build Day runs from 8:00 a.m. and should conclude by 3:30 p.m. at Len Lastinger Primary School, located at 1210 Lake Drive. Interested volunteers may register online for one or two work shifts at https://www.volunteersignup.org/FBPTY.

The equipment is funded in part by a $20,000 grant, provided by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and national non-profit KaBOOM!, that the school won in June 2017. An additional $10,100 was supplied by the Len Lastinger PTO, who has been raising funds for new playground equipment for over four years.

Under the guidance of a professional playground installer provided by PlaySouth Playground Creators, volunteers will assemble and set playground components and install a new protective area border with new mulch fill.

Volunteers will also mount existing equipment purchased by PTO in a new area, prep two swing sets for painting and new hardware as well as some other site improvements.

“This is a community project touched by so many hearts and hands,” said Debby Monfort, PTO Playground/Grants Committee co-chair. “We have several cooperators, including the Tift County Board of Education, Lowe’s and the City of Tifton, and donors helping us make Build Day happen. We, as volunteers, have an amazing opportunity to be an active part of change. We’re going to bundle up for the cold weather and show our students what reward comes from perseverance and hard work.”

“Interactive play helps build critical thinking skills and collaboration and at the same time reduces stress and is just plain fun,” said Sharon P. Nixon, PTO Playground/Grants Committee co-chair. “The goal of our Building Our Dream Playground campaign is to create an outdoor play experience that will result in the development of healthier, happier, academically-enriched children. The installation of this new playground equipment is an important first step in creating a safe, clean environment where children and families can play, learn and grow together.”

Local donors, to date, include Espresso 41, JoJo’s Family Restaurant, Chick-fil-a, Firehouse Subs, Zaxby’s, Lowe’s of Tifton, the Paulk Family, Flash Foods, Etch Creative, LLC, Cornerstone Engineering Consultants, Inc., Tifton Rental Center and Garfield Rhaney.

For more information contact Debby Monfort, Len Lastinger PTO, at (229) 326-6434 or roxynrex@yahoo.com; Sharon Nixon, Len Lastinger PTO, at (229) 402-9306 or sharonpnixon@gmail.com; Lucy Nutting, KaBOOM!, at (202) 464-6195 or LNutting@kaboom.org.