Weare News : fundraising

Ideas, volunteers needed for Weare skatepark fundraising

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:22:00 GMT

The Weare Skatepark Committee is putting out the call for help with fundraising and for increased membership.

A small group met on Thursday, April 30, to get the ball rolling toward its goal – to get new equipment installed at the skatepark located next to Weare Middle School.

“The primary discussion involved fundraising, and several excellent ideas came forth,” said Joe Fiala, who’s helping organize the effort. “Most immediate is a raffle.”

Tim Farmer, of S&W Sports in Concord and a member of the committee, agreed to donate three skateboards – one longboard, a mini board and a regular skateboard.

Fiala said the group hopes to start selling raffle tickets after the next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, May 14, at Weare Middle School. Tickets will be $5 each or three for $10, with a limit of 600 sold.

Other ideas discussed were to make T-shirts, which could be sold along with the raffle tickets, selling concessions at sporting events, placing collection cans at local businesses and creating discount cards.

“We also discussed participating in the Patriotic Celebration parade to raise awareness and set up a booth to raise fund and sell items,” Fiala said.

The town’s original skatepark with concrete ramps had to be moved when the new Weare Middle School was constructed. The equipment was moved to Ineson Field on Quaker Street.

“The move significantly damaged some of the pieces, thus the condition of the park is less than ideal,” Fiala said. “I also consider the location poor due to lack of visibility, a problem for parks in other towns as well.”

A new asphalt pad, already poured and fenced, sits near the entrance to Weare Middle School, ready to be the home of the new skatepark.

Fiala said the pad was put in when the new middle school was being constructed. The money was part of the construction budget, and they also received a donation from a local business.

How much money they need to raise for the new park depends on the type and size of the equipment, and how much of it they buy, Fiala said, which has yet to be decided.

“There are many ways to build them, so I made a point of visiting as many as I could,” he said.

New Boston has high-tech synthetic and steel ramps which are high quality but costly. Fiala said the town paid $30,000 for just a few small pieces of the high-tech equipment.

Hopkinton has large wooden ramps with high-tech materials.

Fiala said last year they spent $15,000 repairing their park. “Because of the durability and cost, I like the concrete ramps. However, wooden ramps are perhaps safer and ride more smoothly,” he said. “I could see using either or both for our park.

“I believe we could construct some nice wooden ramps for $1,000 to $2,000,” Fiala said. “These would only last so long and would be a temporary measure until we had enough money to buy some more permanent fixtures.”

To put a ballpark figure on it, “My guess is $25,000 would get us a nice park,” Fiala said.

To learn more about the project or make donations, visit http://gardenplum.com/skatepark.

Fundraising on for new playground in Weare

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:24:00 GMT

BY JENNIFER LORD

Fundraising efforts are underway for a new playground at Center Woods Elementary School.

Center Woods Principal Jude Chauvette said the goal is to raise $80,000 for new equipment and resurfacing.

“There’s a few pieces on the playground that we would retain,” Chauvette said. For example, the swing structure will stay, but the swings and chains will be replaced, including adding a handicap-accessible swing.

“The whole playground will be handicap accessible,” he said.

The rest of the playground simply needs updating. Chauvette said that while none of the original playground equipment is still there from when the school was built in 1991, he estimated some of the equipment is between 15 to 16 years old.

The money will come from several different avenues, including applying for grants and good old-fashioned fundraising.

Chauvette said the Weare School Board has pledged $20,000 from the Fields and Playgrounds Expendable Trust. The school has also applied for a federal grant and a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s community program.

As for community involvement, Weare Friends PTO organized a calendar fundrasier. Center Woods students are selling the calendars for $10 each, and there are 30 chances to win a total of $1,150 in prize money.

This voluntary fundraiser will run through March 27, and drawings start in April.

Next up will be the school’s annual community service project, with proceeds to benefit the playground fundraising.

“In May, the children will have a raffle,” Chauvette said. “Not a cash raffle – we’ve actually solicited prizes from businesses in the area.”

The grand prize will be a weekend getaway at the Balsams Resort, donated by Grappone Auto Group.

Chauvette said smaller prizes include ski passes to Pats Peak, tickets for Santa’s Village and StoryLand, a portable DVD player, a bird feeder, restaurant gift cards and more.

“The first weekend in June, we’ll have a Family Fun Day with fun activities like a climbing wall, bounce tent and do drawings for the raffle prizes,” Chauvette said.

The other treat for Center Woods students on the June 6 fun day will be cashing in their reward for the community service project – putting Chauvette in a dunk tank.

Every year students pick a reward for the community service project through the annual Kids’ Vote.

Chauvette said one year the school raised money for diabetes research, and the students voted to have him kiss a pig if they reached their fundraising goal.

Other service projects have included Jump Rope for Heart, Pennies for Patients and Heifer International.

Chauvette said the actual construction time for putting in the new playground will depend on when they get they funding in place. The building will most likely be done in phases.

If they have enough money available, Chauvette said some of the equipment could be purchased by July 1 and the first construction phase would be done in the summertime.

Once the first phase is done and students and parents can see the changes, Chauvette said hopefully that will help build motivation for the rest of the fundraising and construction. Parents might even get to help with the finishing touches.

“We’ll have a weekend build,” he said. “We’ll invite the community to come in and help assemble it.”

Concert to raise money for library

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:24:00 GMT

BY STEVEN ANDREWS

Though the damage in town due to the April flooding was great, the community’s volunteer response to help repair it has been just as great.

The latest event to benefit the library as it works to repair the Children’s Room will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 26, at Center Woods Elementary, with a concert performed by Parents Choice Award-winning entertainers Ben Rudnick and Friends.

This is the third and final event put together by the Volunteers for the Weare Public Library, after a successful carwash and show by the Bedford Youth Performing Company.

So far, the events have raised more than $2,000, thanks in large part to the more than 30 volunteers who have contributed to the planning of each fundraiser, including everyone from parents to high school students.

Rudnick’s show aims to bring together people of all ages by providing a variety of styles he describes as an “amalgamation of bluegrass, folk and rock with some reggae/calypso tossed in because it’s fun to play.”

While children may not recognize the styles, Rudnick is confident they will enjoy the atmosphere.

“Our music is generally aimed at the family unit with kids and grandparents in tow,” he said. “The kids are free to run and dance and engage anyway they like and the parents and grandparents appreciate the playing, enjoy the tunes and recognize the well-known covers that we liberally sprinkle throughout our sets.”

He is also excited to play for a good cause, hoping to please his old fans, and maybe earn a few more along the way.

“Our band comes out of the school of thought that our fans and those who care about what we do is something of a community,” he said. “We love being part of this community, and helping when we can always feels like a very good thing to do.”

Blast-off – Middle and high school rocket teams reach new heights

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:35:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

Some high school-age students on the Weare Rocketry Team recently made history as student space scientists.

A rocket team from the middle school, meanwhile, hopes to repeat the success of their older counterparts from a year earlier.

Members of the Student Launch Initiative team, composed mainly of John Stark Regional High School students, recently tested a rocket of their own making in Huntsville, Ala., near the site where NASA scientists created the rocket that launched the first people to the moon.

Six members of that team participated in Weare Middle School’s Team America Rocketry Challenge last year. That group qualified to submit a proposal to NASA after making the top 25 in a national competition last May.

Success at last year’s Team America Rocketry Challenge only spurred the team on to further achievement.

The day after the team returned from the national competition in Virginia last year, team member Tyler Becker, now a freshman at John Stark and team leader of their project, e-mailed NASA to find out how to submit a proposal for the Student Launch Initiative.

After submitting an 85-page typed report to NASA, members of the team were notified they had received the contract in September of last year.

A grueling design review process followed, and the team traveled to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., on April 28 to test their final project.

Theirs was one of 12 proposals accepted nationwide, and the first-ever group of New Hampshire students to launch at a NASA facility.

Their mission challenged them to design, build and test a rocket, prepare a scientific payload to ride on board, design and post a Web site showcasing their work, and finally to present formal project reviews to a team of NASA engineers.

The major project regulation required the team’s rocket fly at least 1 mile during the demonstration.

Weare’s vehicle did not meet that benchmark, instead flying 4,993 feet in 14.3 seconds, said team adviser and Weare Middle School science teacher Mark Kibler.

Missing the time requirement did not constitute a loss for the team, Kibler said.

“There is no competitive element to the Student Launch Initiative. Rather, they ask if you were to do Phase Two of the project, what would you do differently,” Kibler said.

The team has qualified to resubmit for Phase Two of the project next year, Kibler said.

The Student Launch Initiative is part of NASA’s efforts to support science education among the nation’s youth, said one organization spokesperson.

“This is one of many NASA education projects that encourages young people to test their math and science skills in practical, real-world situations. We hope the model rocket builders of today become the scientists, engineers, astronauts or educators of tomorrow,” Tammy Rowan, interim manager of Marshall Center’s Academic Affairs Office, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the middle school rocketry team Pink! was one of 100 teams to qualify for the Team America Rocketry Challenge national competition on May 19 in Virginia.

The team reached the national event after passing the qualifying round in Amesbury, Mass., in March.

The middle school rocketry team has decided to launch with a cause this year, Kibler said. Eighth-grade students raised and donated more than $1,000 for the *** cancer society this year, and the rocketry team has said it will also raise money and awareness for the cause on a national level.

However, fundraising efforts are still required to sent the whole team to the national competition, Kibler said.

Fundraising events include a pasta dinner, scheduled for Saturday, May 12, at Center Woods Elementary School. The event is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m., with a requested donation of $5 per person or $15 per family.

Fundraising for Police Association begins

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:44:00 GMT

The Weare Police Association is currently conducting a local fundraising campaign. Townspeople and area businesses will be called in the next several weeks for contributions.

Proceeds will go toward scholarship funds, donations for public projects and the many other worthwhile activities that they support throughout the year. Everyone that helps will receive complimentary tickets to this year’s New England Patriots alumni benefit softball game, Saturday, May 19, at 1 p.m. at Imeson Field.

Bring blankets and lawn chairs, as seating is limited. In addition to the game there will be opportunities for celebrity autographs and photos.

Snowmobilers help sick kids by racing

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:20:00 GMT

BY ROD HANSEN

Snowmobile enthusiasts, junior skaters and fishing aficionados were among the dozens of souls to brave the arctic temperatures at the Family Fun Day at Weare’s Lake Horace on Saturday, Feb. 17.

While laughter and cheering could be heard above the din of snowmobiles gliding atop the lake’s frozen surface, the purpose of the day carried a somber note as well.

Money raised from the Weare Winter Wanderers Snowmobile Club radar run speed competition will be used to help the families of two youths fighting serious illness, event organizers said.

Renee Hart, 14, of Weare is battling a lymph node disease, while 1-year-old Declan Rourke of Bedford fights childhood brain cancer. Both youths are being treated at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and the Weare Winter Wanderers will donate proceeds from races called radar runs to help pay for the families’ medical and travel expenses.

“People can go to any radar run they want to in the state, but a lot of them are here because they know it will benefit a good cause,” said Mike O’Donnell, a member of the Weare Winter Wanderers who helped organize the event.

The Weare Winter Wanderers have been hosting a family fun day for years, and last year tied the event to fundraising efforts to benefit Hart, O’Donnell said.

Contestants could enter the radar run in five classes, with a $20 ticket allowing them unlimited runs at a 660-foot course or a $15 fee earning contestants six runs in a 1,000-foot race run on Saturday afternoon, O’Donnell said. Racers reach speeds in excess of 100 mph.

The first $2,000 raised would be matched by the Winter Wanderers, O’Donnell said.

The morning hours saw a steady stream of contestants purchasing tickets, with 41 competitors registered by 12:30 p.m. While most of the snowmobiles were of modern origin, a number of vintage machines were also registered to compete.

Word of the fundraiser came as welcome news to the Hart family, who did not know the radar runs would again benefit Renee this year.

The family learned of the fundraiser after son-in-law Chris Sevigny saw an announcement of an event in a local snowmobile repair shop.

“We were real excited and Renee wanted to go, but she couldn’t make it,” said mother Noreen Hart from Children’s Hospital in Boston. The family has spent most of their time at the hospital since July, and the recurring illness has prevented Renee from starting her freshman year at John Stark Regional High School, Noreen Hart said.

Renee has had problems with her lymphatic system since birth, but the illness became more pronounced in the summer of 2004, Noreen said.

“We just want to thank the Weare Winter Wanderers and let them know how much we appreciate their support,” Noreen Hart said.

While the Winter Wanderers’ radar runs accounted for much of the day’s activities, other local groups also contributed to the day’s festivities.

Members of the local Sons of the American Legion hosted a fishing derby and provided food at the event, while members of the Weare ATV club tended a bonfire near the lake.

While supplying food to attendees, the Sons of the American Legion also collected entrees in the fishing derby, which were to be judged on weight, said First Vice Commander Lonnnie Bean.

The fishing derby had attracted a field of 50 adults and 10 children by early afternoon, with cash prizes available to adults and children’s prizes donated from Zyla’s Auction House in Merrimack also on the table.

The Weare ATV Club’s primary function rested in managing the bonfire and checking for vehicle safety, said
club president Harry Brown.

“The bonfire is important because it gives people a place to come and warm up. Especially the kids, ” Brown said.