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Qayqayt playground fund makes the finals

The bid for a grant to build a new playground at the school on the former St. Mary’s Hospital site has moved to the finals.
John Robson
Play time: John Robson Elementary parent Ronda Field, right, with her daughters, Paige and Kate Deedman, submitted an application to the Aviva Community Fund on behalf of the Qayqayt community playground committee. The school has moved to the next round in the bid for a hefty grant to fund a new playground.

The bid for a grant to build a new playground at the school on the former St. Mary’s Hospital site has moved to the finals.

The John Robson parent advisory council applied for a grant from the Aviva Community

Fund contest, which is giving away $1 million for ideas to create positive change in Canada. They want to use the funds to build a playground at École Qayqayt Community School.

“We would love to win,” said parent organizer Ronda Field. “There’s a lot of really great ideas, so there is no guarantees. We feel like in many ways we’ve already won becuase we’ve gotten so much support from the community.”

The school is now among 10 finalists in its category. Winners will be announced on Jan. 28. There is at least one winner in each category, however, all of the finalists receive a minimum of $5,000 and if there is extra funding left over then they will allocate those funds as well, Field explained.

“We’re very happy,” she added, saying that even if the school doesn’t win the big prize, they are pleased with the community support. 

It was Field who submitted the application to the Aviva Community Fund on behalf of the Qayqayt community playground committee. The playground is expected to cost $50,000 to $100,000.