Park project coming along

DIDSBURY -The Valarosa park project fundraising effort is coming along nicely, say officials.

Ben McPhee and Violet Lewis of the Valarosa Parks Association say they are within about $5,000 of being able to apply for an important Community Facility Enhancement Program provincial grant, which they hope to apply for on Jan. 15.

"We have raised about $50,000 cash in hand and have donations in kind equating to around $30- to $40,000," said McPhee. "When you apply for the grant they also take into account volunteer hours, people coming out, equipment donations, all that. All that combined, they match that. If we get another $5,000 in donations we're right at that threshold."

"The park will feature a play structure with slides, monkey bars, spring toys and swings," he said. "There will also be sponsored benches on site."

The total cost for the park project is expected to be around $128,000, said McPhee.

The local Didsbury ATB branch gave a big assist to the Valarosa park project to bring it closer to its goal. The branch donated $1,000 to help with the project, which will see a park built for kids and families in the Valarosa subdivision on the east side of Didsbury.

McPhee says they are grateful for the donation. The group is raising money to build the park on land donated by the town.

"We put in an application for a donation from ATB about a month ago," said McPhee. "We were very pleasantly surprised to get the call from Laurie saying that ATB was going to give us the donation to help build the park. It was quite a pleasant surprise."

Lewis said having a park in Valarosa will be a great boon for families.

"We don't have one quite frankly," she said. "It's a long walk for little legs to get to the closest park, which is across the highway (582) by the pool. We do our best to keep our kids safe, but it would be best to keep them down here close to home."

Lewis added that it is great to have so much support for the project from residents, businesses and the town.

Laurie Klassen, branch manager for Didsbury ATB, said it's important for the bank to give back to the community.

"We like to support the community we live in and children are always a priority," said Klassen. "When Ben approached me, it seemed like a no-brainer to support something that was going to help this portion of Didsbury because they don't have what they need for their families. ATB really likes to look after our families and chip in where we can."