Playground project reaches fundraising goal

“The generosity of Bay Village citizens cannot be matched," said Al Paulus in thanking the residents of Bay Village for their contributions to the Play in Bay project. The president of The Bay Village Foundation announced that the project's fundraising goal was met. Because of that generosity, the Foundation has now raised over $100,000 for the refurbishment of the playground. Phases 2 and 3 of the project will be completed in November. The Foundation plans a grand re-opening in the spring. 

The Foundation was also involved in two very successful activities on Saturday, Sept. 24. The Summer Send Off event was held at Play in Bay. Mindy Stroh, chair of the event, could not have been more pleased about the day’s activities. “Everyone enjoyed the ice cream truck and face painting, and a librarian from Bay library did crafts and some readings," Stroh said. "We had great door prizes, including Cleveland Play House tickets, OSU and Browns helmets, a signed Browns football and Severance Hall concert tickets. The little boy who won the Browns helmet is over the moon. It was exhilarating to see families who are so excited for the renovations for Play in Bay to begin. We can’t wait.”  

The Bay Village Foundation and the Bay High environmental club, Project Earth, also completed another successful Waterways Clean up Day on Sept. 24. In its 10th year, the event has been been increased to twice a year and hundreds of pounds of debris have been cleared from the waterways of Bay over that time. Students and parent volunteers spent a few hours collecting trash in several areas of the city, using bags and the gloves provided by the city, which also hauls away the trash collected at the end of the day.

The Bay Village Foundation also provided lunch for all of the participants, with leftovers given to the police and fire departments. This year’s chairs were Bay teacher and Project Earth club advisor Bridgit McFarland and Bay Village Foundation trustee Michael Romanchek. They hope to build bigger community involvement in the future, saying that one of their goals is to maximize community involvement in support of Project Earth. Bay residents are asked to mark their calendars and volunteer for the next Waterways Clean-up Day on May 27.