Members Donate $10,000 to Help Make Universal Playground a “Dream Come True”

Today, the dedicated, philanthropic Sunrise Rotary Club members, donated $10,000 to help fund Courtney’s SandCastle. “This donation brings us one step closer to realizing Courtney Faye Smith’s dream of constructing this universal playground in San Clemente,” said Mina Santoro, Chair of Courtney’s SandCastle Committee.

The unique 30,000 square-foot universal playground is being constructed on land provided by the City of San Clemente at its 45-acre sports park and aquatic center, which is now under construction at 987 Avenida Vista Hermosa. This playground will benefit disabled youth for interactive play alongside able bodied youth and help disabled adults who can use the playground features for therapeutic purposes. A fundraising drive continues for the unfunded phase II of the playground project. Courtney herself attended today’s Sunrise Rotary breakfast meeting to accept the check on behalf of the Courtney’s SandCastle fundraising committee

Courtney’s SandCastle is named for Courtney who has been confined to a wheelchair because of a rare muscular degenerative disease – Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  When Courtney and her friends visit local parks together, she is unable to participate because of her disabilities as are some 18,000 other children in Orange County with disabilities.  Courtney was 5 years old when the idea of a playground where disabled and able children could play together was conceived and now she is 14.

The Sunrise Rotary Board reviewed the current plans for the playground and decided to support a $10,000 donation towards the interactive water feature planned of the playground.  The Sunrise Rotary has been saving for Courtney’s SandCastle since 2004.  Courtney’s SandCastle serves as the club’s Rotary International Centennial Project.

Don Glasgow and Mina Santoro have been leading the fundraising drive for Courtney’s SandCastle.  Today they made a formal presentation to the Sunrise Rotary Club on the latest plans for the playground.  Mayor Lori Donchak and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Evert also attended. Sunrise Rotary Member Nesa Anderson said, “It’s really fantastic and will be a unique to the region.  It will be a great place for disabled and able children to play together and a nice place for all people to enjoy.  One component is a “Sensory Garden” that is very special and one of a kind.  This is where the interactive water feature that we are sponsoring is located.”  She continued, “It is cool, cool, cool and is a feature that is important to Courtney”.

The proceeds from donations to Courtney’s SandCastle are deposited with the local non-profit Friends of San Clemente Beaches, Parks & Recreation Foundation in its Courtney’s SandCastle Fund. If interested in making a donation, call Don Glasgow, at (949) 481-0116 .  Donations can also be made online.

San Clemente Rotary Club donates $6,000 for two playground benches

By FRED SWEGLES

Supporters of Courtney’s SandCastle, a universally accessible playground to be built in San Clemente, are looking for financial help to get it completed this year – not just the first phase.

Fundraisers Mina Santoro and Don Glasgow unveiled a redesign Wednesday that reduces the scope of a “sensory garden” pegged for Phase 2. They now hope to include it in the playground to be built this year as part of a 45-acre sports park under construction along Avenida Vista Hermosa.

In the new design, Phase 2 would cost $286,000, Glasgow said. On Wednesday, the San Clemente Rotary Club gave $6,000.

Glasgow said his group has more than $80,000 in bank deposits and receivables, with more pledges in process. “We would like to fully fund the total amount,” he said. “But realistically, we will need help from the city, too.”

The playground is named for Courtney Faye Smith, a San Clemente girl confined to a wheelchair with spinal muscular atrophy. In 2001, when she was 4, adults in her life began searching south Orange County for a place to build a playground where Courtney could play with children with and without disabilities.

The project has taken multiple turns as Courtney grew. She is now 14. Last year the city agreed to fund Phase 1 but decided the original design for Phase 2 was too costly. The new design reworks it.

Santoro said the sensory garden is designed to have musical panels and interactive structures for children to see, hear and touch as they make their way through a maze to a marble ball with trickling water. Also planned are wind chimes, an interactive water wall and a simulated tide pool.

The park’s universally accessible features are intended to appeal to all children. Santoro said Courtney’s SandCastle also could appeal to wounded military service members returning to Camp Pendleton, offering them a place to take their children in a fully accessible setting.

Santoro and Glasgow said a new charitable foundation is being formed for Courtney’s SandCastle. Meanwhile, anyone interested can visit www.courtneyssandcastle.com to buy a personalized glazed tile for a tax-deductible $100 donation. The tiles will be installed at the playground.

WHAT’S NEXT The Courtney’s SandCastle support group plans to present the revised design to the San Clemente Beaches, Parks & Recreation Commission on Feb. 8, seeking a positive recommendation to the City Council. Meanwhile, fundraising continues.

The Foundation will be established primarily to help maintain the playground and to assist in updating other playgrounds within the community.

The “Paint A Tile” program is underway for the future Courtney’s SandCastle playground. The unique 30,000 square-foot universal playground featured at the 45-acre sports park and aquatic center–now under construction at 987 Avenida Vista Hermosa — will be ready for use by December of 2011. This playground will benefit disabled youth for interactive play alongside able bodied youth and will benefit disabled adults who need a place to interact with their children.

To help raise needed funds for this playground, the Courtney’s SandCastle Committee launched a “Paint a Tile” fundraiser. Sponsoring organizations and individuals can support Courtney’s SandCastle by purchasing personalized colorful, glazed tiles. These tiles will be placed on a special wall within the playground and will serve as a timeless reminder of our faithful community. Following your $100 (per tile) tax-deductible donation, you will receive a voucher that can be taken to Fired Up of San Clemente to design your own tiles or choose from one of the design templates drawn by Kathryn Stovall-Dennis.

This tile program will create a lasting acknowledgment of the generosity of all of those who supported this much anticipated playground. There are two other small universal playgrounds in all of Orange County serving the 18,000 children with disabilities.

The proceeds from the tile sales are deposited in a separate Courtney’s SandCastle account with the local non-profit Friends of San Clemente Beaches, Parks & Recreation. If interested in purchasing a tile, call Don Glasgow, tile program coordinator, at (949) 481-0116. Or, you can purchase online at www.CourtneysSandcastle.com. If sending a check with your form, mail payment to the Friends of San Clemente Beaches, Parks & Recreation Foundation, Inc., Attn: Courtney’s SandCastle Fund, 1030 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673. Once received, a confirmation letter will be mailed to you, which can be used as a deduction on your taxes.

Fundraisers are one step closer to purchasing equipment for a universally accessible playground in San Clemente after Tuesday night’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.

The commission recommended that the City Council approve the equipment prices presented by the Beaches, Parks and Recreation Foundation, a nonprofit that has been raising money for the playground, known as Courtney’s SandCastle. The next step is for the council to review and approve the prices, probably in the next few months, said Rita DeForrest, administrative assistant for the

Playground equipment including a castle play structure, a climbing rock, swing sets, musical panels and more will total about $525,000, according to city documents.

In addition to recommending the equipment prices, the commission said it is important for the playground to have its own restrooms, DeForrest said. Originally, the plan was to use restrooms at a nearby pool area.

Courtney’s SandCastle, inspired by Courtney Faye Smith, a San Clemente girl with spinal muscular atrophy, is proposed for part of the new sports park planned at Avenida Vista Hermosa and Avenida La Pata.

By FRED SWEGLES

San Clemente’s chances of building an Avenida Vista Hermosa sports park for considerably less than expected got better Friday.

Eleven contractors submitted bids to build an aquatics center that had been estimated to cost $10.5 million, and three of the bids were under $7 million. The lowest bid, submitted by VCC- West Coast of Irvine, was $6,527,000. Next-lowest was $6,782,181 from SOLPAC Construction, of San Diego.

On Thursday, seven contractors had unveiled their competitive bids to build lighted athletic fields and some other amenities for the park, which could begin construction this summer along Avenida Vista Hermosa at Avenida La Pata. Five of Thursday’s bids were significantly lower than an engineer’s estimate of more than $14 million, officials said.

The lowest bid was $10,753,066 from Valley Crest of Cypress. The next-lowest was $11,385,270 from USS Cal Builders of Stanton.

If the two lowest bids stand, the entire contract amount for the proposed park could come to $17,280,066, far less than the engineer’s estimate of $25 million.

The park plan calls for a two-pool aquatics center with support facilities, plus three baseball, two soccer and one football field. The bids also include the options of synthetic turf on the soccer fields and building a universally accessible playground known as Courtney’s Sandcastle.

Tim Shaw, the city’s landscape architect, described Friday’s bids as “better than expected” and Thursday’s low bid as “right where I was thinking it would end up,” based on the current state of the economy and the climate in the construction industry.

City staff will study the numbers to verify whether the low bidders meet requirements. The City Council could be asked in May to award contracts. Construction could take 15 to 18 months.

Funding for the project relies on the sale of city-owned land across the street from the park site. The city has agreed to sell land to Target, but the deal hinges on approval of a planned Target store. The City Council also could vote on the store in May.