Yavneh Primary secures new playground after raising £20,000 in 48 hours
Chair of the school's Parent Teacher Association said: 'To see the kids, teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles support us has been truly inspirational'
Marc Shoffman is a freelance journalist
Grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles swung into action this week to raise more than £20,000 in 48 hours to secure a new playground for pupils at Yavneh Primary School.
There is no government funding for playground equipment so Yavneh’s parent teacher association (PTA) has been trying to raise £50,000 to get an area supplied and built since the primary school first opened in 2016.
Yavneh Primary does not have a large alumnus so instead has been running fundraising events for the past four years.
The PTA had raised £30,000 and was told by the company Natural Playscapes last month that it could get a playground built in November if the remaining funds could be raised by the end of October.
This would mean the first intake would benefit from the playground before they finish primary school.
A fundraising campaign was quickly setup with a heartwarming video produced by Yavneh Primary parent Lauren Kayser, who runs filming and editing service Moviebytes, featuring pupils describing what would be in the best playground in the world.
It was sent to parents to distribute to family members on Monday alongside a Virgin Money Giving page and more than 200 donors helped it exceed its £20,000 target by Wednesday morning (14 October).
The surplus funds will be used to purchase classroom iPads.
Lisa Edel, chair of the PTA, said: “It has been a difficult year for everyone, both mentally and financially, but to see the kids, teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles support us has been truly inspirational.”
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