How does a neighborhood association raise $111,000 to renovate its neighborhood park? With planning and dedication.
Wellington Park was donated to the City in the 1930s by Frank Wellington. Citizen-led efforts to modernize the park began in 1999. Over time, a Community Development Block Grant provided accessible pathways, and a Community Preservation Act grant and City capital-improvement funds were used to renovate the basketball and tennis courts and install a kiosk and water fountain.
The park is popular throughout the year. The annual Wellington ParkFest in October offers live music, pumpkin painting, and other activities. In September, the park’s pollinator garden is the site of an annual Monarch Festival.
Last November, the Friends of Wellington Park (FoWP) presented to the City its proposal for a new play structure called the Kompan Sensory Dome. FoWP asked the City what needed to be accomplished in order to have the play structure installed in the fall of 2023, and the City said that fundraising would need to be completed by April or May.
FoWP received approval to raise funds, and a six-person fundraising committee set to work, quickly raising about $25,000 in year-end donations, primarily from people who had earlier submitted pledge cards. In the first months of this year, the committee conducted research and developed a fundraising plan as donations continued to arrive.
In March, the committee applied for nine grants and received a total of $22,500 from The Village Bank, Brookline Bank, Eastern Bank, and Cambridge Trust. Other business donors included Dellaria Salons, Wellesley Toyota, Honda Village, Aronson Insurance, Atelier et Alia, Gail LiDonni Legacy Properties LLC and Demeo Realty Group.
In addition, Nino and Pamela Micozzi donated $25,000 at the end of March, and the Newton Police Memorial Association and the Newton Firefighters Association – Local 863 also supported the project.
In April, a second round of fundraising brought in $17,000. In May, an online auction featuring goods donated by local businesses generated over $4,000.
On Tuesday night, the City Council’s Finance Committee considered formal approval to accept the funds that FoWP has raised for the project. If all continues to go well, the play structure will be installed this fall, perhaps in time for the Wellington ParkFest.
