Thanks to the generosity of the Yakima Southwest Rotary Club and the Yakima Rotary Trust, Chesterley Park will soon be home to a new, state-of-the-art playground.
Members of the Yakima Southwest Rotary Club, one of three Rotary clubs in Yakima, and the Yakima Rotary Trust, which funds local projects that have a long term impact on the community, provided the $105,000 it cost to purchase the new playground equipment. In addition to helping generate the money to buy the equipment, Southwest Rotary members and other volunteers will spend the day on Saturday, May 6th assembling the playground equipment and adding final touches to the new playground. More than 60 volunteers are expected to help with the playground build on May 6th between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.
“The new playground will be an absolutely wonderful addition to Chesterley Park,” said Parks and Recreation Manager Ken Wilkinson. “We are so grateful to be able to partner with the Yakima Southwest Rotary Club and the Yakima Rotary Trust on a project that will help make what is already a great park even better.”
The new playground at Chesterley Park will replace older equipment that has outlived its useful life. The new playground equipment is designed to encourage kids to be active and to explore and will include multiple features that keep kids engaged while playing.
The new playground at Chesterley Park joins a growing list of improvements to Yakima parks funded by local service clubs. In recent years, Yakima’s three Rotary clubs and other service organizations have invested significantly in parks throughout Yakima.
“We are so fortunate to have such generous people in our local Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis clubs,” said Wilkinson. “Without their support, and the support of a lot of other community members, our parks would not be the tremendous assets that they are.”