Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[ANC1D]

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jennifer McGuigan Babcock (202-483-8033)
Sep 10, 2003

MOUNT PLEASANT ANC AWARDS $1000 TO PLAYSTART FOR BANCROFT SCHOOL PRESCHOOL PLAYGROUND

WASHINGTON (DC) --- On September 8th the Mount Pleasant ANC (ANC 1D) awarded a $1000 grant to PlayStart, Inc. for its preschool playground development project. PlayStart is a not-for-profit organization composed of teachers, parents, and neighbors of the Bancroft Elementary School in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Through PlayStart, Mount Pleasant will gain a new, handicap-accessible playground at Bancroft School. The playground will have equipment suitable for children under five years old, and will be designed to
promote early-childhood development.

The Mount Pleasant neighborhood does not currently have any public playgrounds with equipment suitable for children under the age of five. “Smaller children have been seriously injured on the existing play structure, which is suitable only for bigger kids,” said Commissioner Jack McKay, who also chairs the ANC's Children and Schools Committee. ”It is intolerable that our neighborhood school has no playground for its younger children, and we are pleased to be able to support Iris Rothman's outstanding achievement in acquiring such a playground."

Rothman, who is the coordinator of PlayStart, also hopes that the new playground will help the school gain a broader support base in the community. “While Bancroft students are culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse, they are all in the same economic boat. Ninety-seven percent come from families so poor that the children qualify for free or reduced price lunch. But our PlayStart - HeadStart playground will also attract middle-class children from the neighborhood, making our neighborhood school into a 'common ground.' This will make our community a better place to live.”

The total budget of the PlayStart playground project is approximately $70,000. PlayStart has raised $59,000 so far, including a $25,000 grant from the DC Department of Parks and Recreation, $27,500 through several foundation grants, and $6,903 from community fundraising events and individual donors. The project has also secured $18,000 in in-kind donations.

The grant award reflects the Mount Pleasant ANC's special focus on funding programs that serve youth and families.

The Mount Pleasant ANC is an elected body representing the residents of Mount Pleasant. It advises D.C. government agencies and the city council on issues involving its constituents, and is a formal part of the D.C. government. In addition, the ANC awards limited grants to community-based initiatives on a regular basis. The commission holds public meetings on the first Monday of each month at 7:30 pm at 3166 Mount Pleasant Street N.W.

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