The GoFundMe page for Lord Elgin
Lord Elgin Public School is in need of help.
After their unsafe playground was taken down, they found themselves in a tough position as far as fundraising for a new one goes.
Karen Geukers explained the situation to XFM News.
“The way that funding for these playgrounds works is, it falls under fundraising responsibility for the volunteers, families, and for the community in the area”, said Geukers.
“It costs a lot of money.”
The real problem is that Lord Elgin is in a socio-economically stunted area.
According to her, 95% of the students live in subsidized housing units. In fact, this was such a problem that the principal’s calculations deduced it would take roughly 17 years to raise the funds.
Geukers is the sister-in-law of a teacher at the school. She’s the one who got the ball rolling to help the school by starting a fundraiser on GoFundMe.
“I heard about this story through my brother in law and thought, ‘Why can’t we do something about this?’, And that’s really where it all started,” said Geukers.
The fundraiser was posted on December 15, 2019. They raised about $1000 before things ground to a halt.
That’s where the media came in.
“Ever since it’s been published in the London Free Press, we’ve just had this massive success. The community has really come together. They clearly feel the same way I felt when they heard this story and thought this was definitely a worthwhile place to donate,” Geukers told XFM News.
“We’ve had amazing success, and I’m overwhelmed,” she said.
A Google street view photo of the school’s last remaining playground before it was taken down.
(2014, Google)
Within the first two days after the London Free Press released their article, over $20,000 had been raised. That meant it was time to raise the goal.
“The idea was that $20,000 would likely cover the cost of one of the playgrounds, because I thought to raise the $54,000 [for both playgrounds] would be such a brazen and outlandish goal,” said Geukers.
“Every time I look, it’s more I can’t believe it, we thought why not just go for it and put the full amount that it would take?”
When it comes to donation amount, Geukers said she’s shocked and incredibly thankful for some of the higher donations from organizations and individuals. She also said that the small ones matter too.
“I also see a number of donations that are $5 and $10 and $20. The majority of donations are $50 or less. That, to me, is even more special because people are just giving a little bit what they have, but it adds up,” said Geukers.
“That’s when you see that when a community comes behind something, you can really make such a difference.”
A few closing words from Geukers really showed the gratefulness she has for the community.
“I really appreciate the generosity of Londoners. It warms my heart. I see the community coming together and rallying behind these kids; Basically saying that we don’t allow this injustice to happen,” she began.
“We think that every kid, no matter who you are born to, or where you are born, you have certain rights and we are going to support you, and one of those basic rights is play.”
As of March 11, 2020 at 12:20 pm, the fundraiser has reached $39,568 out of the $54,000 target.
