Archive: Opinions

EditorialDid you think the Lansing Community Council was really going to raise anything like $130,000+ in four months in a lousy economy?  To be honest, I didn't.  I thought it was a terrific idea, sure, but I saw images of Don Quixote tilting at windmills when I first heard about the plan.  O me of little faith!

When the Council, led by the indefatigable Ed LaVigne, raised $17,000 to reconstruct Lansing's 1791 historic log cabin last summer a lot of skeptics were impressed.  Then LaVigne set about raising an additional $10,000 to finish paying for the roof and to cover the cost of doors, window shutters, and chinking the logs, about half of which has already been raised.  That certainly showed that he and the Council had the chops to get things done.

But $27,000 is a far cry from $138,500 the Council is raising for the playground.  And four months is a very short time in small-town-fundraising-in-a-bad-economy time.  In hindsight I see what LaVigne saw from the beginning.  It's not about asking for money.  It's about community building.

With the help of Leathers and Associates, a Lansing firm that has considerable experience of community building through playground projects, and town officials, LaVigne got people together who got more people together, who got even more people together to make the playground really happen.  An aggressive time line was set, and over a dozen fund raising events drew hundreds of people, many of whom became part of the project themselves.

Like the log cabin project, the playground is a little short (at this writing just under $24,000) of its fundraising goal.  But if you go to Myers Park today -- and you should, and bring tools! -- you will find countless neighbors taking time off work to bring an amazing playground to our community.  Marc Leathers says people seeing a playground going from the ground up in five days is usually enough to excite potential donors, and between that and the endless energy of the Community Council in pursuing community goals, usually takes care of the money.

The other part can't be quantified.  The community spirit you will find when you go to the park over the next three days is catching.  It is exciting to see so many people working toward a common goal and actually seeing significant progress from day to day.  The most exciting part will come Sunday when children will have the finished playground to play on.

----
v6i22