Troy Miracle League volunteers host radiothon to raise money for playground

The Miracle League Playground is more than $2,000 closer to reality thanks to radio listeners in the Troy area.

Members of the Playground Committee took turns on air during a radiothon from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on WTBF to talk about the playground and what it will mean to the community.

“We’re very pleased with the results,” said Dennis Griffith, committee member. “This is the first time we had done anything like this. It was just an idea I tossed out.”

Callers pledged, or even brought to the radio station, donations as little as $10 and as much as several hundred. At the end of the day, $2,047 was raised.

“In the midst of all that is going on in town and all the fund-raisers happening. This is pretty doggone good in my book,” Griffith said.

With a $50,000 grant, a $50,000 match by the City of Troy and generous donations from the community, the playground project committee has raised about $180,000 of the $200,000 needed to build the playground, according to Committee Co-chair Dan Smith.

“We greatly exceeded what we expected to raise today,” Smith said. “It was just an incredible experience listening to our guests on the radio and the people of Troy coming forward and making the donations that they did for this cause.”

And Smith said he expects more checks will come in as a result of the radiothon.

The Miracle League Playground will have a safety surface and areas will be wide enough for wheelchairs to fit through. There will also be centers of interest for children with autism.

“It will be a place that all children can play together,” Smith explained.

The June 1 deadline to raise money for the playground is fast approaching and the committee has already received bids on the project. The Troy City Council will award a bid on the project Tuesday night.

“After that, things are going to move very quickly,” Smith said. “I think the playground will be opening sometime the first or second week of July. That is what we are trying to convey to everyone. We need to finish strong with fund raising.”

For more information on the Miracle League Playground, or to donate, email troyrecreation@troycable.net.