Fundraising underway for “Super Park” in Fort St. John

The group has been registered as a society and is working to get charity status, while checking out potential locations and getting designs for the park drawn up. The goal is now to have an indoor playground with room and activities for children from 6 months to 12 years old, as well as a café for the enjoyment of parents. 

“It’s going to be a tree house playground, so everything you could possibly see on the outside, you’ll probably see on the inside, so when you walk in you’ll feel like you’re outside,” Roemer says. 

In addition to the café and seating around the whole area, there are also plans for it to have a birthday party room, games for children with special needs, and be wheelchair accessible. Approximately 4,000 square feet of space is needed, with 19 feet high ceilings to accommodate the structure, and Roemer says they’re interested in one that’s available in January, although parking there might be an issue. 

The first step will be raising the budgeted $250,000 for the playground, with more for future rent. 

“Right now it’s just fundraising, fundraising, fundraising. We’re just trying to raise as much money as we can so that when we do find the building we can say, ‘here’s three months rent,’ or, ‘put us on a mortgage,’” Roemer says, adding they’re open to several funding options. 

Several fundraisers are planned for the rest of the summer, including a bottle drive, car wash, and the opportunity to buy a tile with your child’s hand print on it to be installed on the park’s wall. Without financial support from the City, the potential success of the park all lies on the volunteers working tirelessly to make it happen, and keep the entrance fee affordable. 

“We’re going to try and keep it as low as possible, which is why we’re depending a lot on fundraising and volunteers,” Roemer explains. 2:00 “My motto is: it’s a park run by the people of Fort St. John, so it this park succeeds it’s because the people of Fort St. John put their hearts, souls, and wallets into it. If it fails, it’s because Fort St. John didn’t.”

Plans are currently being drawn up, and the hope is to start putting things together in 2014. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Jaandi Roemer at 250-262-2703 or visit the Super Park’s Facebook page.