After months of fundraising, a new playground is in sight for students at Crest View Elementary School in Brooklyn Park.

At an assembly Monday, March 16, Principal Suzette Erickson told students the school had been selected by the Vikings organization and the Toro Corporation to receive an estimated $60,000 in new playground equipment.

Vikings Coach Brad Childress, Vikings team members, Vikings executives, Toro employees and organizers from KaBOOM! (a national nonprofit organization that aims to get playgrounds within walking distance of every child in America) will help install the playground the last week of June.

The school had raised $36,000 prior to receiving the donation through fundraisers and private donations along with money dedicated from the Osseo School District, the city of Brooklyn Park, the Brooklyn Park Rotary Club and Dow Chemical Company.

In a school where 80 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch, internal fundraising can be a challenge.

"It is tough when people have limited resources," Erickson has said. "This is another reason we want this for our kids. We not only want our children here at school to have good play equipment, but be able to use it as well in the neighborhood on holidays, weekends and during the summer so they can have a nice place to play and something they are proud of as well."

In 2006, the health and safety coordinator for the Osseo School District provided several recommendations to Erickson that identified safety or accessibility issues. While the immediate safety concerns have been resolved, the playground is still more than 20 years old and has suffered wear and tear from use and exposure to the elements.

"Not only will our students receive a new playground, but they will also have the opportunity to interact with Vikings football players and caring members of the Twin Cities community," Erickson said in a letter to parents. "We are so excited that we have been selected to receive such a wonderful gift for our students. Our dream of a new playground for Crest View children is finally coming true."

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