James W. Lintott Elementary School students celebrate after receiving news that they earned a pool party at the Gail and Carolyn Shaw Aquatic Center this May after raising money for Penny Playground, Friday morning in Chehalis.
James W. Lintott Elementary School principal Bob Hunt and first grade teacher Joy Rakes, whose class earned $2,000 for Penny Playground, prepare to hand over a check for more than $8,000 to “Mighty Mike” and “Super Sue” Friday morning in Chehalis.
James W. Lintott Elementary School students and their parents attend an assembly Friday morning in Chehalis and celebrate the more than $8,000 students raised for Penny Playground.
Lintott Elementary held a celebration Friday morning, where the school presented “Super Sue” and “Mighty Mike” with a check for more than $8,000 to go toward Penny Playground.
“They are just collecting pennies from home — pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters,” said Mike Austin, with the Penny Playground Strategic Planning Committee. “One grandpa gave a $500 check to two kids.”
Combined, all Chehalis elementary schools have donated $12,000 to the Chehalis Foundation for the new Penny Playground. Mike and Sue Austin have spearheaded fundraising with the school districts.
“We were just glad for their participation, because raising pennies was a big part of the original Penny Playground project 26 years ago,” said Connie Bode, Chehalis Foundation board member. “That’s how the park got its name, because the schools did such a great job with raising money with their pennies. We wanted to partner with the schools to preserve that legacy.”
At the Lintott students’ celebration on Friday, teachers — as well as the Austins — dressed up like superheroes. Sue Austin said she chose that theme working with the schools. She said she first met with Lintott students about a month ago, and many of the kids were wearing little capes.
Lintott students collected coins and any money they could scrounge up for about three weeks. The six classes that raised the most money — two Kindergarten classes, two first grade classes and two sixth grade classes — earned a pool party at the Gail and Carolyn Shaw Aquatic Center in May.
During Friday’s assembly, principal Bob Hunt acknowledged all students who participated and noted the six classes that raised the most. A first grade class was the top fundraiser with $2,000. In total, Lintott students raised $8,616.
During the assembly to celebrate, students also saw a magic performance.
“We had the fabulous, fantastic Finn and his assistant Jade,” said Sue Austin of her grandchildren. “They are from Olympia (and) they have been interested in magic for quite some time.”
Finn developed his own script for the performance. The Austins noted that while other entertainment was available, the Penny Playground Strategic Planning Committee didn’t want to spend tons of money fundraising — Finn and Jade offered a free performance.
Sue Austin is a retired teacher and taught for 35 years. Additionally, Mike Austin served on the Chehalis Foundation board for a number of years. He said they wanted to be involved with Penny Playground to increase inclusion for children who wanted to use the equipment. Plans for the Penny Playground currently include many ADA-accessible features.
“We had been asked in 2018 if we would help with Penny Playground and we said yes but didn’t know in what capacity,” Sue Austin said. “Since I have a background in working with the school district, I said I would.”
Students at Chehalis Middle School spent one day fundraising and earned $267. W.F. West High School still has to do their own fundraiser. Sue Austin said she doesn’t know yet what their fundraiser will be, but expects to have a tally from all the schools that raised funds for the Penny Playground by the end of May.
