Whitefish Community Foundation Board of Directors recently announced a Major Grant award of $25,000 to finish the playground and pavilion at the Smith Fields Youth Sports Complex. Project Whitefish Kids maintains the entire complex through user fees and private donations, and has been working diligently for three years to raise the $292,000 necessary to replace the wooden playground originally funded by donors of the Whitefish Community Foundation with safe, ADA-accessible equipment. “We have watched PWK put in a lot of time and work to secure the necessary funding for this community project,” said Linda Engh-Grady, Foundation President. “PWK is comprised of very dedicated volunteers that should take pride in the asset they have built for our community,” she said.
Project Whitefish Kids raised $51,000 through the Great Fish Community Challenge and received the maximum match of $10,200 from the Community Foundation but much of these funds will go to the maintenance of the grounds and equipment at Smith Fields, a 55-acre complex. The Major Grant will help Project Whitefish Kids finish the playground and build the pavilion without jeopardizing their operating funds used for the upkeep of eight soccer/lacrosse pitches, 5 baseball fields and 4 softball fields. The new playground will be installed this fall, and the pavilion will be completed in the spring.
The Community Foundation is proud to be a part of a quality community project that will be used by thousands of athletes, sports fans, local families, and visitors that attend soccer, baseball, softball, and lacrosse games, or just live in the area.
This is the second Major Grant awarded by the Community Foundation this year. In May, the Foundation awarded $117,000 to the Montana Veterans Home for a new ADA Accessible Bus.