FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: November 4, 2013
Media Contact: Nikko Snyder: (306) 757-9952
Email: heritagecommunity@sasktel.net

IT’S TIME TO PLAY!
INNER CITY REGINA COMMUNITY SUCCESSFULLY FUNDRAISES NEW PLAYGROUND

Regina, SK – The Heritage Community Association (HCA) is pleased to announce the grand opening of its new playground in Core Community Park (11th Avenue between Toronto and Quebec Streets). A ribbon cutting event will be held in the park on Wednesday, November 13 from 12:00 to 12:30 pm to celebrate and thank the many organizations and individuals that contributed to making the playground a reality. (In case of poor weather, the event will be held at the HCA office, at 100-1654 11th Avenue.)

HCA, which represents the inner city Regina community of 5,325 residents, has been fundraising since 2012 for the new playground in Core Community Park. “In 2011 we conducted a needs assessment of the children living in Heritage,” explains HCA Executive Director Nikko Snyder. “Through that process we engaged hundreds of residents, many of whom were children. It came across loud and clear that safe places to play are fundamental resources for the children and families in our community. Our neighbourhood doesn’t have very many public facilities, so our parks are a natural place to invest our efforts.”

The community association reached out to supporters both within the Heritage neighbourhood and in the greater Regina community to fundraise the project. Local businesses and individuals came on board, as did provincial and municipal funders. After a year and a half of fundraising, HCA was able to proceed with the design and installation of the new playground.

“We’ve been fortunate to receive so much support from such a broad base of sponsors,” says Snyder. “From the City of Regina to the Community Initiatives Fund to Farm Credit Canada and beyond, many stakeholders have invested in our playground. Not only that, but volunteers from within our community worked closely with City planners to help design the playground.”

Sponsors of the project along with children and families from the community are invited to the playground’s ribbon cutting event to celebrate the new playground, enjoy hot chocolate and cookies, and launch the next phase of the project. “This is only the beginning,” says Snyder. “We’ve already started fundraising to replace the playground in Maple Leaf Park in 2014!”

The Heritage Community Association (HCA) is a charitable, community-based organization that provides programs and services to residents and businesses in Regina’s inner city Heritage community. Heritage includes the area between Broad St and Winnipeg St, and from the CPR Mainline south to College Ave. It also includes the Arcola Triangle, which is bounded by Winnipeg St, Arcola Ave, and Victoria Ave. To learn more about HCA, please visit www.heritagecommunityassociation.com.

For more information about this event, please phone Nikko Snyder (306-757-9952), or email heritagecommunity@sasktel.net.

Thank you to everyone who funded the new playground in Core Community Park:
City of Regina, CIF Community Vitality Fund, Scotiabank Charity Golf Tournament, FCC Regina Spirit Fund, CUETS Financial, a division of MBNA Canada Bank, Halifax Holdings Inc., Individuals & Organizations (misc.)