After a year of debating, planning and preparing, the time to actually replace the beloved playground at Frank Fullerton Park is here.
Today, the rebuild officially starts its five-day journey to completion.
Approximately 600 volunteers have stepped up to help rebuild the playground that was removed last year due to safety concerns and liability. Among the group of volunteers will be Paul Fullerton, along with other students from his Mt. Laurel school.
Paul is named after the Moorestown police officer Frank Fullerton, Sr. who lost his life in the line of duty in 1979 and for whom the park was named.
Help is still needed to make the process go as smoothly as possible.
“All shifts are still open, so people should feel free to sign up for when they can” said Dee Bertino, FOF volunteer chair.
Go to www.friendsoffullerton.com for sign-up information.
To kick off the process, BEN FM 95.7 out of Philadelphia is joining the build crew Thursday morning for music, coffee and donuts compliments of Krispy Kreme.
BEN FM will return on Sunday for the soft opening of the park, which is expected to occur between 5 and 6 p.m., depending on when the last nail is hammered into the brand new park. Mayor John Button will attend the official open as well as members of Frank Fullerton’s family, including his youngest sister, Alice Fullerton, who is a resident of Moorestown.
The effort to replace the park has been a collaboration between the community and township. Moorestown Township appropriated $180,000 to fund the rebuild. Friends of Fullerton formed to help the guide the replacement process with its main function being fundraising.
In total, the Friends of Fullerton raised more than $80,000 to supplement the project. Among the fund-arising events was the March Madness challenge. It was a huge hit and brought in $31,360. There were eight parties in total ranging from a St. Patrick’s Day party to Ladies Nights. Karla Varrell and Cathy Fierro hosted a Brick Oven Pizza Party for more than 150 of their friends, raising the most money of all registered parties and winning dinner for two in Philadelphia.
In early April, three local girls created an event at the playground site, which they called the Spring Swing. Mary Lawlor and Claire Miano met as children on the original playground at Frank Fullerton Park. Together with Brooke Parker, the three girls came up with the idea to host an event where children could come together at the site of the beloved playground for a fun event with the Easter Bunny, including an Easter egg hunt, food, games and fun.
Together with neighbors, friends and family, the girls were able to organize donations from Mart Pretzels, Dietz & Watson, Acme, ShopRite and Peter Pan. They also planned all the fun activities. Spring Swing was a fun, well-attended event and raised approximately $1,300 for the re-build.
“The support and participation is overwhelming”, says Beth Hughes, FOF fund-raising chair.
