COPPER HARBOR - Portage Health wants to see kids get a community playground with state-of-the-art equipment.
Friday, the hospital donated $10,000 to the playground fund in Copper Harbor in order to see it grow. At a presentation in front of the current playground equipment at the Grant Township School, Marty Faassen of Copper Harbor was on hand to accept the donation from Portage Health, presented by Kevin Store, director of marketing and communications at Portage Health.
"We're grateful for all of the support," Faassen said. "We're grateful for Portage Health's participation in the project."
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Daily Mining Gazette/Stacey Kukkonen
Kevin Store, left, director of marketing and communications at Portage Health, presents a check for $10,000 to Copper Harbor residents including Marty?Faassen, back right, Friday at the Grant Township School playground.
A mock-up of the new playground was on display and dozens of local children played on the existing equipment during the presentation.
Some of the existing equipment is old and hasn't been replaced since the 1950s. With approximately 400,000 visitors making the trek to Copper Harbor annually, according to Faassen, the equipment is becoming more of a need.
"We want to meet safety codes," he said.
Store said Portage Health is happy to be able to donate the money as it is a worthy cause.
"We're very privileged to be a part of this project," Store said. "We recognize that our contribution is a small portion of the funds that need to be developed to make this project a reality."
Miranda Davis, of Copper Harbor, has been working with the project for some time and said she hopes to see funding in place by the end of the year. To complete the project, $145,000 is needed. The playground would be installed next summer if the funding goal is met.
"If we didn't get our funding in place, we would continue into another year, but we hope to have it in place by the end of this year," she said.
Davis said the committee is applying for grants and is doing fundraising, including community fundraisers and an online campaign.