Last year, we learned that WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! One of the hardest (and most exciting) things we did was raise enough money to install a brand new playground.
The new playground has been under construction all summer. Our students spent the three weeks of the year watching as a team of installers brought our Big Toy playground to life. They watched as the ground was prepared, the foundations were dug and laid, the towers were erected, the slides put in place, and the mulch was blown in. Our fifth graders even calculated the volume of recycled wood fibers it would take to fill the space.
It's been a long time coming, but our new Big Toy playground will be ready for play on Monday, September 20.
It was with the generous support of many, many donors and believers that Wilkesboro Elementary School was able to fund this momentous event. Thank you to the children who asked parents, family, friends, neighbors, and businesses to help bring our special play space to life. We couldn't have done it without your hard work and determination!
We would like to share a special thank you to the Stone Family Foundation. Your seed gift with 2019 Wishing Well grant helped us dream big. Our playground team did its research, our students chose the equipment, and through your generous matching support, we are able to make this wish a reality.
We also are indebted to many other generous grants and gifts including those by the groups listed below.
- Stone Family Foundation
- The Health Foundation, Inc.
- Kulynych Family Foundation II, Inc. (in honor of Mr. Thomas Edgar (Ed) Story, III and Mr. T.E. Story
- Leonard G. Herring Family Foundation
- The Spears Family
- WindowWorld
In addition, we are thankful to families who provided funding for specific parts of our playground.
- Climb in memory of Hunter Brown.
- Slide in honor of Kilby Quinn Handy.
- Spin in honor of Lucy and Sophia McBride.
- Swing in loving memory of Reese Huskey.
We'd also like to recognize many donations were made in honor and memory of special people in our students' lives. We have these noted on signage at the playground. Thank you to our families for recognizing these beloved people.
Great things are accomplished by many smaller things brought together, and we appreciate and share our gratitude to everyone who contributed to this project. We've compiled a list of our generous donors and send grateful and heartfelt appreciation to you all. We've tried to be as inclusive as possible with this list, and if we've omitted your donation, please let us know at spearsr@wilkes.k12.nc.us and we will update the list.
We'd also like to thank Chris Yang and his team for Carolina Parks and Play for helping bring this dream to life. We have been working with them since March 2020 to design and construct this playground.
We will kick of this playground with a bang! All students will enjoy the playground beginning Monday, September 10. We look forward to hosting a community playground dedication in October where our donors, families, and community members can come together in the name of PLAY!
Keith at the 50's |
Brandon Absher |
Oscar Armend Acosta |
Jacob Adams |
Matt Adams |
Anitra Adams |
Jacob Adams |
Carlos Alberto |
Lellena Amalris |
Ellen Anderson |
Jessica Anderson |
Bobby and Helen Anderson |
Nicole Anderson |
Jay Anderson |
Jimmy Ashley |
Judy Ashley |
Ivey Atkins |
Tilley's Auto Sales |
Dwight Phillips Auto Sales |
Northwest Automotive |
D. Avaya |
Jash Avaya |
Brandon Ayers |
Ashley and Stacey Backus |
Jackie Badger |
Judy Bainbridge |
Jennifer Baker |
Michael and Denise Baldwin |
Amber Gambill |
Bob Barders |
Gabriela Bare |
Beth Bare |
Carol Barnes |
Scott Barnes |
Ashley and Dave Barton |
Brandon Barnes |
Lisa Becker |
Gary Benesh |
Diane Benesh |
Bill Bennett |
Mary Bennett |
Kent Bennett |
Laura Bennett |
April Bennington |
Jan Bentley |
Brandon Berry |
Rebecca Berman |
Ean Billings |
Katie Blankenship |
Danielle Blevins |
Brandy Blevins |
Magaly Bonilla |
Xiomara Bonilla |
Dania Bonilla |
Ray and Chris Boone |
Chris Bosse |
Kate Bosse |
Kelly Bridges |
David Brooks |
April Brown |
Debra Brown |
Bishop Brown |
Ronnie Brown |
Lewis and Kathy Brown |
Hilda Broyhill |
Gracie Bruck |
Kristie Bryan |
Heather Buchanon |
Kylah Bullock |
Donna Bumgarner |
Wiley Bumgarner |
Joseph Bumgarner |
Mark Bumgarner |
Evelyn and Terry Bumgarner |
Ellie Caldwell |
Jeff and Kristy Caldwell |
David and Monica Call |
Kelsey Call |
Vickie Call |
Rick Call |
Kathy Call |
Randy Call |
Jessica Call |
Sam and Sara Call |
Judy Campbell |
Specialty Car Company |
Jennifer Cardwell |
Cox Lawn Care |
Brenda Carpenter |
Grey Carroll |
Lisa Carver |
Michael and Brenda Carver |
Neil Cashion, Jr. |
Gilberto Castillo |
Salvador Castillo |
Isabelle Castillo |
Gary and Susan Caudill |
Scott and Bonnie Caudill |
Vickie Caudill |
Arturo Centeno |
Yesenia Centeno |
Paula Ch |
Darren Childress |
Ken and Carolyn Christener |
Rhetta Christmas |
Paula Church |
Kim Church |
Annette Church |
Shannon Miller's Class |
Chris and Debi Claycomb |
Beth Cleary |
Carol Cleary |
Mary Clement |
Tesla Clonch |
Katrina Clonch |
Lakyn Cochran |
Yvonne Cockerham |
James Cockerham |
Brandon Cockerham |
Gary and Susan Cogdill |
April Cogdill |
Justin and Courtney Colbert |
Beau Colbert |
Idamall Collins |
Tamara Collins |
Steve Collins |
Lani Cook |
Elijah Cooke |
Tamarah Cornette |
Maria Corvantes |
Kathryn Cothren |
Brooke Cox |
Ryan and Deanna Cox |
Tammy Cox |
Amy Cristofer |
Rob Crumpton |
Gabe Culverhnise |
Nhin Dang |
Marie Davis |
Misty and Alex Davis |
Lucinda Davis |
Pat Day |
Dustin Deal |
Whitney Deal |
Randy Deal |
Barbara Denny |
Simret Dev-Raman |
Kimberly Devine |
Laurencene Dillard |
Dustin and Melissa Dingee |
Ethan, Michael, Debi Dingee |
James A Doll |
Jimmy Dula |
Karlie Dula |
Dylan Dula |
Denny Dula |
Rossalyn Duncan |
Katie Duncan |
Andrew Duncan |
Nori Duncan |
Toni Dutcher |
Ginger Edmiston |
Mildred Edminston |
Sandra Elledge |
Ronald Elledge |
Iizchel Eller |
Leah and David Eller |
Wilma Elmore |
Jada Emerson |
Marjorie Erikson-Schmid |
Ahmed Elnaggar |
P&J Express |
Mrs Fagen |
Leonard G. Herring Family Foundation |
Erika Faw |
Jackie Felts |
Pam Ferguson |
Foothills Insurance and Financial Services |
Doug Fletcher |
Heather Forrest |
Sarah Foster |
The Stone Foundation |
Andrea Frausto |
Ashley Frazier |
Mike Frazier |
Annie Frazier |
Madison Frazier |
Santos Funez |
Angela and Nate Fye |
Carter and Maveryck Galarza |
Jeannie Galvan |
Jesus Galvan |
Anna Gambill |
Jessica Gambill |
Chad Gambill |
Eddie Garza |
Brandi Gates |
Gladys Goff |
David Goodson |
Judy Gorich |
Jonathan Gorich |
Megan Gorski |
Franny Granados |
Margie Grant |
Robert Greene |
James Greene |
Marcella Greer |
Anna Griggs |
Scott and Terri Groce |
Henry Groce |
Elena Gutierrez |
Abby Gutierrez |
Alex Gutierrez |
Lauren and Len Hagaman |
Matt and Susan Hagaman |
Ted and Joyce Hagaman |
Sean Hall |
Bob Ham |
Linda Hamrick |
Evan and Victoria Handy |
Julie Hamilton |
Michael Harless |
Joe and Christine Harper |
Rayne Hatfield |
Brittany Hayes |
Billy Hayes |
Yuka Hayes |
Elizabeth Haynes |
Eula Haynes |
Jeffrey Haynes |
Kasey Haynes |
Jean Hefner |
Lee Henley |
Jim Henson |
J.C. Hernanden |
Lynda Herndon |
Drew Herndon |
Jackie Herndon |
David Herndon |
Russ Herndon |
Jude Herndon |
Jennie Hicks |
Iris Hilton |
Joe Hilton |
Miriam Holbrook |
Lourdes Holbrook |
Jennifer Holman |
Danny and Jennifer Holman |
Lisa Holman |
Sara Holman |
Chris Holman |
Spectrum Hospitality |
Caylee Houck |
Landon and Ashley House |
Naw Htwe |
Chuck Hubbard |
Mauri Hudler |
John Blake Hudler |
Jim Hudson |
Dan and Liz Huffman |
Jan and Dennis Huggins |
Zil Huma |
Sandra Hunter |
Megan Hutchins |
Alisha and Ronnie Huskey |
Deal Insurance |
Daniel and Kate Isom |
Dale and Michelle Isom |
Julianna Isom |
Edgar Ivan |
Anne James |
Jason and Erica James |
Fangd James |
Kayla Jarvis |
Braylen Jarvis |
Malinda Jarvis |
Hadley Jarvis |
Daniel and Taylor Jarvis |
Avri Jarvis |
Isaha Jasim |
Kelly Jauel |
Abby Jimenez |
Emily Call Jenkins |
Justin Johnson |
Kenneth and Sandy Johnson |
Bryan Johnson |
Rosa Johnson |
Danny Johnson |
Penny Johnson |
Ross Johnson |
Erica Johnson |
Jackie Johnson |
Melody Johnston |
Blaine Johnston |
Edward Jones |
Katherine Kelly |
David Key |
Julie Kov |
Ruthanne Lackey |
Mary Lankford |
Donna LaPlante |
Enedina Lara |
Francisco Lara |
Randi Laws |
Norma Jean Laws |
Devin Leonard |
Linda Little |
Sheryl Long |
Pete and Wilma Lovette |
Phyllis Lowe |
Queenie Lu |
Peter Lu |
Laura Byrd Luffman |
Devin Lyall |
Ken Lyall |
Bradley Lyon |
Teena Macemore |
Doug Mallory |
Raquel Marroquin |
Carolyn Mastin |
Brandon Martin |
Danna Martinez |
Enrique Martinez |
Emily Martinez |
Shannon Massengill |
Ivy Massengill |
Jerry and Carolyn Mastin |
David Mastin |
Gloria Mastin |
Chit Mat |
Amber Mathis |
Todd, Lisa, and Amber Mathis |
Brittany Mathis |
Matt and Tammy Matthews |
Missy Mayberry |
Mac and Stephanie Mayberry |
Pam and Drew Mayberry |
James and Susan McBride |
Kendall McCain |
Takiyah McCathern |
Carol McCann |
Julie McCurdy |
Jayne McGregor |
Wade McInnis, III |
Hank McManus |
Traci McManus |
Regina McNeil |
Jason and Erica McNeill |
Terry McNeill, Jr. |
Terry McNeill, Sr. |
Kayla Menjivar |
Linda Messick |
Catherine Messick |
Ann Miller |
Anne Miller |
Brittany Miller |
Lois Miller |
Tyler Miller |
Brandy Miller |
Greyson Miller |
Shannon Miller |
Rachel Minick |
Linda Minton |
Lauren Minton |
Kandice Minton |
Alisha Minton |
Jeff and Angel Minton |
Ishaq Mohamed |
Judith Montoya |
Selena Montoya |
Judith Montoya |
Grayson Moore |
Ricky and Terry Moore |
Greg and Jennifer Moore |
Cesar Morales |
Abagail Morales |
Ervin Morales |
Dave Morlando |
Denise Morris |
Russ Morris |
Betty Morris |
Van Morris |
Cooper Morris |
Janet Morrison |
Heritage Motors |
Mindy Munsey |
Alan Munsey |
Jack Munsey |
Dellarene Myers |
Kimberly Myers |
Ivy Myers |
Tana Myers |
Nobel Naing |
Jacklyn Nestor |
Ngoc Nga |
Alice Nightingale |
LeAnna O'Dell |
Bonnie and Pat Osborne |
Teagan Owens |
Ella Owens |
Bella Owens |
Portante Clan Construction LLC |
Amelia Pardez |
Patti Parker |
Jessica Parker |
Lakin Parks |
Tim and Shelia Parson |
Hina Patel |
Kailas Patel |
Rajendra Patel |
Hiral Patel |
Sangitaben Patel |
Santosh Patel |
Komal Patel |
Klewkleh Paw |
TJ Payne |
Steve and Dawn Penland |
Jessica Pennell |
Fredis Perdomo |
Donnie Perry |
Waggles Pet Supply |
Ann Phillips |
JaaSiyah Pinkney |
Kelly Pipes |
James Pipes, III |
Playworks |
Heather Powell |
David Potts |
Seth Prevette |
Foothills Pro Service |
Michael and Janice Propst |
Toni Pruitt |
Caleigh Raymer |
Cagney Reeves |
Courtlyn Reeves |
Melinda Reavis |
Judy Reeves |
Fletcher and Sherry Reeves |
Kathy Reynolds |
Carla Reins |
Athene Rhoades |
Jenny Richardson |
Brenda Rider |
Kathleen Robertson |
Scott and Angie Robinson |
Mary Rolenberry |
Donna Rollins |
Amy Rollins |
Sam Rollins |
Julissa Romero |
Kelly and Alan Roten |
Sara Roten |
Ravi Roy |
Amber Rubio |
Marix Sa |
Jeannie Salvan |
Angela Scott |
Don's Seafood |
Yadkin Valley Motor Service Department |
Matthew Settle |
Janine Severt |
Dorothy Sheets |
Anna Shelton |
Daniel and Becky Sheets |
Scott Sheomerts |
Rhonda L. Shepherd |
Sam Shew |
Htee Shi |
Scott Shoemaker |
Tony Shoemaker |
Alavia Shoemaker |
Brandon and Erica Shore |
Karen Shore |
Bill Shotto |
Ayden Shumate |
Tabitha Shumate |
Michael and Angel Sidden |
Denise Sidden |
Catrina Simmons |
Kimberly Sluder |
Denise Sluder |
Carol Smith |
Lesa Smith |
Janice Souther |
Beckie Spears |
Will Spears |
Mary Spears |
Janet St. John |
Jessica Staley |
Devin and Sallie Staley |
Ginna Staley |
Sarah Stalnaker |
Katie Steele |
Taylor Stinson |
Matt Stone |
Alicia Stone |
Callie Stone |
Canaan Stone |
Lacy Stone |
Nathaniel Stone |
Samuel Stone |
Joey Stone, Sr. |
Joey and Holly Stone |
School Street Storage |
H.G. Greene's Store |
Skyla Sturgill |
Arabella Sturgill |
Mary Sallie and Rick Styers |
Jerry and Diane Swaim |
Jennifer Taylor |
Klaire Ashlyn Taylor |
Greg Teaster |
Travis Tellent |
Conner Tevepaugh |
Melissa Thomas |
Charlie Thomas |
Studio Three Sixty |
Enrique Tinez |
Omar Tomlinson |
Maria Torres |
Stacy Treat |
Diane Triplett |
Norah Triplett |
Leah Triplett |
Ruby Triplette |
Melissa Turbyfill |
Lyla Turbyfill |
Patricia Turner |
Brian Tyler |
Gillian Tuttle |
JoAnna Van Noy |
Valencia Van Orsdel |
Jordan Vance |
Gladys Ventura |
Victoria Villapando |
Corina Villapando |
Moni Villapando |
Kayla Wagoner |
Caitlin Walker |
Jim Warden |
Kaye Warren |
Laura Waterhouse |
Lee Watson |
Scott Watts |
Charlene Webb |
Laura Welborn |
Mary White |
Kendra Whitley |
Jennifer Whitman |
Rachel Whitmore |
Raven Whitmore |
Phil Whitson |
Abby Whitson |
Michael Widerman |
Nick Wilcox |
Ethan Williams |
Rayden Williams |
Kgoun Win |
Karen Wolford |
Bill and Irene Woodruff |
Window World |
Cameron and Nicole Wright |
Cathy Wyatt |
Vicky Wyatt |
Barry Yarborough |
Elaine Younger |
Austin Youngquist |
The Youngs |
Randy Zirkle |
Betty |
Joann |
Danny |
Mary |
Cupcake |
Dave and Deb |
Tim and Randi |
Conway |
Fabiola |
Jose |