RAVENNA, OH - One year ago, elementary school students in Ravenna met with an architectural firm and designed their ultimate dream playground.

That dream, nurtured by the non-profit organization, Friends of the Park, will soon be a reality with plans to open the playground June 16.

Beginning June 9, the park will be constructed in a seven-day building bonanza with the assistance of an all-volunteer community effort.

"It's the only park of its kind in Portage County," said Amy Michael, Friends of the Park co-founder. "It will bring people here."

Included in the plans for the playground, from the imaginations of elementary school children, are a castle, a play beauty shop and a bridge separating the two. Also slated for construction are a rock-climbing wall, a rocket ship, a hot-air balloon and play telephones.

The park is currently referred to as "Portage County Community-Built Playground," but naming rights will be offered to the donor who gives the largest donation.

With a projected price tag of more than $200,000, Michael said the project is a complete volunteer effort.
"We'll need 2,000 hands," she said. "This takes us back to the value of teamwork."

Read more about the effort here.

Other tidbits from the article.

• The Friends of the Parks has raised more than $60,000, with about $150,000 to go.
• Michael said the project got a boost recently when children's diabetic pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, expressed interest in donating funds to the playground. In return, the company would host a children's diabetic day at the playground sometime in August, she said.