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Date: 12/8/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – The Recreation Department is in the process of starting the East Longmeadow Foundation. The foundation will work to raise funds and collaborate with Community Preservation and other associations to help fund small and large scale projects and maximize sustainability of recreation facilities.
Donna Prather, recreation director, was previously employed in Indianapolis where they had a similar foundation.
“Why the foundation was so instrumental was there was 501c3 that could get grants and that could do fundraising for us for projects to avoid taxpayers paying for additional recreational facilities or amenities. So I wanted to do the same thing when I came here,” she said.
Prather began the process of initiating the foundation in March 2018. She said that the foundation currently has a temporary board and has applied for the 501c3 nonprofit designation. They are now waiting on the IRS to get their 501c3 number.
Once logistics are finalized, official fundraising efforts can begin.
Prather said that, in the meantime, she is looking for a dedicated group of volunteers to help kick off this initiative. With the foundation she hopes to be able to improve recreational fields and facilities and build a recreation center to meet high demand.
According to Prather, recreational registration of kids from Pre-K through fourth grade is increasing. The town will be losing three fields that they currently have and are in desperate need of more space.
She said that, this year, they had to turn 50 kids away from “Bitty Ball” and weren’t able to host indoor volleyball or adult basketball.
“The whole idea is that East Longmeadow is already falling behind in its recreational needs,” she said. “We are running out of space for recreational activities. The schools are already bursting at the seams and we’re getting less and less time in the school, which is our primary indoor facility. My hope is that we can get this foundation going and that we can do a major fundraising drive to eventually get a rec center and improve our fields in town and be ready for when those kids grow up.”
Prather said that volunteers are essential in planning ideas, starting fundraising efforts and enhancing the town. She isn’t currently looking for donations, but rather asking for people with skills such as grant writing or business backgrounds to help out.
“What I’m looking for is a businessman not to dig into their checkbook, but I’m looking for his business knowledge and how we make a concept like that work in East Longmeadow,” she said. “I just need someone who wants to take that role and say let’s set a meeting or let’s have a spaghetti dinner, let’s have pints for parks,”
She said that she doesn’t want to ask for further donations from small businesses or the same parents who are already stretched thin.
“I also know that everybody’s stretched for dollars and I don’t want to tap into the same people. I don’t want to tap into the same parents that are selling pies for school or selling calendars for football. I’d like to get the mindset that we could get corporations in matching dollars. If I could just get five dedicated people that could just mesh together and get this thing rolling that would be where I want to go,” said Prather.
She recognized that the creation of a new recreation space or field enhancement will take time, but it is essential.
“In my time here, I might not see it actually happen, but eventually someone’s gonna say ‘We should’ve gotten a rec center years ago,’” said Prather.
Those interested in learning more information or volunteering are encouraged to contact Prather at 525-5400 ext. 1301 or Donna.Prather@eastlongmeadowma.gov.
Prather is also conducting a needs assessment in order to find out what residents want when it comes to recreation.
“When we’re turning kids away or we’re turning participants away it tells me that there’s a need,” she said. “We’re looking at what the future of East Longmeadow recreation looks like and I really need to know what people want.”
Residents are encouraged to reach out to Prather for the link to complete the assessment.
For now, Prather is hopeful that residents will come forward to help the future of recreation and the future of East Longmeadow’s kids.
“We can’t just keep doing what we’re doing, we have to look to the future in order to meet the needs,” she said.