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Windy Hill Foundation Builds New Playground

By Lena Horn, Outreach Coordinator

September 24, 2014

 

308683Despite several weeks of rain which delayed installation, Windy Hill Foundation finished building their new playground in June 2014. This playground will last the community over 15 years and provide a greater sense of connection among families, help children learn the value of friendship and sharing, and give children a fun place to exercise and stay fit.Windy Hill’s mission is to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to low income families in Loudoun, Fauquier, and Clarke Counties, while encouraging self-improvement and self-sufficiently among their residents. They currently house 90 adults and 40 children in 67 rental housing units in the Middleburg community. Fundraising is always a challenge, especially as operational support from grants is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Windy Hill looks for local donations to fund their rent subsidies, Family Services Programs, and operational costs, amounting to about $450,000 a year. With 100WomenStrong’s $26,000 grant they were able to build a new playground for the children and it’s already proving a great success for their Family Services Programs. Parents were strong advocates for the playground and over the past several months, there has been an enthusiastic increase in parental involvement in community gatherings, field trips, interactive time on the playground, as well as encouraging responses to youth programming. In addition, it’s great for the community to see that their voices asking for a new playground were heard. It builds trust, increases parental engagement, and empowers the residents.Much of their programming has been for elementary school children, and now their focus is shifting slightly to middle and high school children. They are anxious to build on new programming for these children as they have now been able to increase program staffing to include a full-time Children and Family Programs Coordinator and a Senior Services Coordinator. New programming will include SAT prep and career and college exploration, including site visits. Windy Hill would also like to start a Resident Scholarship Program to allow children to attend college without putting strain on the family’s income.Windy Hill is always appreciative of monetary donations as no funding from Federal, State, or local governments is provided. In the fall, they look for school supplies for children; during winter they need gently used or new warm coats, hats, and gloves; in December they try to provide the young kids with a book and a toy, and the older children with a book and a gift card; in spring and summer, they need outdoor sporting goods. For more information on the Windy Hill Foundation, please visit http://www.windyhillfoundation.org

 

Volunteer Opportunities at Windy Hill

  • Tutoring/mentoring elementary school children – contact Thomas Garnett, Windy Hill Community’s Family Programs Coordinator at (540) 687-8679, or tgarnett@whdc.org
  • Social Programming for Seniors including Weekly Bingo, contact Erin Nesbitt, Windy Hill Community’s Senior Services Coordinator at (540) 687-3273, or enesbitt@whdc.org

 

The Old Playground                                   The New Playground

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100WomenStrong is a proud fund of Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties