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Eastside John P. Powell students now get to play on a brand-new playground. In November, the Charter Foundation announced that it had awarded a $50,000 grant to the magnet school for new playground equipment.

With the installation just finished, students celebrated through play. The grant was written by Ansley Emfinger and Andie Roberts of the Chamber’s County Development Authority (CCDA) on behalf of the school.

The old playground structure was extremely outdated, according to the school’s principal, Allyson Matthews. It consists of a metal jungle gym and metal and plastic slides, swings, seesaws, and a playset. 

The Pre-K playground was updated in August with funding from the State of Alabama’s Pre-K Program and the state only wants the Pre-K-aged students to utilize the area because older kids cannot use the equipment safely.

The new play structure was designed and built by Struthers Recreation. The grant paid for the installation and labor costs, updates for some of the older equipment and ground cover for the play area. The materials are weather and heat-resistant, which the old metal structure lacked.

Roberts stated in the CCDA press release, “Without the Charter Foundation’s continuous contributions and support to our community, this would not be possible.” 

According to their website, the Charter Foundation’s aim is “to assist non-profit organizations and programs that are working to improve [Troup and Chambers counties] in thoughtful, creative and meaningful ways.”

The foundation also awarded grants to the Chattahoochee Human Society and West Point Police Department during its fall grant cycle.