HOULTON, Maine — A lack of physical activity options for students at Houlton Southside School has prompted a local couple to start an online fund-raising project.
Tim and Erica Tweedie are raising money to purchase two full-sized soccer goals on wheels to create a soccer field behind the school.
“Our goal is to provide opportunities for as many children to play the game of soccer as possible,” Erica Tweedie said. Her husband Tim is the varsity girls soccer coach at Houlton High School. “Combined with this goal, we saw the need for enhancements to the Southside playground, which is currently very limited. Building a soccer field would create a new avenue for youth to be active and involved during school and after school.”
The Tweedies received permission from RSU 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer and Southside Principal Cindy Peterson to move forward with the project.
The school is also conducting a separate fund-raising effort to purchase a few pieces of playground equipment for the students.
“We are anticipating $3,000 from Louisiana Pacific to help the playground project out,” Peterson said. “A good portion of our fundraising is going toward the project as well. I am thinking that $40,000-50,000 would give us three or four new pieces of equipment along with the surfacing.”
Peterson said she is hoping that the school can find some community help and donations when it comes to the groundwork.
“I am in the process of writing some grants to help out,” she said. “We currently have $5,500 in our playground fund. We started the year with nothing.”
“We know many of our young players love to play soccer at recess at the elementary school,” Tim Tweedie said. “There’s no good reason why they can’t have a place to play at Southside.”
Wight’s Sporting Goods quoted the couple a cost of $3,000 for two full sized goals Alumagoals with wheels.
A page was created Tuesday morning on the website (www.fundly.com/southside-soccer-field) where people can donate online. As of noon, the page already had seven contributors donating $350 to the cause.
“The soccer goals are going to be a huge asset to our playground,” Peterson said. “We are very limited with what we currently have — four basketball hoops, swings, a small set of monkey bars, and four tetherball poles that were installed a few years back by our student council and their fundraising.”
“It would be great to have the goals all set up for the kids by the time school starts at the end of August,” Erica added.
For more information, contact Erica Tweedie at ertweedie@rsu29.org or 694-1674.
