DRAYTON – The Drayton Rotary Club has taken a giant stride toward a $100,000 commitment to fund the village’s newest park.
In October 2021, the club came to Mapleton Township council with a joint proposal to create a new park in Drayton at the end of Queen Street. The proposal involved the township financing the project up front and the Rotary Club paying the municipality back over five years.
This project was well received by council and Drayton Rotary got to work on fundraising for the new park. On July 16, the new Drayton Rotary Park was officially opened in conjunction with 75th anniversary celebrations for the club.
The Township of Mapleton and the Rotary Club of Drayton announced on Aug. 11 that “through amazing community support,” Drayton Rotary has raised and paid off $80,000 toward the park project.”
A press release states the remaining $20,000 will come over the next four years through a five-year commitment from local business Edge Mutual, which has committed $5,000 per year to the project.
“We would like to extend our deepest thanks to our amazing community businesses who came together to support the Drayton Rotary in creating a beautiful new park,” club officials state.
Other project sponsors include: Earthscape, Darling International, Friends of Drayton Entertainment, Ontario Tire Dealers Association, Dolzan Construction, Drayton Freshmart, Gerald Bowman Auctions, Marspan Home Hardware, Mornington Communications, Paul Franklin Contracting, Spaling Carpentry, Veritech Manufacturing and Wholesale, and Tri-Mech Inc.
“The Drayton Rotary Club is excited to move into their next round of fundraising for the park to include a lookout, sunshades, signage, and other park necessities,” officials say.
Anyone who would like to support the Drayton Rotary Park and the club’s ongoing fundraising efforts is urged to contact club president Bob Bignell at draytonrotaryclub@gmail.com or 519-741-7595.
