District ofWest Bay Gets A New Scholars Park Funded by the Dart Foundation
Opening of the Scholars Park, across fromthe Ed Bush Playing Field in West Bay, made possible by the DartFoundation is set for next Saturday, 20 October at 4:00 PM.
The opening ceremony will feature a proper ribbon cutting by HisExcellency the Governor Mr. Peter J. Smith, CBE at 5:00 PM followedby speeches from the Honorable McKeeva Bush, Mr. Cline GliddenJr., and Mr. Robert Dart.
The new Scholars Park is the first of five parks to be built andlandscaped in Grand Cayman before 2004 as part of an innovativepublic/private partnership between the Dart Foundation and theCayman Islands Government. The Dart Foundation has committed US$1million toward this effort. The West Bay Scholars Park featuresa unique Caymanian design with lush native landscaping, state-of-the-artchildren's playground equipment, gazebos, restroom facilitiesand barbecue grills.
"The new Scholars Park has been made possible by the activeparticipation of Government and the West Bay community, and theefforts of our dedicated staff," said Dart Foundation VicePresident, Mr. Jim Lammers. "The Dart Family and I are verypleased to have His Excellency the Governor officially open thenew park on behalf of the people of the Cayman Islands. We stronglyencourage the entire Cayman community to come out on October 20and enjoy an afternoon of family fun."
The park development project was announced early September witha new logo "Growing Communities". The vibrant logo featuresfive different sized handprints representing the districts ofGrand Cayman. The goal of the project is to bring communitiestogether by way of public parks. Some of the construction activitiesat Scholars Park have included 150 primary school aged childrenplanting trees and putting their handprints into a cement sidewalk.A "community day" on September 1 at Scholars Park hadWest Bay residents prepping the site for construction.
The public is invited to the grand opening celebration, and foodand soft drinks will be served, with a host of family entertainment,music, games and prizes to be won.
Founded in the United States by the Dart family in the 1980s,the Dart Foundation is a privately funded organization that iscommitted to public purposes. More specifically, the Dart Foundationmakes grants to entities such as schools, hospitals, governmentand publicly supported charities and their affiliates.
Mr. William A. Dart is chairman of the Board. His wife, Claire,and sons, Kenneth and Robert, serve as the other Board members.
Over the past 40 years, the Dart family has made gifts and grantsto many worthwhile organizations that have used those funds tomake a positive difference in the lives of thousands of people.