Never give up on your dreams & ideas!
Can't believe it's October of 2018 already. Seems like just yesterday way back in 1987 when everyone was celebrating the grand opening of the "Brookside School Dream Playground Project."
This is an example of what happens when you "never give up..." and "don't listen to those who say it can't be done!" I attended a PTA meeting in January, and they asked for a few volunteer parents to "go through a playground catalog" and help select a few swings, slides, etc. As soon as I flipped through the pages, I knew we could "do something better." So, the next day I visited the University of Delaware library (before the days of the Internet, that's what we did!).
I researched "the best of the best playgounds," and discovered an architect by the name of Robert Leathers. Seems he had built a "dream playground" for a school where his children attended. That playground became so popular, he was swamped with requests from other schools to do the same at their locations. He slowly stopped building million dollar homes and then focused on a new business: "Dream Playgrounds!" The idea was simple: he would come to your school, make a brief presentation, and then show you how your school could do it.
I was hooked! I knew we could do it at Brookside Elementary School! So, armed with some info, brochures, photos, etc. I attended the next PTA meeting and presented my idea. "We can do it!" I told them. Everyone seemed excited, until I got to the part where "we need to recruit 200 volunteers and raise $20,000 (which was a lot of money in those days). Soon I was receiving those "he must be off of his medication" looks from everyone, including the principal. The idea was shot down. But I wasn't.
I continued to attend the monthly PTA meetings, each time presenting my case and saying "we can do it!" But each month the idea was turned down. By the June meeting, however, I finally wore them down! They realized "I was not going away..." and said, "if you can make it happen, let's do it!"
Success at last! By the grace of God we were able to recruit our 200 volunteers (most of whom had no building experience!) and raised the $20,000 to purchase the lumber and equipment. And, the Brookside Dream Playground Project was built in FIVE DAYS (working from 7 in the morning till 9 at night, with teams of people rotating throughout the day).
The point to this story? If you have a dream or an idea, and it doesn't look like it's coming together, NEVER give up! If people are telling you "it will never happen," ignore them and follow your heart and your passion! You just never know what will happen!