Fellow Message Boarders,

My husband and I, along with some great friends and colleagues, have been working to secure the donation of a playground for the students of Holy Cross and the children of San Pedro. We have been fortunate enough to get the donation of a complete playground set previously used in a place called Discovery Zone. This set was owned by a church in Louisiana and they have given the equipment to be sent to San Pedro and erected at Holy Cross. This set is similar to the types found at a McDonald’s. We have also secured the donation of a 48 foot trailer and shipping costs to get the equipment from St. Louis, MO to Houston, Texas. In addition to the playground, the trailer is loaded with approximately 8 pallets of various school, office and first aid/healthcare supplies for Holy Cross, along with the trailer itself which will remain at the school for storage. We have run into a few snags trying to get someone to donate the transportation costs from Houston to San Pedro but with the assistance of Vernon and Francis Wilson of Holy Cross School, we have been able to secure quotes for the transportation. The most reasonable quote we have received is $6,500.00 for the transport from Houston through Mexico and into San Pedro. To date, through various avenues, we have been able to secure donations of $2,600.00 towards the shipping costs. We would like to ask all of you who love San Pedro and it’s people, to help with the cost of shipping through donations. We have been working with Holy Cross, Vernon and Francis, to set up a collection point for these donations. Through an affiliation with a church in North Carolina, we have made arrangements for the donations to be collected and the church to provide a tax deduction letter to anyone donating for these shipping costs. If you would like to donate towards the shipping, please send your donations to: Peace Church 520 Taberna Way, New Bern, NC, 28562. The church has suggested that when making a donation, do so in the form of a check made payable to “Peace Church Discretionary Fund” and enter a note in the memo section stating “Playground Transportation Donation”. The church will then reply to each donor with a letter of thank you for the charitable donation which can be used for tax purposes. We are getting close to half-way to our goal and we ask that you help make this possible by your generous contributions, no amount is too small or too large! We will be providing periodic updates of the running total of the fund. If you would like more information, please feel free to send me a message or you can email Holy Cross at vernongwilson2002@yahoo.com . Thanks in advance for any donation you are able to make and hopefully we will all be able to see the children of San Pedro enjoying this playground for years to come!

Have you explored the possibility of roll on-roll off freight? With fuel cost so high at the moment, a dedicated load would seem to be less cost effective than ocean freight?

There are a couple of freight companies in Houston, one of which is Belize based, and may be able to look at a "space available” rate or a charitable contribution?

Good job in securing the playground

No RORO freight in nBelize

Pug - we tried every mode of transport we could think of and the most reasonable price was over the road through Mexico. This became the most reasonable because of the generous donation of the transport fees from St. Louis to Houston....

If anybody has any contacts, ideas, etc. PLEASE let us know. Thanks!

Couldn't a good wooden playground be built at the site for way less than the $2600 you already have? Seems it would still be appreciated by the kids and fit in much better than another big plastic thing, IMO.

At the beginning of this whole situation, there was no $2600 to spend for a playground set. The set was donated and then the other items were added to the pot for donation, including the 8 skids of school, office supplies, etc. and the donation of the trailer to be used for storage by Holy Cross. It started as simply a playground but has blossomed into much more that will be useful to the school and we are simply trying to work with what was given.

I totally agree that a wooden structure is better and will last longer. In a year , the plastic will end up in our landfill. Also, studies are showing that plastics are more toxic than originally thought. Certain plastic toys and baby bottles are being taken off the market all together. Better still, send books and skill sheets. Play futbol.

I think that's great that everyone has another "alternative" idea. If we all had the same ideas and thoughts, we would all be married to my mother.

The fact of the matter is that someone DONATED this playground, no one DONATED a wooden playground or anything else...so unless you are willing to do so, there is no reason to put down someone else's DONATED items. If you would like to donate a wooden playground, I'm sure the school could use it. Dita has gone through the trouble of arranging all of this and it will be much appreciated by the children and parents of Holy Cross.

It will be available to ALL the children in San Pedro, not just the H.C. kids

From the description “This set is similar to the types found at a McDonald’s”, that the play unit is power coated metal (hopefully aluminum). Wood structures are a very high maintenance item on playground equipment. The humidity will help keep the wood from drying out, but wood still must be sanded, sealed and painted every 6 months to 1 year (based on usage) to prevent splinters, etc. Powered coated metal requires far less maintenance, particularly aluminum. Both steel and aluminum needs touchup paint to prevent pitting and rusting, in the case of steel, due to the salt air.
I’ve had some experience with playground equipment since for several years I was the Park Coordinator for the County I live in. All wood units were replaced due to deterioration (Ok its Arizona with very little humidity). Splinters were the major cause of accidents and the units were extremely high maintenance items for our crews. The new powered coated metal units have been in for several years and are low maintenance and have caused no problems. All playground equipment must be checked regularly for to ensure there are no safety issues (bolts loosening, chains, ropes, swing seats, all wear over time).
Is this a new unit or a used one? Do you know who the manufacturer is? Just Curious.