Bulb Fundraiser Helping Brighten YWCA Playground

Buying a flower bulb will brighten the toddler playground at the YWCA Central Massachusetts’ Westborough Child Care Center.

The Y’s parent committee has raised just over $1,000 since October toward replacing the playground, center Director Luisa Palladino said Monday.

The Grove Street center is trying to raise at least $4,000, she said.

The parent committee has partnered with for the center’s first of four fundraisers in 2013, Palladino said.

Parents will order bulbs online, and the YWCA gets up to 50 percent of the proceeds, she said.

“The playground’s not in bad condition, but regulations from the state change all the time,” Palladino said.

“We want to make sure we have structures out there that are age appropriate for the toddlers.”

Replacing the playground in the summer is the goal, Palladino said.

“But I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” she said.

“Times seem to be hard all around, so asking parents to donate or do fundraising can be challenging.”

The parent committee is very active, Palladino said.

 “Last summer, their project was the preschool playground, and they got us a brand new shade, a new play structure. They’re really dedicated.”

The center’s spring fundraiser is a book fair during the week of April 16, to support books for the Y’s children, she said.

A pancake breakfast will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. that Saturday, April 20.