Supervisor Fiona Ma and Save South Sunset Playground Committee Announce Wells Fargo Bank Community Partnership and Donation at “Kids Count the Change” Event for South Sunset Playground
KNBR and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Pledge to Match Wells Fargo Donation
[Feb. 13, 2006] San Francisco, CA – At a “Kids Count the Change” event today, Supervisor Fiona Ma and the South Sunset Playground Committee recognized students from Ulloa’s Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center Afterschool Program for raising over $450 in change to help rebuild South Sunset Playground. At the event, Supervisor Ma accepted a donation of $10,000 from Wells Fargo Bank. KNBR 680 and the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF) were also on hand to announce a matching grant of $10,000.
“Neighborhood parks are central to our families and our communities,” said John Sotoodeh, Regional President for Wells Fargo Bank in the San Francisco’s West Side and Peninsula, “Wells Fargo is proud to join the team in rebuilding South Sunset and bringing this resource back to the community.”
As part of their community partnership with the South Sunset Playground Committee, Wells Fargo Bank will manage the fund account so that potential donors may walk into any branch office and make a direct donation to the Save South Sunset Playground Fund.
“KNBR 680 is delighted to be joining Wells Fargo to help rebuild South Sunset,” said Tony Salvadore, Senior Vice President and Market Manager. “KNBR 680 has always been a huge supporter of youth sports and activities, such as our annual auction to raise funds for the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. It is through this auction and BASHOF’s blessing that we are able to help out on today’s efforts.”
The donations announced today significantly boost the fundraising efforts to rebuild the arson-damaged playground. “It was a tragedy that such a popular park was victim to such meaningless violence,” said Ma. “But I am heartened that our community overwhelmingly responded to right this wrong.”
The “Kids Count the Change” event was a culmination of a month-long effort by the children in Ulloa Elementary School’s afterschool program to actively participate in rebuilding their neighborhood park by collecting change in piggybanks donated by the Neighborhood Parks Council. Ulloa students raised $457.86 in this effort and were rewarded with ice cream treats supplied by Polly Ann Ice Cream, a local ice cream parlor that has been active in the rebuild effort.
“It has been wonderful to see so many members of our community, especially our children, rise to the challenge to rebuild this park and help us meet our fundraising goal of $50,000,” said Suzie Larson who spearheads South Sunset Playground Committee.
In August of 2005, South Sunset Playground, located in San Francisco’s Parkside District, was heavily damaged by arson. The South Sunset Playground Committee, with support from Supervisor Ma and the Neighborhood Parks Council, was formed to organize Parkside and Sunset families to raise funds to rebuild the playground. Preliminary cost estimates for park replacement are at over $100,000. San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department has already pledged to match what the Committee raises towards the rebuild effort.
Other fundraising efforts are also in the works, including an all day fundraiser and raffle event at Eagle Pizzeria on February 22, 2006, where a portion of the day’s proceeds will go to South Sunset Playground. An initial donation in August of 2005 of $5,000 from the Mills Corporation kicked off the rebuild effort and brings the current total raised from the community to over $26,000.
###
Contact:
Frances Hsieh
415-554-7460
frances.hsieh@sfgov.org | 
