A day to serve: Volunteers assist county parks on several levels

Volunteers from Cummins install a new yellow fence topper at Dunn Stadium as part of the annual United Way Day of Service in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

United Way of Bartholomew County kicked off its fall fund-raising campaign by setting 1,800 volunteers to the task of helping the community through 90 area improvement projects.

Projects such as upgrading exteriors at the Columbus Child Care Center and Love Chapel were typical of the volunteer efforts during the annual “Day of Service,” observed on Friday.

While more than a dozen companies participated this year, at least two manufacturers — Cummins Inc. and Toyota Material Handling North America — have become part of an “Adopt a Park” program. That means both firms are recruiting volunteers to undertake community projects for more than just one day a year, county parks maintenance supervisor Rich Day said.

One example took place last summer at Heflen Park, where more than 90 Cummins employees worked for over three weeks to replace a 400-foot boardwalk over a pond, Day said.

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Volunteers from Cummins also carried out extensive renovations at Anderson Falls Park near Hartsville. Thanks largely to their efforts, the park’s parking lot off County Road 1140E has been reconfigured, railings replaced, obstructive trees and shrubs removed, and new flower beds installed, Dunn Stadium manager Adam Fish said.

But all companies who serve their community — even if it’s just for one day a year — deserve to be praised, Fish said.

“In my opinion, you can’t overstate the value of what these volunteers have done,” Fish said.

That’s especially true since the a total of12 Bartholomew County parks received only $210,981 in public funds this year. With such a low level of funding, county park board members say the best they can do is hope to maintain, instead of improve.

But in terms of the quality of the county parks, “we’re making the curve move upward, instead of downward, because of these volunteers,” Day said.

On Friday, about 60 Cummins employees carried out one of the United Way Day of Service’s largest and most far-reaching projects. The improvements made to Dunn Stadium and the Columbus BMX Track, both located next to the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds, will benefit residents on multiple levels, Fish said.

Along with public ball fields at Lincoln and Clifty Parks, as well as the privately-owned Ceraland Park, the four lighted diamonds at Dunn have become an important factor in increasing sports tourism, Fish said.

In the last eight years, Dunn has hosted more than 700 softball and baseball teams who come to Bartholomew County to participate in tournaments organized by groups like the United States Specialty Sports Association and the United Fastpitch Organization of Indiana, he said.

Research indicates local baseball and softball leagues are very important to local residents. Survey results from the recently-completed five-year master plan commissioned by the Bartholomew County Park Board shows 67% of respondents have someone in their immediately family who regularly plays softball or baseball. That’s about 3% higher than families with a child who visit a playground.

Enhancing the sports tourism efforts is the BMX track, which was recently rated #1 in the Midwest, averaging more riders per event than any similar facility in this region, Day said.

The Indiana State Championship Series will hold a qualifying event at the BMX track south of Garden City on Sept. 21 that is expected to attract more than 300 competitors, he added.

Dunn and Heflen are the two county recreational facilities that generate revenue on a regular basis, so by improving those two parks, more money might be generated that can be invested into developing ten other county parks scattered throughout Bartholomew County, parks board members said.

In addition, the professionally-created county parks master plan, which was funded through a $20,000 grant from the Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County — is also expected to help obtaining state grants to fund further improvements.

Obtaining a grant will likely be required to replace the outdated lighting system at Dunn Stadium, which Day said will likely cost about a million dollars.

As he helped to install a yellow fence topper, Cummins employee Paul Wright said it was his understanding that Dunn Stadium is now hosting seven times more ball games a year than what it did just a short time ago.

“We’ve got to make sure this place is looking good to keep people coming back,” Wright said.

As she was pulling weeds from a field, Cummins marketing analyst Carla Taylor said it was a dirty job that makes her feel good about herself.

“This definitely gives me a sense of joy and accomplishment in that I’m doing something good for the community,” Taylor said. “It’s also a good opportunity to set a good example for others, which I think Cummins does in a lot of ways.”

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The Day of Service has kicked off the annual fundraising campaign of the United Way of Bartholomew County for the past six years. It is meant to emphasize the individual programs and services provided by local United Way social service agencies.

Volunteer hours on the day over its six-year history equal an investment of about $1 million, according to organizers. That adds up to 10,000 volunteers logging more than 40,000 hours of service in the community.

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For more information about the United Way of Bartholomew County Day of Service, email Joy King, director of United Way’s Volunteer Action Center at [email protected].

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