Junior League of Greenville NC 

Community PTA Initiative

The Junior League of Greenville, NC, Pitt County Educational Foundation, and Great Harvest Bread have formed a coalition to educate our community about the facility needs of schools and the importance of recess. In the month of November, we hope to rally our community to come together and work toward raising funds to replace playground equipment at schools in need.

We have formed this coalition to support Pitt County Schools’ Department of Facility Services, which does not have sufficient funds to meet all of its facility needs and must prioritize the repair of school buildings. Where playground equipment is concerned, the Department relies heavily on PTAs to help obtain the necessary funding. For schools with a less affluent base of families and small schools in rural areas of our county, the PTA may have to prioritize its funds to directly support students with significant personal needs (e.g. purchasing school supplies or clothing) or may not be able to raise the funds needed to purchase the equipment, which is a major expense.

For 2021, the funds raised will support Lakeforest Elementary School. From a distance, the playground equipment at Lakeforest Elementary School may look OK to the untrained eye. However, the playground equipment at Lakeforest is over 20 years old and originally supported a smaller school. Pitt County Schools’ Department of Facility Services has carefully mended the equipment each year, but replacement parts are not available after 15 years and the plastic portions of the structure and metal platforms are rapidly deteriorating. While the equipment is inspected regularly throughout the year to confirm that it is safe for use by students, Pitt County Schools’ Department of Facility Services ranks Lakeforest as the school with a nearly immediate need to replace playground equipment. 

Wondering how you can get involved? You can join us in participating in the social media & activity calendar for the month of November and/or you can donate in support of our efforts to raise funds for playground equipment at Lakeforest Elementary School.

You can access the calendar here: Social Media & Activity Calendar