Children’s museum fundraising effort gaining steam

WILTON – Fundraising efforts have proceeded steadily over the last month, as the organizers behind the Western Maine Play Museum seek to match a $150,000 grant from the Berry family’s Sandy River Charitable Foundation.

Efforts to raise a total of $750,000 for the new children’s museum, to be located in the former York family home on Main Street in downtown Wilton, started officially last summer. Of the fund raising campaign’s goal, about $500,000 is estimated to go towards building renovations, another $200,000 for exhibits and furnishings and $50,000 for an outdoor green space.

The museum’s design plans call for several themed rooms, such as a nature room for rotating exhibits on biology, agriculture and more; a room with a central idea of building; a smart room that features a permanent exhibit using interactive technology; a gathering room for special events like birthday parties next to a kitchen, which will also be used for food labs. Also in the plans is a play village, a two-story play space with a grocery store, doctor’s office, diner, and other Main Street attractions. A magnet room, infant and toddler room, a dark room, a trains room and invention room are also all part of the plans.

Also included will be regular programming like story times and “kitchen science” programming, with a regular after-school program and school vacation day camps which will complement the learning already available for kids and help to keep the museum sustainable.

In January, the Berry family of Farmington pledged $150,000 to be administered through their Sandy River Charitable Foundation, when a match of $350,000 in donations from other sources are raised. Earlier, organizers said more than $90,000 had been donated, although the focus has now turned to the so-called “10,000 Families Appeal,” based on the idea that if each family donates $25, the museum will achieve its intermediate goal of $250,000.

Through that program, the museum has raised $11,000, mostly in small donations.

“It’s exciting to see such a surge of support from families on a more limited budget,” said museum organizer Lori Lewis.

Donors have included some of the museum’s future beneficiaries. One of the effort’s earliest supporters was 6-year-old Dakota White, who raised $14 with his lemonade stand. More recently, Zander Larriviere donated $25 of his own money to support the project. Fourth graders at Academy Hill School, with their teachers Brenda Laverdiere and Morgan Turner, have designated the WMPM as the recipient for their fundraisers this year through their Hannaford Business-Education Project.

Larger donors have provided assistance as well. The Bass Family of Wilton recently donated $25,000 for the naming rights to the museum kitchen, in honor of Catherine Forbush Bass

Those interested in donating funds can visit Gofundme to contribute online or review a “thermometer” measuring the impact of each donation (gofundme.com/westernmaineplay). Donors can also visit the museum’s website to buy an engraved brick for the courtyard or make another donation (www.westernmaineplay.org).

Amazon smile is another, easy way to donate. Amazon smile automatically donates .5 percent of the cost of each purchase to a charity of the buyer’s choice. When purchasing an item online through Amazon, go first to the site smile.amazon.com, where Western Maine Play Museum can be selected as a designated charity (it’s listed, however as “Western Maine Children’s Museum in Wilton, Maine”) And then shop as usual.

The WMPM also reminds Franklin Savings Bank customers that they are welcome to make a deposit directly to the WMPM account at any area branches in Wilton, Farmington, Jay, Skowhegan, Rumford and Rangeley.

Museum organizers are also reassuring donors that should the need arise, all traceable donations will be refunded, if necessary.

“We are grateful to the western Maine community for their continued support,” Lewis said. “Stay tuned for fun summer events the WMPM is planning.”