Vote Now, Washington Elementary Finalist for $25K Grant

Sandy rolled through the northeast rather quickly but much of the destruction she left behind cannot be easily restored to normalcy.

The children at Washington Elementary School are still dealing with some Sandy-related issues. Their playground was badly damaged and where a once fun-filled structure stood, a layer of mulch now sits.

"With capped state and municipal budgets we have a limited amount of funding from the district," said Washington Principal Scott Blake. "We rely heavily on the PTO but we can only ask so much from the parents. To have a chance at another $25,000 is excellent. It allows us to dream even bigger." 

Brian Saxton—a member of the Library Board and a father of a Washington Elementary first grader and a set of twins who will be attending Washington next year—submitted an entry essay to the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program. The program will donate $25,000 to 40 different causes submitted by different neighborhoods from the U.S. and Canada.

The State Farm Youth Advisory Board accepted 3,000 submissions and narrowed it down to what they deemed to be the 200 most worthy causes. Washington was among the finalists. The top 40 will be determined exclusively via Facebook voting.

The project is labeled as “Safe School Playground” and is currently ranked 27 out of 200.

“We need to stay in the top 40 to receive the funding. There have been major swings in where different projects have been ranked and the swings have happened quickly.”

At the moment, Washington looks poised to claim a spot in the top 40 but the work is not yet done. Voting continues until midnight on Sunday.

“First off I’d like to thank everyone who has been supporting this effort so far,” said Saxton. “The voting isn’t done yet so any support we can get from the community will be greatly appreciated. We are looking to finish strong and end up in the top 40." 

Saxton made it very clear that although he has been spearheading this effort it wouldn’t be possible without the recommendation he received.

“I want to thank Ed Kalpagian for bringing this to my attention. He is my personal State Farm Agent and was not allowed to get involved himself because he works for the company,” said Saxton. “Without him mentioning this to me I never would have known about it and this wouldn’t have even been a possibility.”

Ed Kalpagian is a State Farm Agent out of Allendale and a Wyckoff resident.