Morrill: Space to Grow

Morrill is a Chicago Public School located in the Chicago Lawn Neighborhood. Morrill services over 800 students in grades Pre-K through 8th from the Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, and West Englewood neighborhoods. We have an extremely dedicated administration and faculty that works closely with a caring community who also supports our hard working, energetic, and fun students. The teaching and learning that occurs at Morrill is centered around inquiry-based instruction that embeds digital media arts, social justice, and technology into the curriculum.

Our students need a playground at their school. Currently, students have to go more than a half-mile to find a green space to play. Students and parents are discouraged from travelling the half-mile because of the high crime rate of our neighborhood.
Our current playground consists of broken asphalt with no green space and minimal playground equipment. There aren't basketball hoops, soccer nets, grass, or much of anything safe and fun for our students to enjoy. Our softball, soccer, and track teams practice on broken asphalt.

We need your help! We are asking you to generously help us fund this project so our students have the play space they deserve and need. We are asking donors to support our project by purchasing bricks, trees, benches, and playground equipment. We are also asking for funding to create a mural, basketball court, and soccer field.

Morrill school is one of four schools in Chicago that were chosen for the initiative led by Openlands and Healthy Schools Campaign. The initiative transforms Chicago schoolyards into green spaces that provide students, their families and the broader community with opportunities for active play, and space for physical education, outdoor learning, gardening, environmental education and art, while addressing the city's storm water management and basement flooding needs.

Please help us raise the $150, 000 necessary to fund for this exciting and necessary project for our students. Thank you!

Click here for more images of our playground:http://goo.gl/smnssR

Space to Grow is a multi-million dollar renovation that will bring trees, benches, two basketball courts, a small soccer field, running track, and more equipment to our playground. We need to raise funds to help the major donors achieve the transformation our students and neighborhood need. This project will achieve the following:

1. Create a safe, fun place for our students to explore.
2. Offer new opportunities for our students to play and exercise in constructive and organized ways.
3. Enable our students to experience nature and green spaces.
4. Reduce massive amounts of rainwater from entering the sewer system, reducing flooding in basements, pollution, and infrastructure costs.
5. Reduce the heat island from the current asphalt lot, improving breathing conditions and the health of thousands of people that live near the school.
6. Increase the value of real estate in the neighborhood, which has been one of the hardest hit from the foreclosure crisis and currently has too many abandoned, unsafe buildings.

Learn more about the designs and concepts of the Space to Grow playground:
Organizational Concept: http://goo.gl/OhP5Oa
Final Spatial Design: http://goo.gl/yJ4w2Z
Schematic Design: http://goo.gl/sJm3Vg

Our fundraising efforts are partnered with OpenLands, the Chicago Public Schools, Space to Grow, and Healthy Schools Campaign. Healthy Schools Campaign has generously agreed to act as our fiscal agent so that all donations go to a registered 501c3 and are tax exempt.

Have questions about the plan, breaking-ground date, or your donation? Contact the Principal, Dr. Michael Beyer at [email redacted]