Help Elan Vital Montessori Rebuild A Playground

Last week Louisiana experienced ice storms and freezing temperatures rarely seen here. There was widespread destruction from fallen trees, including the beloved outdoor play structure on the Elan Vital Montessori School playground, where both of my children have gone to school since they were toddlers. 

There are so many reasons we love the school--from the dedication of the directors Ms. Katie and Ms. Molly and all the teachers to the Montessori principles, to the warmth and love they shower on them on a daily basis; to the wonderful families we've met over the years and the sense of true community we've been lucky to build with them.  But one of the things I love most is that the kids get to be kids and play HARD outside every single day. The play structure was the focal part of that playground and due to the fact that a tree went straight through it, it's been rendered inoperable for the most part. This was a huge hit to the school, and one that cannot easily be rectified. Elan Vital is a small school, and greatly depends on various fundraising events throughout the year to raise money for things like this. Because of COVID, we have not been able to do any of these, and we have no idea when those will be able to happen again. To that end, I'm appealing to you today to see if you might be able to help out by making a contribution to help us purchase a new play structure. Luckily we live in an area where--save for last week--the weather is terrific all year long, which means these kids are outside every day. We see on a daily basis how much good that play does for them on a physical AND mental level, and we hate the idea of them not having a structure to play on.