(Atlantic) An Atlantic seven-year-old is learning at a young age that hard work and perseverance pay off. Finley Pieken, the daughter of Ali and Dustin Pieken, decided to pitch in and raise money for the Splash Pad project.
Finley started a lemonade stand. Her first venture-Discount Daze on July 22. The determined seven-year-old received a $2,000 matching donation from Dr. Bandow, and when she closed the stand on that July afternoon, the Atlantic youth collected over $4,000 before Dr. Bandow’s generous donation.
Finley’s next stop, AtlanticFest. This time Ricci McLaren of “Dance Atlantic” stepped to the plate and promised a $1,000 matching grant. When the day was done, Finley raised a total of $10,300.00 for the project. Community members stepped up in a big way, with several donations of $500 to $1,000.00.
Finley hopes this inspires more kids to fundraise for the Splash Pad and get involved to impact the community positively. “The more we fundraise, the sooner we get to play on the Splash Pad,” said Finley.
“Kids CAN make a difference at any age,” said Splash Pad Committee Co-Chair Jeremy Butler.
Finley’s $10,000 fundraising milestone allows her to have a specific water feature on the pad with her name.
Meanwhile, the are many ways to donate to this project. Checks can be made payable to the City of Atlantic (Splash Pad on the memo) and dropped off at City Hall. Payable to SHIFT ATL (Splash Pad on memo) and dropped off at the chamber during business hours. And Venmo, @shiftatl-splashpad, in comments with a mailing address.
You can donate directly from the SHIFT ATL website using your credit card or PayPal account. The website is atlanticiowasplashpad.com. Suppose you or your business want to support this project at a sponsorship level. In that case, donations over $10,000 include the opportunity to purchase a specific water feature on the pad and have your name, family name, or business on the feature. Learn about upcoming events, view the donation tracker, volunteer, or ask questions. Please get in touch with the committee.
