Kiva plans walkathon for play area

Children’s Kiva Montessori School, plans an annual CKMS Walkathon to raise funds to support the building of a new play area in Montezuma Park.

Children’s Kiva Montessori is applying for the Great Outdoors Colorado School Play Yard Initiative, a grant to help schools improve their play areas. The School Play Yard Initiative is a two-part grant. The first part is a design grant, which would provide $7,000.00 to design the new play yard. The second part is the construction grant, which provides up to $100,000 to build the play yard. The goal of Children’s Kiva Montessori School Walkathon is to raise $25,000 to support the financial match requirement of the grant.

The Children’s Kiva Montessori School hopes to support the beautification and enhancement of Montezuma Park, a city park, by raising matching funds to support the construction of an improved play area. If funded, this will represent a unique partnership where a school is supporting city park improvements through a grant application. The grant provides the opportunity for all community members to benefit from an enhanced play space, including students of Children’s Kiva Montessori, who enjoy park as part of their play and learning environment.

“We are strong believers in supporting physical activity for all students and the community,” says Josh Warinner, executive director of Children’s Kiva Montessori. ‘This project aligns with the Montessori philosophy to support the whole person. We are very appreciative to have the City of Cortez support our efforts to make this learning and play space a reality for the community and our students.”

Great Outdoor Colorado funds projects that preserve, protect and enhance the wildlife, parks, rivers, trails and open spaces in Colorado. In its first three years, this initiative has funded 30 schools, serving more than 12,000 schoolchildren in 20 counties around the state to create playgrounds and outdoor classrooms that inspire more active physical play and enhance learning about nature and the environment.