ArtSpace to receive new playground equipment

Winner over nearly 400,000 entries, ArtSpace Charter School in Swannanoa has been selected to receive a $30,000 playground makeover.

The renovation is being provided by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a CEO-led coalition of more than 275 organizations dedicated to helping families and schools fight childhood obesity, and Discovery Education, a provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms.

They selected ArtSpace as winner of the 2015 Healthy Playground Makeover Sweepstakes.

As a grand prize winner, the school will receive $30,000 in grant funding, sporting goods equipment and a new playground (valued at $15,500) from Playworld, a playground equipment and surfacing manufacturer committed to saving outdoor unstructured play.

“ArtSpace is a charter school and, in North Carolina, that means we don’t receive funding for our facilities,” said Josh Batenhorst, ArtSpace’s enterprise and development manager. “Renovating and improving our recreational facilities has been high on the list every year, but it keeps getting bumped down as other issues take priority.

“This playground makeover will ensure that our students have access to a great play facility where they can exercise as they learn and play. We know our students are going to be thrilled to have the new equipment.”