The Dolgeville Fun and Fitness Area (DFAFA)
Committee Vision
To renovate the Village playground and park property at the corner of Cramer Lane and Helmer Avenue, creating spaces to encourage active and passive recreational activity for multigenerational use, positively impacting the physical, social, and emotional health of Village and area residents.
Playground and Exercise Stations
The Dolgeville Fun and Fitness area was constructed over the course of many Community Build days. Using all volunteers and Village employees to install the equipment, operate machinery, and provide in-kind donation hours allowed monies for the project to go directly to materials and not be spent on labor.
What began with a few Village residents’ involvement with Cornell through their H.E.A.R.T. club initiative to install a few exercise stations throughout the Village quickly morphed into a much bigger idea - to completely renovate the existing playground, which was in poor condition.
It was a lofty goal, and would require over $150,000 in equipment and labor. Through grants, donations, fundraisers, and many hours of in-kind labor by Village employees and volunteers, the entire area was renovated.
The new playground includes a number of new playground equipment stations, but the most enjoyed piece of equipment, by far, is the 60-foot zipline. One piece of equipment that Village children insisted on keeping is the vintage merry-go-round. That piece of equipment was removed, repaired, powder-coated, and reinstalled, so if you’re looking for some nostalgia, come take a spin the merry-go-round!
Village children enjoy the new equipment and the refurbished merry-go-round. DCS Class of ‘77 donated a bench and a tree to enhance the area.
The renovation also included the installation of SMART Exercise Stations, giving users a whole variety of exercises for every part of the body, with signs demonstrating how the equipment can be used with varying degrees of difficulty. Users can also use their SMART phones to access video demonstrations of how to use the stations.
Coming Up … A New Basketball/Pickleball Court and Splash Pad
The Center Park Project Grant includes a fenced-in court that will accommodate both basketball and pickleball, allowing community members of all ages to enjoy court games. The Grant also includes a splash pad for the younger members of our community to enjoy on hot summer days.
Funding
Some of the DFAFA members who participated in planning, fundraising, and building.
The Grant from NY State does not cover all costs for the next phase of the project - the basketball/ pickleball court and splash pad. Anyone wishing to donate to this project may do so by visiting our “Financial Support” page. Be sure to earmark your donation to DFAFA in the memo line.