Fund Drive for Beach Play Rig Hailed as L.B. Success Story

The wealthy island enclave of Naples has beautiful homes, romantic canals and stunning views of Alamitos Bay. But until recently, there was no fully equipped playground.

As the mothers of young daughters, Angelica Gustafson and Sherry Schulman envisioned a playground at Marine Park on the island’s north side, where a quiet stretch of sand is called Mothers’ Beach because it is a popular place to take children.

When city officials balked at installing play equipment because of a lack of funds, Gustafson and Schulman spearheaded a campaign that raised almost $25,000 in private donations. When the drive fell about $4,500 short, the city made up the difference.

A sparkling new playground where children can run, climb, swing and slide was dedicated Dec. 16.

Matching Fund Considered

The women have been praised by city officials, who plan to trumpet the fund-raising project as an example of a successful public-private venture. Parks and Recreation Director Ralph S. Cryder said he hopes to establish a $100,000 fund in his department’s budget in the next fiscal year to match private donations dollar-for-dollar.

City Councilwoman Jan Hall, who says the playground is the latest in a series of public-private efforts in her Belmont/Naples district, hailed the two women.

“I thought it was an incredible feat. It just shows to me when people care about (something), they can make it happen,” Hall said.

Gustafson, a Naples Island resident for 6 years, said the project grew out of a conversation she had with Schulman one day. They noticed that the closest playground was at Horny Corner, a beach across Alamitos Bay.

Bright Colors Chosen

They collected 500 signatures on a petition asking the city to install a playground at Mothers’ Beach. They scouted for play equipment in other cities, looking for the right combination of swing sets, slides and ladders that would fascinate children. They settled on a brightly colored set with a price tag of about $29,500 including installation.

When city officials said they did not have enough money to pay for the equipment, Gustafson and Schulman started their drive last June, hiring two boys to circulate the first of three letters soliciting for donations.

“We were really touched that we received all sorts of donations,” Gustafson said. “We received $1,000 donations, but what was really touching were the $5 donations. We received $2 from a lady in a nursing home. People really were contributing what they could.

“There’s a real sense of pride, not so much in ourselves, but in what the community has done.”

Ensuing letters kept potential donors aware of how much had been raised and how close they were to the goal, Gustafson said. In the end, however, the drive fell short.

“After our last fund-raising letter, we felt we had tapped as much out of the community as we could,” she said.

She turned again to Cryder and other city officials. “We went to them as the last resort, asking them not so much for the money, but for suggestions on how we could raise the rest,” Gustafson said. “He (Cryder) promised he would look into getting some more money.”

Cryder said he was able to use residual funds allocated to his department.

The parks chief estimated that the playground cost half what the city would have spent because the women were able to dispense with such formalities as plans, specifications and formal bidding. He said the Naples experience can serve as a model for the entire city.

“I think there is a lot of potential,” Cryder said. “Some people want more picnic tables, benches, basketball courts--all kinds of things.”

Nonprofit Status

Gustafson and Schulman funneled the funds they collected through Partners of Parks, a nonprofit arm of the parks department. Bea Antenore, president of Partners of Parks, credited the pair with doing a first-rate job of fund raising. “They handled it well and systematically with the money,” she said. “They were very, very careful of how they accounted for every penny.”

The park was dedicated in honor of Christopher Jon Wavell, a Seal Beach boy killed in a bicycle accident 15 years ago. A trust fund established in memory of the 14-year-old provided seed money for the fund-raising drive.

John Wavell, a resident of nearby Spinnaker Cove and president of a company that manufactures wood products, said he and his ex-wife, Dee Wavell, were approached by their longtime friend, Schulman, and grew excited about the project.

They had donated a trust fund of about $4,500 in Christopher’s name to the city of Seal Beach after his death, but the city had never proposed a use deemed worthy of his memory.

Memorial Plaque

Wavell said they withdrew the funds from Seal Beach and contributed to the Mothers’ Beach project. Later, they contributed more money.

“I went over there and looked at the memorial plaque and it brought tears to my eyes,” Wavell said.

He said he is so pleased that he is considering approaching city officials next year with a proposal to help pay for enlarging the playground.

On one blustery day last week, about four or five children frolicked on the play equipment as their parents looked on. Among them was Angelica Gustafson’s 3-year-old daughter, Marisa. Her father, retired auto dealer John Gustafson, talked warmly of the fund-raising efforts of his wife and her friend.

“I am really proud these two girls would put together something the city wouldn’t,” he said. “The quality of the equipment and the setting are so beautiful.”