Sun Valley : 2 Parks to Use $2,300 to Help Local Youths

A $2,300 donation made to two Sun Valley parks last week will make a big difference for local families, the recreational director of one of the parks said.

Tom Hutchinson will have discretion to use Sun Valley Park’s $1,800 share of the donation for day-camp and after-school scholarships for children who cannot afford park fees, as well as for programs such as baseball, ballet and karate.

Hutchinson said if a family can only afford to put one child into a program, he may use the money to pay for the child’s siblings to participate as well.

“Basically, what it’s going to do is help a large family with three or four kids,” he said.

The Sun Valley Community Venture Council had wanted to make the donation to the parks for more than a year, said Jan Liptak, head of the council set up by the United Way.

Unfortunately, the United Way would not allow a direct contribution to the city parks because they do not have nonprofit status. Instead, the money was first given to the Sun Valley Rotary Club, which passed it on to the parks.

Stonehurst Recreation Center, the other Sun Valley park to receive a donation, was given $500.

Although the money has already been handed over to the parks, a formal ceremony has been scheduled for Tuesday at Sun Valley Community Center on Sunland Boulevard.

The money “will have a pretty big impact,” Hutchinson said.