How do you pay for an activity trail when you’ve no money?
There are incessant protests and complaints because local authorities have ever less finances at their disposal and what money they do have they seem to spend on the wrong things.
The methods employed to date for this purpose have become increasingly unusual. One example can be found in the town of Viernheim near Mannheim and its local department of sports.
In 2008, the idea was conceived to construct a multigenerational activity trail on a municipal sports ground that had been transferred into the trusteeship of a local sports association. The plan was worked out with the cooperation of the various stakeholders and the projected cost was €75,000. However, in the view of the cuts and reductions being made to budgets, it was simply not possible to politically justify the outlay of a sum of this nature.
But a concerned member of staff at the local department of sports was so determined to ensure that the project went ahead that he refused to give up the concept. He met the mayor and reached an agreement with him to the effect that the local authority would provide one-third of the required finances if the other two-thirds was met through donations. The agreement also contained the proviso that the project would only be initiated if the full necessary funding was obtained.
The search for donors began and this lasted 18 months. Finally, a sponsor was found for every piece of the planned equipment. Each equipment sponsor was allowed to select a particular exercise device (from the 4FCIRCLE play equipment) and the sponsor’s logo was added to the mandatory instructions for use on the board permanently installed next to the device in question. Sponsors were also given a receipt for their donation.
The project was at last finalised after a four-year planning and sponsor acquisition phase and was inaugurated with a small celebration.
This venture in Viernheim in the south of the state of Hesse demonstrates that with patience and a creative approach, even large-scale and expensive projects can be brought to fruition.
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