The Oakdale Children’s Play Park, in Dorada Park on the corner of East A Street and North Second Avenue, was a vison of Dorene Splitsone in 1992. Through Dorene’s determination and drive and with the help of the community, the Oakdale Children’s Play Park became a reality in October 1993.

This October marks the 22nd anniversary of the Oakdale Children’s Play Park. This park has been enjoyed by thousands of families over the last two decades and is a popular place for birthdays and family reunions. It’s a place where buses stop on their way through town, and many of the Oakdale children who first used this wood play structure are now taking their children to enjoy the iconic play area.

With all this use through the years, the park elements have deteriorated, and the time has come to revitalize this wonderful play area, said Linda Royalty, publicity chair for the project.

To accomplish that, six months ago the Oakdale Children’s Play Park Committee was formed, comprised of community volunteers who are leading the charge to raise funds to restore this play park to its former grandeur. The committee meets every Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Gene Bianchi Community Center, 110 S. Second Ave. in Oakdale.

The goal of the committee is to raise $100,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to fully revitalize the play park. This project is supported by the Oakdale Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club of Oakdale, Oakdale Women’s Club, Oakdale Interact Club, Oakdale Lions Club, and Soroptimist International of Oakdale.

“Please join this fundraising effort as a group, a business, a family, or an individual,” Royalty said.

The City of Oakdale has worked with Playgrounds by Leathers, the original park designer, to develop this revitalization plan and has the unanimous support of the City of Oakdale City Council. The plan as currently outlined calls for the reconstruction of the play park to take place Oct. 14 through the 18, 2015, with volunteers working together under professional leadership.

This project will remove and replace the majority of the decking with recycled plastic decking, remove and replace the majority of the hand and support rails with structural plastic and recycled plastic materials, and replace over 20 additional park structure elements with new modern features found in today’s playgrounds.

The Oakdale Rotary Club is serving as the non-profit fiscal agent for the project and will be responsible for the tracking and accounting of all expenditures.

Make your tax deductible donations payable to the Oakdale Rotary Foundation. Specify “Play

Park” on your contribution, and mail your contribution to: The Oakdale Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 623, Oakdale, CA 95361.