An artist rendering of the playground equipment financed by Jenny Jones. Photo provided by the City of London.An artist rendering of the playground equipment financed by Jenny Jones. Photo provided by the City of London.
London

Hometown Hero Park To Open Saturday

A long-awaited accessible playgound in Springbank Park is ready for its debut.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Saturday and will be attended by London-native Jenny Jones, the TV personality and philanthropist who funded the $130,000 project. The playground was chosen as the winner of the Hometown Hero Project, which aimed to breathe life into Jones' hometown. The contest called for submissions from Londoners, with Shelah Brook’s Springbank park playground being chosen, thus earning her the title of London’s ‘Hometown Hero’.

Jones’ is quite accustomed to projects like these, running a similar program in the US, her current home. But wherever her money goes, she likes to get involved.

“I like to help people, but I want to see where the money goes,” Jones says. “I’ve never written a cheque and just made a donation by cheque, I buy things.”

The idea for the project was to provide a service to the community that everyone could enjoy.

“I was looking for something that was long lasting, something that would benefit a lot of people,” says Jones.

Among ideas to take care of the homeless, make prom dresses for less fortunate high school students, and plant trees, Jones found Brook’s park idea and instantly fell in love.

“I grew up in London, and I played in Springbank Park, and I played in that playground. So it was the absolute perfect idea, and that was the one I chose,” Jones says. “I was so touched by so many personal stories. But this one, a playground is going to be there for years. It’s going to bring joy and happiness.”

Even though the Springbank Park idea was chosen, Jones wants to make sure a message is very clear.

“People should know that London has a lot of good-hearted people who want to help other people,” says Jones.

But while Jones funds and coordinates the process with her team, she believes that it is Brook’s passion that truly made it all possible.

“If I could have created the perfect person to be this hero for this project, it would have been her,” Jones says.

Brook brought a lot to the table, both in dedication and experience.

“She has a daycare, she handles daycare at her home, so if anyone knows what children like, it was her,” says Jones.

But the ribbon cutting for the park isn’t the only reason Jones is excited to come back to London, as she hopes to reunite with old friends.

“Anyone I went to school with, at Central in London, if any of my old schoolmates remember me, I hope maybe somebody might tap me on the shoulder and say ‘hey, I was in the same class as you’,” Jones says.

The event will kick off at 10:30am on Saturday June 18 at Springbank Park, west of the wading pool. All ages are welcome, as many activities will be provided, including face painting and early access to the wading pool.

 

**this story was written by Samuel Gallant. Samuel is a student in the Fanshawe College broadcast journalism program. He is performing a summer internship with Blackburn News.**

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