Amherst, NH, April 26, 2021—Less than a month after its launch, the “Going Undercover” campaign broke through its $20,000 goal. Travis Warren, president of the Amherst Community Foundation, announced today that the campaign tally had hit $20,800.

Right to left, Travis Warren, Sheila Steele, Sally Wilkins, Craig Farley.

Sheila Steele, longtime Amherst resident and campaign chair, praised the generosity of those who jumped at the chance to support the effort. “The people of Amherst, together as a community, once again delivered,” she said.

The campaign hit its goal six weeks early. Construction planning will start immediately. Craig Fraley, Recreation Department director, will be managing the project, which includes building three new shade structures for the park, as well as planting the new trees.

Two of the three shade shelters will go up alongside the park’s playground, matching in materials and color the playground equipment. A third structure, a cantilevered wooden pergola, will shade granite benches now placed by the park’s brick patio. Picnic tables and benches will go under the playground structures.

“You can’t find a better example of a grass-roots effort in Amherst,” said Warren. “This is just the kind of project the Amherst Community Foundation likes to support—in this case helping Sheila Steele’s amazing fundraising team close their campaign in record time.”

The campaign benefited from a number of large donations. Among them was $2,500 from the Milford Rotary Club Foundation and $6,600 from the Amherst Land Trust and its trustees, who built the park in 2016.

The campaign anticipates work on structures and plantings will be completed by midsummer. Additional donations will be used for more tree planting. Questions about the campaign can be directed to info@amherstfoundation.org.