They say it takes a village to raise a child. At Peralta Trail Elementary School, 10965 E. Peralta Trail in Gold Canyon, it took a village of kindness and some $40,000 in donations to build a playground that will create a friendlier and more inclusive play area that will be utilized by both able-bodied children as well as students with mobility constraints.

Approximately 70 community and business leaders, volunteers, staff members, PTO members, parents, congregants from Gold Canyon United Methodist Church and even students from Apache Junction High School are coming together to excavate, assemble and install a new playground.

Personal Touch Catering is providing free lunches for the volunteers, and Apache Junction Parks and Recreation delivered and picked up a backhoe to help with the installation.

The school has been fundraising for playground equipment for more than a year. The bulk of the donations --- $30,000 --- came from Gold Canyon United Methodist Church, The Apache Junction Moose Lodge donated $4,000 and the remainder was raised by multiple fundraising efforts through the school and its PTO.

East Valley Institute of Technology students in Enrique Reyes construction technologies class at AJHS created the forms for the curbing, and Knochel Bros. Inc is donating 3 yards of concrete. Home Depot is providing some of the additional materials required. The new playground pieces include a Unity Rocker, a Unity Teeter Tunnel and 7 Playcubes where children of varied abilities can play together. All facets of the installation and assembly are being professionally supervised by Dave Bang Associates Inc. and PRO-TECT TURF Inc. to ensure meeting all safety requirements.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. The public is invited to attend.

“Our highest priority is meeting the needs of all of our students, not only for learning, but for encouraging productive play and providing opportunities for positive social interactions,” said Natalie Clement, principal of PTES. “I appreciate the opportunity to have these strong community partnerships and I am thrilled with the support our community has shown to date. I think it is vital that our students see that the community supports and invests in their education.”

The next community endeavor for PTES will be to purchase and install a shade structure to preserve the playground and ensure that the equipment can be used year round. For more information on how to help contact nclement@goaj.org. To learn more about Apache Junction Unified School District and its schools go to ajusd.org.

Editor's note: Sally Marks is Apache Junction Unified School District's public information officer.