Students swing their way to a solution

Since learning how to swing on his own, 5-year-old Clay Rollins loves to visit the playground near his Costa Mesa home and hopes to further refine his swinging skills when he starts at Woodland Elementary School this fall.

Unfortunately, the Costa Mesa school has been without a swing set for its kindergarten playground for about three years, and efforts to raise money for a new one have been slow going. To remedy the situation, Clay’s father, Charles Rollins, proposed a Swing-A-Thon. On Saturday, the school will host a 12-hour Swing-A-Thon on the first- and second-grade playground. Organizers hope to get enough pledges to pay for the new equipment.

“Other parents started a direct donation pledge drive earlier this year, but the thermometer in front of the school that shows the progress has been moving very slowly,” Rollins said.

Describing himself as “anti-video game,” Rollins said swings are a key element of any playground.

“Swings are great because they don’t need to be plugged in and they are always there,” Rollins said. “No matter how old you are, you are going to jump on a swing and have fun.”

In addition to raising money, Rollins believes the event will teach young students several important life lessons, and because they are active in the fundraising process, he anticipates they will treat the new equipment with great care.

“The process of them making a presentation to someone is something they’ll have to do throughout their lives, and the follow-through of collecting the money and returning it to school is another part of it,” said Rollins, a small-business owner. “It’s better than a learning experience; it’s real-world experience.”

Woodland second-grader Timothy O’Shea will help lead a flag salute to kick off Saturday’s event with the rest of his Cub Scout troop, and also plans to swing, hoping to ensure children in the community have a fun place to play.

“I want to help because my sister, Jenna, is going to kindergarten at Woodland in about two years, and I want to help all the other kids who are going to kindergarten too,” Timothy said.

Organizers expect to have about 400 children — from both Woodland and Kaiser Elementary — participating on Saturday, promising to keep 10 swings moving at all times for the entire day, which Rollins estimates to be a total of 500,000 swings.

The event will also feature children’s music and entertainment, a family picnic area and a visit from Costa Mesa Police officers.

Rollins has promised custom Woodland Dragon wristbands to all children who gather at least three pledges, and all classrooms that raise more than $800 will get a pizza party.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Woodland Elementary School Swing-A-Thon

WHEN: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: The playground at Woodland Elementary School, 2025 Garden Lane, Costa Mesa

INFO: If you are interested in volunteering or making a tax-deductible donation, please contact Charles Rollins at (949) 722-1091 or [email protected].